HC Deb 17 October 1994 vol 248 cc156-7W
Mr. Austin Mitchell

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the level of import penetration of foreign manufactures in the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom shares of main manufacturing countries exports of manufactures in 1970 and at the latest available date; and what was the increase in the terms of trade for finished manufactures since the second half of 1973 and the corresponding increase in relative unit values for exports of manufactures.

Mr. Needham

The information on import penetration is available only to June 1989 and is published in table 12.2 of the CSO's annual abstract of statistic', a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. The information on import penetration for 1970 is published in CSO's "Economic Trends" August 1977, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House, but is not comparable with the 1989 data. Comparable information for 1970 could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

The terms of trade for finished manufactures, can be readily derived from information held on the Central Statistical Office database, which can be accessed via the Library of the House.

Information on United Kingdom shares of MMC exports of manufactures, and relative unit values for manufactures—back in 1975—can be accessed from the

Percentage change Index of production (1990=100)
SIC (80) Activity Heading Brief Description Index of Production (Q2 94 compared with Q2 90) Employment (Q2 94 compared with Q2 90) Peak output since 1988 (Quarter, Year) Subsequent low (Quarter, Year) Q2 1994
2512 Basic general organic chemicals 26 -52 125 (Q2 1994) — — 125
3302 Electronic data processing equipment 58 -19 171 (Q2 1994) — — 171
3453 Active components and electronic sub-assemblies 24 -41 125 (Q2 1994) — — 125
3510 Motor vehicles and their engines -7 -18 113 (Q1 1989) 85 (Q3 1991) 95
3530 Motor vehicle parts 13 -16 110 (Q2 1994) — — 110
3640 Aerospace equipment manufacturing and repairing -22 -29 105 (Q4 1990) 76 (Q2 1994) 76

Source:

CSO - Index of Production, DTI, using data from Employment Department & Northern Ireland Office.