§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he is taking to notify exporters of any changes in the addresses, telephone numbers and facsimile numbers of sections of his Department supplying information and advice to exporters; and where an up-to-date list of such information is currently available.
§ Mr. Sainsbury[holding answer 23 July 1991]: We attach considerable importance to keeping our business customers informed. Through the overseas trade services network, under which the export work of my Department and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is carried out, a number of booklets and brochures are published which detail the advice and information available to United Kingdom exporters and the appropriate contact points from which this help can be accessed. These publications are updated on a regular basis, and new additions are currently being prepared for issue shortly. Contact information is also made available through the DTI enterprise initiative telephone hot-line.
At local level our network of regional offices, including DTI offices in the south-west in Bristol, Plymouth and Penzance, produce regular export newsletters which periodically detail the export section contacts within the office.
Full details of the regional network and other export-related contacts, including specific country inquiry points, are given in "The Guide to Exporting" (Fifth Edition), a copy of which is in the Library.
Table 1 National Insurance Contribution Income £ million Class 1 Employees Class 1 Employers Class 2 Class 3 Class 4 Total 1978–80 3,953 6,153 136 11 104 10,357 1980–81 5,162 7,880 173 12 133 13,360 1981–82 7,656 10,661 221 14 150 18,702 1982–83 7,923 9,293 283 19 184 17,702 1983–84 8,909 10,094 337 28 205 19,573 1984–85 9,570 10,790 380 27 242 21,009 1985–86 10,392 12,020 373 40 288 23,113 1986–87 11,103 13,179 366 31 331 25,010 1987–88 12,419 14,724 390 30 380 27,943