§ Mr. NellistTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will give for each year since 1979 the level of investment in United Kingdom manufacturing industry expressed as a percentage of the amount required to cover depreciation of existing capital stock.
§ Mr. Mellor[holding answer 6 March 1991]: Available estimates of gross fixed capital formation as a percentage of capital consumption for the manufacturing industries, including assets leased from the financial industries, are as follows:
per cent. 1979 130 1980 111 1981 86 1982 84 1983 83 1984 97 1985 111 1986 103 1987 108 1988 118 1989 127 Estimates of capital consumption, and hence these percentages, must be interpreted with some caution. Capital consumption is not directly observable and so the estimates made are based on a series of assumptions.