§ Mr. Leightonasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is the United Kingdom's balance of trade in information technology; and how many were employed in this field in each year since 1979.
§ Mr. ButcherUsing a definition of information technology, which covers office machinery, data processing equipment, telecommunications equipment, 279W electrical instruments and control systems, radio and electronic capital goods, electronic components (including microelectronics and semi-conductors) and consumer electronics but excluding tapes, records, software and computer services, the figures for balance of trade are:
Deficit £ million
1979 443 1980 356 1981 1,061 1982 1,480 1983 2,100 Average employment in the sector, but including the manufacture of tapes and records, is as follows:
Numbers 1979 448,000 1980 436,000 1981 407,000 1982 399,000 1983 402,000 1984 *411,000 * Mid-year count.