§ Mr. Lawrenceasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of consumer expenditure is on imported manufactured goods.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe proportion of import content of consumer expenditure varies from year to year. However estimates of finished manufactured consumer goods in the first eleven months of 1986 totalled £13.7 billion compared with £12.0 billion in the equivalent period of 1985. These figures represent 18 per cent, and 16 per cent. respectively of total imported manufactured goods.
It is possible to estimate the import content of consumer expenditure only as a part of a five-yearly compilation of input-output statistics. The latest figures relate to 1979 and the figures for 1984 are due to be published next year.