§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the items in table 18.2 of the "Monthly Digest of Statistics" which have risen in price as a result of the increase in the price of imported manufactures since 1992; and if he will make a statement on the relationship between falling exchange rates and inflation. [26542]
§ Mr. NelsonChanges in the prices of imported manufactures and the exchange rate are two of many factors which influence the prices of different categories of goods and services.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 3 April,Official Report, column 907 (1) concerning import penetration, if he will list the data he holds at the available level of desegregation, giving details of significant changes of coverage during the period specified; [26558]
(2) relating to manufacturing output, if he will list the levels of disaggregation in any available form. [27073]
§ Mr. NelsonThe data published in table 15.10 of the April "Monthly Digest of Statistics" are based on the classification used in the standard industrial classification 1980. Output data on the same basis are available for 1979 and 1994 and can be accessed by the House of Commons Library. Comparable data for 1973 are not available.
The CSO has recently reinstated the import penetration series. The data appear in table 15.10 of the April 1995 88W "Monthly Digest of Statistics" and are based on the classifications used in SIC 1992. Output data on the same basis for 1973, 1979 and 1994 are available and can be accessed by the House of Commons Library.
The output data covering periods 1983 to 1993 are also published in table 2.5 of the publication United Kingdom national accounts—the CSO Blue Book, 1994 edition. Data for the periods 1984 to 1994 will be published in the 1995 issue later this year.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government are taking to reduce the import share of the United Kingdom market for manufactures. [26557]
§ Mr. NelsonThe Government aim to help British industry compete successfully both at home and abroad by providing a stable macro-economic climate and promoting structural policies to improve the long-term performance of the economy, including manufacturing industry.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if detailed figures on import penetration will be available to hon. Members after the contracting out of data collection and analysis to the private sector. [26547]
§ Mr. NelsonIn the event of contracting out of data collection and analysis to the private sector, detailed figures on import penetration would continue to be available.
§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what factors underlie the rate of import penetration of the United Kingdom market for manufactures since the third quarter of 1994. [27074]
§ Mr. NelsonImport penetration depends on a variety of factors, including international specialisation, price and non-price competitiveness, domestic demand, and domestic capacity.