§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the average rate of return on manufacturing investment in the(a) United Kingdom and (b) Northern Region in the last five years. [90984]
§ Ms HewittThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the Director of the Office for National Statistics. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. Gerry Steinberg, dated 13 July 1999:
In the absence of the Director of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your recent parliamentary question on the rate of return on manufacturing investment.Rates of return were last published in the ONS First Release, Profitability of UK companies in July 1997, which is available in the House of Commons Library. The estimates for the rate of return on capital employed by manufacturing companies in the United Kingdom were:
- 1991: 4.3%
- 1992: 5.1%
- 1993: 6.2%
- 1994: 8.0%
- 1995: 8.8%
The estimates are being up-dated and converted to the definitions in the European System of Accounts, 1995 and the next issue of the First Release is expected to be in November 1999. There are no estimates of rates of return by region.