HC Deb 04 December 1989 vol 163 cc22-3W
Mr. Wall

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of British exports is attributable to services, as opposed to manufactures, for the years 1979, 1984, 1988 and 1989; and what was total investment during the same years in these two sectors of the economy.

Mr. Norman Lamont

The most recent estimates of exports of services and manufactured goods in 1979, 1984 and 1988 are contained in the 1989 edition of CSO's "United Kingdom Balance of Payments". The available estimates for investment in these years are contained in the 1989 edition for CSO's "United Kingdom National Accounts". Copies of both publications are available in the Library. They are also on the CSO Databank, which is accessible through the Library. Estimates of exports and manufacturing investment for the first half of 1989 are available from the Library in various CSO publications and from the databank.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what are the principal differences between the definitions of consumer intermediate and capital goods, for United Kingdom production and for imports, in the national statistics.

Mr. Norman Lamont

[holding answer 30 November 1989]: The principal difference is that the import classification applies only to finished manufactures (defined as Sections 7 and 8 of the Standard Industrial Classification, excluding ships, North Sea oil installations and aircraft), whereas the production classification applies to all industrial output. Further information may be obtained from "Industry Statistics: Occasional Paper No. 22" published by the Central Statistical Office in April 1989 and "Classification by broad economic categories" published by the United Nations in 1986, both of which may be found in the House of Commons Library.