HC Deb 17 December 1979 vol 976 cc42-3W
Mr. Strang

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what volume of Scotch whisky was exported in each of the past10 years; and if he will give breakdowns for each year according to bulk malt, bulk blended and bottled whisky.

Mr. Parkinson

(pursuant to his reply, 14 December 1979): The information for Scotch and Northern Irish whisky—overseas trade statistics—is as follows—

the hands of a single official body; and what consideration has been given to such a proposal.

Mr. Tebbit

The Britis Film Fund Agency is financed from the yield of the levy charged on cinema admissions and is thus not a charge to public funds. The cost of administering the Cinematograph Films Council, a statutory advisory body, was£3,262 in 1978–79. The National Film Finance Corporation covers its administrative expenses—including those of the National Film Development Fund, which is its wholly-owned subsidiary, and the fund's advisory committee—out of the return on past investment. The financial consequences of amalgamating the very different functions of these four bodies would depend upon the precise functions of the new body and thus the amount necessarily made available to it. If such a body were to be established it would incorporate some of the functions proposed for a British Film Authority as described in the reports of the interim action committee on the film industry. No decision has yet been taken upon the establishment of such an authority.