§ Mr. Strawasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of the Chief Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for Newham, North-East (Mr. Leighton), on 9 December, Official Report, c. 970, that British competitiveness had fallen by 18 per cent. from May 1979 to date, if he will describe the method used to calculate this figure, its source and basis; and whether all figures used in the calculation already appear in published form.
§ Mr. Brittan[pursuant to his reply, 14 December 1982, c. 64]: The calculation is based upon the change in the 133W relative actual unit labour cost index between 1979 Q2 and 1982 Q2 and takes account of subsequent changes in the effective exchange rate. No allowance is made after 1982 Q2 for the fact that United Kingdom unit labour costs appear to be increasing more slowly than the average of our competitors. The competitiveness indices are published in the "Monthly Review of External Trade Statistics". The effective exchange rate is calculated and announced three times a day by the Bank of England and reported in the press, and monthly averages are subsequently reported in Economic Trends.