§ Mr. Ernie Rossasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on import penetration of the manufacturing sector of the Scottish economy.
§ Mr. Alexander Fletcher:Statistics of imports of foreign goods into Scotland are not kept separately. Current figures for the United Kingdom are not available because of the recent Civil Service dispute.
Certain sectors of the economy have indeed suffered from growth in imports as a direct result of the loss of competitiveness by United Kingdom manufacturers. The Government's fiscal and economic policies are designed to help United Kingdom industry reverse this trend and to create a climate in which our industry can succeed in domestic and overseas markets.