§ Mr. Gouldasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the labour cost in terms of sterling of producing a tonne of steel in the United Kingdom and in other European Community countries at the latest available date for which figures of output and wages are available, adjusted for inflation and so on.
§ Mr. ButcherInformation about labour costs required to answer this question is not readily available, if at all.
§ Mr. Gouldasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the United Kingdom share of the European Community steel market compared with 1973; and whether he is satisfied that a further reduction in United Kingdom steel output is justified.
§ Mr. ButcherInformation on the share of community consumption taken by United Kingdom produced steel is not available. The following table shows the United Kingdom share of Community crude steel production.
United Kingdom (000 tonnes) EC (10) (000 tonnes) Percentage of United Kingdom share 1973 26.591 150.840 17.6 1982 13.740 111.346 12.3 January-March 1983 3.808 26.638 14.3 The only Community control on steel output is the system of mandatory quotas under ECSC article 58, under which there are no current proposals for a reduction for the United Kingdom.