§ Mr. KidneyTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list for 1997 the gross(a) total United Kingdom mail order sales, (b) United Kingdom mail order sales split between agency sales and direct sales and (c) United Kingdom electronic home shopping market sales, expressing the gross figures in each case as a percentage of total non-food sales. [36304]
§ Dawn PrimaroloThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Chief Executive of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Tim Holt to Mr. David Kidney, dated 30 March 1998:
As Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your parliamentary question on mail order sales in the United Kingdom.The latest information available, from the annual inquiry into retail trades, is for 1996 and shows that in the United Kingdom, the total retail turnover generated by mail order sales was £7,700 million. This represents 7% of total non-food sales.There is no equivalent information on the mail order split between agency sales and direct sales or on electronic home shopping sales.