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House of Commons
Wednesday 24 November 1993
The House met at half-past Two o'clock
PRAYERS
[ Madam Speaker-- in the Chair ]
BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
Ordered,
That there be laid before this House a Return for Session 1992-93 of--
(1) the total number of Questions to Ministers or other Members which stood on the Order Paper, distinguishing those set down for oral, written priority and written answer
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respectively, the number of days upon which replies to Questions for oral answers were given in the House ; and the total number of Questions for oral answer to which such answers were given in the House ;(2) the total number of Notices of Motions given for an early day ;
(3) the number of Members ordered to withdraw from the House under Standing Order No. 42 (Disorderly conduct), showing separately the orders given in the House and those given in Committee ; and the Members suspended from the service of the House under Standing Order No. 43 (Order in debate) or otherwise, distinguishing whether the offence was committed in the House or in Committee, the period of such suspension, the number of occasions on which more than one Member was so suspended having jointly disregarded the authority of the Chair, and the number of occasions on which the attention of the House was called to the need for recourse to force to compel obedience to the Speaker's direction ; and
(4) the number of public petitions presented to the House distinguishing separately those brought to the Table at the times specified by Standing Order No. 133 (Time and manner of presenting petitions).-- [The First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means.]
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Closure of Debate and allocation of time
Ordered,
That there be laid before this House a Return for Session 1992-93 of-
(A) applications of Standing Order No. 35 (Closure of debate)-
(1) in the House and in Committee of the whole House, under the following heads:
1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |6
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Date when |Question before |Whether in |Whether assent |Assent withheld because,|Result of Motion
Closure claimed, |House or |House or |given to Motion |in the opinion of the |and, if a Division,
and by whom |Committee |Committee |or withheld by |Chair, a decision would |Numbers for
|when claimed |the Chair |shortly be arrived at |and against
|without that Motion
-------
and
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(2) in the Standing Committees under the following heads:
1 |2 |3 |4 |5
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Date when |Question before |Whether assent |Assent withheld because,|Result of Motion
Closure claimed, |Committee when |given to Motion |in the opinion of the |and, if a Division,
and by whom |claimed |or withheld by |Chair, a decision would |Numbers for
|the Chair |shortly be arrived at |and against
|without that Motion
-------
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(B) applications of Standing Order No. 28 (Powers of Chair to propose
question)-
(1) in the House and in Committee of the whole House, under the following heads:
1 |2 |3 |4 |5
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Date when |Whether in |Whether claimed |Whether assent |Result of Motion
Closure claimed, |House or |in respect of |given to Motion |and, if a Division,
and by whom |Committee |Motion or |or withheld by |Numbers for
|Amendment |the Chair |and against
-------
and
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(2) in the Standing Committees under the following heads:
1 |2 |3 |4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date when |Whether claimed |Whether assent |Result of Motion
Closure claimed, |in respect of |given to Motion |and, if a Division,
and by whom |Motion or |or withheld |Numbers for
|Amendment |by the Chair |and against
-------
and
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(C) the number of Bills in respect of which allocation of time orders (distinguishing where appropriate orders supplementary to a previous order) were made under Standing Order No. 81 (Allocation of time to Bills), showing in respect of each Bill(i) the number of sittings allotted to the consideration of the Bill in Standing Committee by any report of a Business Sub-Committee under Standing Order No. 103 (Business sub-committees) agreed to by the Standing Committee, and the number of sittings of the Standing Committee pursuant thereto ; and
(ii) the number of days or portions of days allotted by the allocation of time order and any supplementary order to the consideration of the Bill at any stage in the House or in committee, together with the number of days upon which proceedings were so taken in the House or in committee.
Delegated Legislation :-- Return for Session 1992-93 of-- (A) the numbers of Instruments subject to the different forms of parliamentary procedure and those for which no parliamentary procedure is prescribed by statute (1) laid before the House ; and (2) considered by the Joint Committee and Select Committee on Statutory Instruments respectively pursuant to their orders of reference, setting out the grounds on which Instruments may be drawn to the special attention of the House under Standing Order No. 124 (Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)) and specifying the number of Instruments so reported under each of these grounds ; and (B) the numbers of Instruments considered by a Standing Committee on Statutory Instruments, &c., and by the House respectively, showing the number where the Question on the proceedings relating thereto was put forthwith under paragraph (5) of Standing Order No. 101 (Standing Committees on Statutory Instruments, &c.).-- [The First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means.]
DELEGATED LEGISLATION
Ordered,
That there be laid before this House a Return for Session 1992-93 of
(A) the numbers of Instruments subject to the different forms of parliamentary procedure and those for which no parliamentary procedure is prescribed by statute (1) laid before the House ; and (2) considered by the Joint Committee and Select Committee on Statutory Instruments respectively pursuant to their orders of reference, setting out the grounds on which Instruments may be drawn to the special attention of the House under Standing Order No. 124 (Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee) and specifying the number of Instruments so reported under each of these grounds ; and (B) the numbers of Instruments considered by a Standing Committee on Statutory Instruments, &c., and by the House respectively, showing the number where the Question on the proceedings relating thereto was put forthwith under paragraph (5) of Standing Order No. 101 (Standing Committees on Statutory Instruments, &c.).-- [The First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means.]
PRIVATE BILLS AND PRIVATE BUSINESS
Ordered,
That there be laid before this House a Return for Session 1992-93 of--
(1) The number of Private Bills, Hybrid Bills, Bills for the confirmation of Orders under the Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act 1936, and Bills for confirming Provisional Orders introduced into this House, and brought from the House of Lords, and of Acts passed, specifying also the dates of the House's consideration of the several stages of such Bills ;
(2) All Private Bills, Hybrid Bills and Bills for confirming Provisional Orders which were reported on by Committees on Opposed Bills or by Committees nominated by the House or partly by the House and partly by the Committee of Selection, together with the names of the selected Members who served on each Committee ; the first and also the last day of the sitting of each Committee ; the number of days on which each Committee sat ; the number of days on which each selected Member served ; the number of days occupied by each Bill in Committee ; the Bills of which the Preambles were reported to have been proved ; the Bills of which the Preambles were reported to have been not proved ; and in the case of Bills for confirming Provisional Orders, whether the Provisional Order ought or ought not to be confirmed ;
(3) All Private Bills and Bills for confirming Provisional Orders which were referred by the Committee of Selection to the Committee on Unopposed Bills, together with the names of the Members who served on the Committee ; the number of days on which the Committee sat ; and the number of days on which each Member attended ;
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(4) The number of Bills to confirm Orders under the Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act 1936, distinguishing those proceeded with under section 7 and under section 9 respectively ; specifying, in the case of Bills proceeded with under section 9 against which petitions were deposited, whether a motion was made to refer the Bill to a joint committee, and if so whether such motion was made to refer the Bill to a joint committee, and if so whether such motion was agreed to, withdrawn, negatived or otherwise disposed of ; and stating for each joint committee to which a Bill was referred the names of the Members of this House nominated thereto, the first and last day of the committee's sitting, the number of days on which each joint committee sat for the consideration of the Bill referred to it, the number of days on which each Member of the committee served, and whether the committee reported that the order ought or ought not be confirmed ;(5) The number of Private Bills, Hybrid Bills, Bills for the confirmation of Orders under the Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act 1936, and Bills for confirming Provisional Orders withdrawn or not proceeded with by the parties, those Bills being specified which were referred to Committees and dropped during the sittings of the committee ; and
(6) The membership, work, costs and staff of the Court of Referees and the Standing Orders Committee.-- [The First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means.]
PUBLIC BILLS
Ordered,
That there be laid before this House a Return to Session 1992-93 of the number of Public Bills (other than Bills to confirm Provisional Orders and Bills to confirm Orders under the Private Legislation Procedure (Scotland) Act 1936) distinguishing Government from other Bills, introduced into this House, or brought from the House of Lords, showing--
(1) the number which received the Royal Assent, and
(2) the number which did not receive the Royal Assent, indicating those which were introduced into but not passed by this House, those passed by this House but not by the House of Lords, those passed by the House of Lords but not by this House, those passed by both Houses but Amendments not agreed to ; and distinguishing the stages at which such Bills were dropped, postponed or rejected in either House of Parliament, or the stages which such Bills had reached by the time of Prorogation.-- [The First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means.]
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SITTINGS OF THE HOUSE
Ordered,
That there be laid before this House a Return for Session 1992-93 of the days on which the House sat ; stating for each day the day of the month and day of the week, the hour of the meeting, and the hour of the adjournment ; the total numbers of hours occupied in the sittings of the House ; and the average time ; showing the number of hours on which the House sat each day and the number of hours after the time appointed for the interruption of business ; and specifying, for each principal type of business before the House, how much time was spent thereon, distinguishing from the total the time spent after the hour appointed for the interruption of business.-- [The First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means.]
SPECIAL PROCEDURE ORDERS
Ordered,
That there be laid before this House a Return for Session 1992-93 of--
(1) The number of Special Procedure Orders presented ; the number withdrawn ; the number annulled ; the number against which Petitions or copies of Petitions were deposited ; the number of Petitions of General Objection and for Amendment respectively considered by the Chairmen ; the number of such petitions certified by the Chairmen as proper to be received and the number certified by them as being Petitions of General Objection and for Amendment respectively ; the number referred to a Joint Committee of both Houses ; the number reported with Amendments by a Joint Committee, and the number in relation to which a Joint Committee reported that the Order be not approved and be amended respectively ; and the number of Bills introduced for the confirmation of Special Procedure Orders ; and (2) Special Procedure Orders which were referred to a Joint Committee, together with the names of the Commons Members who served on each Committee ; the number of days on which each committee sat ; and the number of days on which each such Member attended.-- [The First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means.]
STANDING COMMITTEES
Ordered,
That there be laid before this House a Return for Session 1992-93 of--
(1) the total number and the names of all Members (including and distinguishing Chairmen) who have been appointed to serve on one or more Standing Committees showing, with regard to each of such Members, the number of sittings to which he was summoned and at which he was present ;
(2) the number of Bills, Estimates, Matters and other items referred to Standing Committees pursuant to Standing Order No. 101 (Standing Committees on Statutory Instruments, &c.), or Standing Order No. 102 (European Standing Committees) considered by all and by each of the Standing Committees, the number of sittings of each Committee and the titles of all Bills, Estimates, Matters and other items as above considered by a Committee, distinguishing where a Bill was a Government Bill or was brought from the House of Lords, and showing in the case of each Bill, Estimate, Matter and other item, the particular Committee by which it was considered, the number of sittings at which it was considered (including, in the case of the Scottish Grand Committee, the number of Meetings held in Edinburgh, pursuant to a motion made under paragraph 3 of Standing Order No. 94 (Scottish Grand Committee)) and the number of Members present at each of those sittings ; and
(3) the membership, work, costs and staff of the Chairmen's Panel.-- [The First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means.]
SELECT COMMITTEES
Ordered,
That there be laid before this House a Return for Session 1992-93 of information and statistics relating to the membership, work, costs and staff of Select Committees (other than the Standing Orders Committee).-- [The First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means.]
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Oral Answers to Questions
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Deregulation
1. Mr. Bates : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the progress of deregulation proposals.
The President of the Board of Trade and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Mr. Michael Heseltine) : As announced in the Gracious Speech, we will introduce a major Bill to deregulate and to remove obstacles to contracting out by central and local government.
Mr. Bates : I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Is he prepared to consider giving priority to deregulation in the small business sector because while many large corporations and institutions believe that they may have the structures to support unnecessary bureaucracy, to the small business man and the entrepreneur that bureaucracy can often be the difference between success and failure?
Mr. Heseltine : My hon. Friend clearly understands the problem. In all the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr. Hamilton) on the deregulation initiative, we have ensured that small business representatives have been included in the consultative process.
Mr. Malcolm Bruce : May I follow the hon. Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Bates) and ask whether the President of the Board of Trade accepts that many small businesses feel that the imposition of statutory sick benefit, the draconian penalties in relation to VAT collection and the collection of statistics for exports, which deter small companies from seeking export business, should be considered as part of the deregulation programme and not just aspects that affect consumer protection or health and safety?
Mr. Heseltine : The hon. Gentleman is out of date because we have made significant exemptions in respect of the VAT system for small businesses.
Mr. Spring : Is my right hon. Friend aware of how much unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy emanates at local level? Will he assure the House that, as he seeks to encourage deregulation, local government plays a part in that important process?
Mr. Heseltine : My hon. Friend raises an important point and the answer is yes.
Mr. Robin Cook : Is the President of the Board of Trade aware that of the regulations that he is reviewing as a burden on business, 71 per cent. have been introduced since the Conservatives took office and 21 per cent. since the Prime Minister took office? Has anybody told him that the second largest number of regulations are in the DTI, of which 84 per cent. have been introduced since the Conservatives took office, 27 per cent. since the Prime Minister took office and 13 per cent. since he became President of the Board of Trade? As the overwhelming majority of the burdens on business have been introduced by the Conservatives, is there no one in the Conservative
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Government willing to defend their record of 14 years of regulating that includes the record of the President of the Board of Trade?Mr. Heseltine : I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. That is excellent news and shows how determined we are to continue improving our performance.
Small Businesses, London
2. Mr. Shersby : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his policy for encouraging the expansion of small businesses in the Greater London area.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Mr. Patrick McLoughlin) : The Department provides a range of services in London and elsewhere designed to allow small businesses to operate with the maximum freedom and efficiency. In particular, the Business Link network that my Department is helping to develop will greatly strengthen the delivery of those services together with other business support organisations at local level.
Mr. Shersby : Does my hon. Friend agree that most small firms are well managed and if they were not, they would probably not be in business ? Will he take every opportunity to relieve them of the burdens of paperwork that afflicts them as part of the deregulation initiative and give the House an example of the kind of burdens that are to be removed?
Mr. McLoughlin : I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he has said. As for the examples for which he asked, he will have to wait for the publication of the deregulation Bill to which my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has just referred.
Mr. Gapes : Does the Minister agree that the biggest problem for small businesses in Greater London is the impact of the recession? In my constituency, where one adult male in six is currently unemployed, there is certainly no glimmer of hope : unemployment has doubled in the past five years, and is twice as high now as it was when the Prime Minister came to office.
Mr. McLoughlin : The hon. Gentleman overlooks the important point that small businesses contribute to employment opportunities. Given the whingeing that we hear from Opposition Members, it is no surprise that such businesses have no confidence in the Labour party.
Mr. John Marshall : Does my hon. Friend agree that the greatest boost for small firms in Greater London will come from a more prosperous economy? Will not those firms welcome the fact that interest rates are at their lowest for 25 years, and the fact that inflation is at its lowest for a generation?
Mr. McLoughlin : My hon. Friend is, of course, correct. Those underlying factors are giving great confidence to
businesses--including small businesses--not just in London, but throughout the United Kingdom.
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : I welcome all measuress to help small businesses, but why have the Government done so little to crack down on the banks that are persecuting so many small businesses? Is he aware of the survey carried out by the Forum of Private Business? [Interruption.] Conservative Members sneer at its 21,000 membership,
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but the survey showed that, in the past six months, 50 per cent. of respondents had found that banks were to introduce tougher charging policies. When will the Minister crack down on those banks, and eliminate practices that are doing so much harm to so many small businesses and individuals?Mr. McLoughlin : What the hon. Gentleman never tells us is what his party would do. The simple fact is that, since we have been in government, some 400,000 new businesses have started up each year. That is a far greater success than was ever achieved during the socialist years of Labour government.
Deregulation
3. Mr. Hendry : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the progress of his deregulation initiative.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Corporate Affairs (Mr. Neil Hamilton) : We have made reasonable progress on the deregulation initiative so far, but we cannot be satisfied with the progress that we have made. What we are trying to achieve is a culture change on the part of Ministers and Departments--and, I like to think, possibly a culture change on the part of the Opposition as well. There will be a deregulation Bill, which will shortly be introduced in the House. The proof of the pudding will be whether the Opposition are prepared to support us.
Mr. Hendry : I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. I assure him that the business community in my constituency considers that the Government have no more vital task than tackling over-regulation. Will my hon. Friend assure the House that, as well as tackling over-regulation-- which he is determined to do--he will tackle over-zealous inspectors, who all too often appear keen to put out of business small, successful firms for the sake of some unnecessary and expensive regulation dreamt up by some inspector who knows nothing about the businesses that are affected?
Mr. Hamilton : I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. Regulations that might otherwise be thought reasonable can be made unreasonable if they are interpreted and enforced excessively. Through our local authority, business partnership initiative schemes, we are seeking to bring business and local authority enforcers together, so that authorities can understand their obligation to keep regulation within reason, and so that regulation does not become a burden on business.
Mr. Burden : It is easy to parrot cliches about deregulation, but is it not disgraceful that the Government should even consider weakening health and safety standards, when last year no fewer than 28,000 people suffered serious injury at work?
Mr. Hamilton : There is one regulation--uniquely--that I would like to introduce : a regulation to compel Opposition Members to know what they are talking about before they stand up. I realise that it would deny us a good deal of innocent entertainment, especially from the Opposition Front Bench, but I am prepared to forgo that enjoyment. The hon. Gentleman is, of course, completely wrong. We do not intend to interfere with sensible health and
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safety regulations. The scales may fall from his eyes if I read him a press release from my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Mr. Forsyth), the Minister of State, Department of Employment, who is responsible for the Health and Safety Commission. The press release states :"The purpose of the review being undertaken by the Health and Safety Commission is to simplify, clarify and to update health and safety legislation. There is certainly no plan to sacrifice the high standards already in place--in fact, the aim is to improve them by judicious pruning."
Sir Michael Grylls : Does my hon. Friend accept that his initiative in introducing the Bill and really get the deregulation programme moving is welcome throughout the country? It is of prime importance, particularly to smaller firms, as my hon. Friend has said. When he comes to consider an announcement on the abolition of the statutory audit, will my hon. Friend resist pressure from other parts of Government to make it a mouse rather than a major announcement--in other words, to include all unquoted companies? There is no necessity for a statutory audit of any privately owned company. It would be disappointing if he were to abolish that audit for just certain companies.
Mr. Hamilton : I regard resistance as a negative attitude. My job is to be more pro-active than that and to attack Government Departments that are not playing a prominent enough part in the deregulation initiative. I shall bear in mind what my hon. Friend says about small company audits, and I hope a decision on that will be announced very quickly.
Technology Transfer 4. Mr. Maxton : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans his Department has to assist with technology transfer from defence-related activities ; and if he will make a statement.
The Minister for Industry (Mr. Tim Sainsbury) : A number of schemes in my Department assist technology transfer, including transfer from defence-related activities.
Mr. Maxton : When the United States Government are planning to spend $19.5 billion over the next five years on retraining programmes, investment programmes and incentive schemes to deal with the problem of technology transfer from defence industries, is not the Government's attitude to this problem irresponsible and dangerously complacent? Is the Minister prepared to see the skills of thousands of highly qualified and trained workers lost to our economy for ever? When will the Government come up with the same sort of package as that of the Clinton Administration?
Mr. Sainsbury : The most important factor in encouraging technology transfer from the defence industries is to have the right climate to encourage innovation. That is what the Government are determined to support and the Opposition persistently oppose. Let me remind the hon. Gentleman of some of the schemes we have. Apart from the budget for industrial revolution [Interruption.] sorry,
innovation--innovation often needs satisfactory revolution--we have the pathfinder programme, the dual use technology centres, the defence research information centre and the changing tack seminars, all of which have been strongly welcomed by industry.
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Mr. Mans : Does my right hon. Frieat would produce a partnership and bring research and development forward, and the commercial and military use of such research could be equally exploited.
Mr. Sainsbury : I strongly agree with what my hon,. Friend says from his specialist knowledge. My Department is working closely with the Ministry of Defence. The identification of civilian applications for defence research technology is steadily improving to the benefit of industry.
Mr. Caborn : I am not asking the Minister for a revolution, but does he acknowledge that there is great concern, particularly in the aerospace industry, about the question of technology transfer ? What steps will his Department take to rearrange and reorganise that, as requested in the recent Select Committee report on the aerospace industry? The industry and the Select Committee are concerned about the lack of action from the Minister's Department and the Ministry of Defence. We are not getting the best out of our industry, and we are not assisting firms to stay at the competitive edge of leading technologies.
Mr. Sainsbury : As the hon. Gentleman knows, we work closely with the aircraft industry in our civil aircraft research and development programme, known as CARAD. The directions in which we spend the money in that programme have been identified by the industry as being the most important. That is the most effective way that we can continue to benefit the industry from our research and development programmes.
Mr. Bill Walker : Does my right hon. Friend agree that one of the most effective and efficient ways of transferring technology is to ensure that the present companies involved in the supply of defence equipment continue to receive the orders already committed, such as those committed to Babcock Thorn at Rosyth, which has demonstrated very clearly how technology transfer can be operated in practice ?
Mr. Sainsbury : The matter to which my hon. Friend refers is primarily one for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence, but one way in which to strengthen defence companies and thus enable them to have the resources to look for methods to transfer their technology to civilian uses is by the successful sale of defence equipment overseas. I take this opportunity to congratulate defence industries on their success in that respect.
Trade (Japan)
7. Mr. Viggers : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the current trade balance with Japan.
The Minister for Trade (Mr. Richard Needham) : Despite the difficult economic conditions in Japan, United Kingdom exports rose 19 per cent. in the first 10 months of 1993 compared with the corresponding period in 1992. The United Kingdom has a visible trade deficit with Japan which, for the same period, stands at £4,894 million.
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Mr. Viggers : Does my hon. Friend agree that raw statistics are rather misleading because of the variation in value between the yen and the pound? The true position is that our exporters have performed strongly in the Japanese market in recent years. Is my hon. Friend in a position to make an announcement now about the successor to the extremely successful Priority Japan programme?
Mr. Needham : My hon. Friend is right. If we look at the balance between exports and imports to Japan, we see that it has hardly changed in the past five years and is better than it was in the early 1980s. Our exports to Japan have increased by 20 per cent. this year against a difficult background. We continue to attract enormous investment from Japan. I will announce the successor to the Priority Japan programme in the next few weeks and I am sure that it will command the support and backing of the House and British industry.
Mrs. Anne Campbell : Is the Minister aware that the Japanese have now identified the aerospace and pharmaceutical industries as the ones in which special effort and special investment will be made in the next few years? Currently, we do quite well against Japan in those industries. What does the Minister think that those British industries will be like by the year 2000 in comparison with the Japanese industries?
Mr. Needham : We have among the most competitive and successful pharmaceutical and aerospace industries in the world. The only way in which that position could alter is if the hon. Lady and her hon. Friends ever sat on the Government Benches and imposed the ridiculous rules that they want to introduce, which would undermine the competitiveness of our country and make our competitive position more difficult than it would otherwise be.
Mr. Butcher : My hon. Friend will be aware that the United States is looking increasingly eastwards towards Japan and the Pacific basin as the areas of more dynamic growth and trade than that offered by Europe. As a counter to that trend, is my hon. Friend prepared to encourage negotiations to establish a north Atlantic free trade area, which would dynamise the economies of the western European ports, such as our own and the American eastern seaboard? Does my hon. Friend agree that, if we could achieve that, it would be an important subset at the GATT negotiations?
Mr. Needham : I am for dynamising wherever I can go. Western European/Asia-Pacific trade is now greater than north
American/European trade and that trend is likely to continue. The most important aspect of that for the British economy is whether Britain is taking maximum advantage of our opportunities in the east. The answer is yes. For example, our own exports to China are up more than 100 per cent. this year and those to Hong Kong have increased by 48 per cent. Throughout the far east, British industry, British commerce and British services, with the help of the British Government, are doing remarkably well and we will continue to concentrate on that part of the world.
Manufacturing
8. Mr. Hain : To ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will give figures for the percentage change of manufacturing as a proportion of gross domestic product since 1978-79.
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