§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many contractors are employed in the Patent Office information technology services department; at what cost; and if he will make a statement. [24267]
§ Mr. Ian Taylor[holding answer 2 April 1996]: There are 36 specialist contract staff in information technology services employed to supplement existing permanent civil servants and to make good deficiencies in the Patent Office's IT skills base. Their individual costs reflect the market rate for particular specialisms but, in 1995–96, the average cost was £61,000. They are supplied on short-term renewable contracts by a range of organisations selected through competitive tender.
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the manufacturing balance of trade for each Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development country for each year since 1979. [24779]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 16 April 1996]: The answer is in the table.
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OECD countries balance of trade in manufactured goods1 1979 to 1994 US$billions 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 Germany 59.1 63.2 61.7 67.5 58.7 59.5 67.5 89.4 Greece -4.2 -3.8 -2.9 -3.0 -2.8 -2.7 -2.9 -3.6 Iceland -0.4 -0.5 -0.5 -0.5 -0.3 -0.3 -0.4 -0.6 Ireland -3.2 -2.9 -2.5 -1.6 -0.9 -0.7 -0.3 -0.2 Italy 24.2 18.2 23.8 24.2 27.3 23.9 24.7 28.7 Japan 72.6 95.1 116.4 104.6 110.9 128.5 134.7 160.2 Mexico2 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Netherlands -4.7 -3.9 -0.5 -0.1 -0.1 -0.5 -2.1 -4.7 New Zealand -2.2 -2.4 -2.7 -2.9 -2.4 -3.1 -3.0 -3.3 Norway -2.8 -3.8 -4.1 -4.8 -3.6 -3.7 -4.7 -8.4 Portugal -1.0 -1.7 -2.3 -2.0 -0.9 0.3 0.5 -0.3 Spain 2.6 2.4 2.9 2.4 2.9 5.0 4.5 -1.1 Sweden 3.9 4.6 5.2 3.9 4.6 5.2 4.9 6.5 Switzerland 2.6 0.0 2.3 2.6 1.7 1.5 2.0 1.6 Turkey -2.3 -2.5 -2.5 -1.8 -2.0 -1.8 -1.3 -3.0 UK 3.6 8.9 3.6 0.3 -7.7 -8.4 -7.2 -12.1 USA -2.1 12.2 5.2 -10.7 -38.2 -88.6 -112.8 -144.9
US$ billions 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 Australia -16.6 -20.5 -26.0 -23.6 -22.5 -23.5 -24.5 -24.3 Austria -2.3 -2.5 -3.3 -4.1 -5.4 -5.7 -5.1 -6.7 Belgium-Luxembourg 4.5 9.7 10.5 10.1 8.1 8.4 16.0 18.4 Canada -12.5 -21.7 -22.2 -18.4 -20.7 -20.0 -19.0 -10.5 Denmark -3.8 -2.8 -2.8 -2.3 -2.4 -0.4 0.0 -0.4 Finland 1.7 1.7 0.2 1.8 3.3 4.8 6.8 7.6 France -4.5 -9.0 -10.6 -13.0 -6.4 0.2 9.7 n/a Germany 104.9 112.6 112.6 107.5 66.4 77.1 83.7 94.5 Greece -4.3 -5.3 -7.5 -9.8 -11.0 -11.6 -11.7 -10.6 Iceland -1.0 -0.9 -0.7 -1.0 -1.1 -1.1 -0.8 -0.8 Ireland 0.1 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.9 2.0 3.5 4.5 Italy 27.8 24.8 26.9 31.8 30.3 29.9 57.1 n/a Japan 163.4 173.0 168.3 167.6 191.4 218.6 230.2 237.0 Mexico2 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a -16.7 -13.4 Netherlands -6.1 -3.9 -5.3 -6.8 -7.4 -9.2 0.5 -0.5 New Zealand -4.1 -3.7 -4.8 -5.2 -4.2 -4.9 -4.8 -5.5 Norway -8.5 -7.9 -6.9 -8.1 -7.3 -7.8 -7.9 -9.2 Portugal -2.3 -4.5 -3.7 -5.4 -6.2 -7.9 -5.0 -5.0 Spain -7.1 -12.4 -17.4 -20.2 -21.8 -22.5 -9.1 -8.2 Sweden 5.2 5.5 3.9 4.6 7.5 8.7 10.0 11.8 Switzerland 0.2 -0.2 -1.0 1.5 1.8 6.3 8.1 0.0 Turkey 6.8 -1.6 -1.8 -5.2 -5.3 -5.3 -10.2 -2.8 UK -16.3 -30.4 -30.4 -23.4 -10.7 -18.0 -27.4 -14.0 USA -152.0 -147.0 -132.9 -102.9 -79.9 -99.7 -133.8 n/a Note:
1 Manufactured goods are defined as sections 5 to 8 of the standard international trade classification2 Comparable data for Mexico for 1979 to 1992 are not available.Source:
OECD Series C.OECD Impex 1995.International Trade—World Trade Organisation.
§ Mr. CunninghamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the United Kingdom manufactured balance of trade for each year since 1979; and what was, in each year, the percentage change from the previous year. [24778]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 16 April 1996]: The balance of trade for manufactured goods is published by the Central Statistical Office in the monthly review of external trade statistics, which is available in the Library of the House. It is also available on the central shared database, which can be accessed from the Library of the House.
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§ Mr. CunninghamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the level of manufacturing capital investment in(a) the west midlands and (b) the United Kingdom for each year since 1979; and if he will express the figures in (i) real terms and (ii) percentage change on the previous year. [24780]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 16 April 1996]: Figures for capital investment in manufacturing industry in the west midlands are not available in real terms. Figures for the United Kingdom are shown in the table. 573W
Investment in Manufacturing Industry in the United Kingdom 1979 to 1995 £ million (constant 1990 prices) Growth from the previous year (per cent.) 1979 13,558 5.6 1980 12,307 -9.2 1981 9,985 -18.9 1982 9,518 -4.7 1983 9,413 -1.1 1984 10,975 16.6 1985 12,710 15.8 1986 12,097 -4.8 1987 12,641 4.5 1988 13,846 9.5 1989 14,984 8.2 1990 14,227 -5.1 1991 12,803 -10.0 1992 11,828 -7.6 1993 11,104 -6.1 1994 11,831 6.5 1995 12,736 7.6
§ Mr. CunninghamTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the manufacturing output in(a) the west midlands and (b) the United Kingdom for each year since 1979 in real terms; and what was the percentage change in each year against the previous year. [24782]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 16 April 1996]: Figures for manufacturing output in the west midlands are not available in real terms. Figures for the Untied Kingdom are shown in the table.
1990=100 Growth from the previous year (per cent.) 1979 90.6 -0.2 1980 82.8 -8.6 1981 77.7 -6.2 1982 77.6 -0.1 1983 79.2 2.1 1984 82.2 3.8 1985 84.5 2.8 1986 85.6 1.3 1987 89.6 4.7 1988 95.9 7.0 1989 100.2 4.5 1990 100 -0.2 1991 94.6 -5.4 1992 94.0 -0.6 1993 95.1 1.2 1994 99.2 4.3 1995 101.1 1.9