§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Cambridge (Mrs. Campbell) of 21 March,Official Report, column 22, if he will set out the reasons for the unavailability of the information on arms exports requested.
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§ Mr. NelsonThe question to which the hon. Member refers asked for the proportion of gross domestic product derived from the sale of armaments. This information cannot be supplied as the term "armaments" is not defined in the classifications used for national accounts purposes. The value of exports of defence equipment can be estimated from overseas trade statistics and is published in table 1.11 of "UK Defence Statistics", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.