HC Deb 26 April 1991 vol 189 cc589-90W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reasons underlie the delay in publishing figures for import penetration in the Central Statistical Office's monthly digest of statistics; and if he will publish in theOfficial Report a table showing the figures for the years 1989 and 1990 together with the corresponding figures for imports from the EC.

Mr. Maples

Import penetration figures published in the latest monthly digest of statistics are the most up-to-date. As a result of recommendations in the 1989 review of Department of Trade and Industry statistics which considered the arrangements for collection of economic statistics by DTI and the burdens placed on businesses, quarterly sales data for most manufacturing industries, which are used in the calculation of this ratio, are no longer collected. Data for 1989 and 1990 are therefore not available.

Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reasons underlie the delay in publishing figures for the exchange rate and other countries' export values for manufactures in the monthly review of external trade statistics.

Mr. Maples

The delay in publishing exchange rates in table F1 of the monthly review of external trade statistics was the result of an oversight which occurred during the changeover to a new computer system; however, this data is widely available in other publications including "Economic Trends". Up-to-date information was published in the April 1991 edition of the review. The delay in the publication, in table E2 of the review, of main manufacturing countries—MMCs—shares of exports arises because the calculation of the shares requires statistics for manufacturing exports for all MMCs. While statistics on exports of manufactures are available for most MMCs within a few months of the period to which they relate, some countries' statistics are not available until much later.