asked the Secretary of State for Trade what study he has made of the differences between accounting and auditing practice in the United Kingdom or other countries of the European Community and the problems that would occur in the event of harmonisation of such practices.
My Department has taken account of the differences in accounting and auditing practice between the United Kingdom and other member States in its consideration of EEC proposals for harmonisation of the form and content of company accounts consolidated accounts and auditors qualifications. These proposals and their likely effect on United Kingdom law and practice are the subject of continuing detailed study by the Department in consultation with the accountancy profession and representatives of other interested organisations.
asked the Secretary of State for Trade what was the approximate amount of United Kingdom capital investment in the original six member States of the EEC for each of the years
| UNITED KINGDOM DIRECT INVESTMENT* IN THE ORIGINAL SIX MEMBER STATES OF THE EEC | ||||||||||
| £ million | ||||||||||
| 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | ||||||||
| Agriculture, forestry and fishing | … | … | … | 0·1 | 0·2 | 0·7 | ||||
| Mining and quarrying | … | … | … | … | … | ·· | — | -0·1 | ||
| Mechanical engineering and instrument engineering | … | 7·4† | 9·2† | 23·8 | ||||||
| Electrical engineering | … | … | … | … | … | 6·7 | ||||
| Shipbuilding and vehicles (excluding motors) | … | … | ·· | 14·1‡ | -0·5 | |||||
| Motor vehicle manufacture | … | … | … | … | 8·3 | |||||
| Food drink and tobacco | … | … | … | … | … | 54·0† | 148·1† | 33·9 | ||
| Chemical and allied industries | … | … | … | … | 16·4 | |||||
| Metal manufacture | … | … | … | … | … | 0·3 | ||||
| Textiles, leather clothing and footwear | … | … | … | 3·8 | ||||||
| Paper, printing and publishing | … | … | … | … | 3·1 | |||||
| Rubber | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | -0·2 | ||
| Other manufacture | … | … | … | … | … | 12·4 | ||||
| Construction | … | … | … | … | … | … | 1·2 | 0·3 | 4·4 | |
| Transport and communications other than shipping | … | 1·5 | 1·9 | 7·3 | ||||||
| Shipping | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | 0·8 | 1·6 | 0·1 |
| Distributive trades | … | … | … | … | … | 18·6 | 39·8 | 75·1 | ||
| Other financial institutions | … | … | … | … | -6·2 | -2·9 | 0·4 | |||
| Property owning and managing | … | … | … | … | 0·2† | 50·2† | -7·8 | |||
| Other activities | … | … | … | … | … | … | 34·0 | |||
| Total | … | … | … | … | … | … | 77·8‡ | 262·5‡ | 222·4‡ | |
| * Excluding oil. | ||||||||||
| † Figures for industries bracketed together were not compiled separately for 1970 and 1971. | ||||||||||
| ‡ Components do not necessarily add to totals because each figure has been rounded independently; also, for 1970, figures not shown separately are included in the total. | ||||||||||
| — Nil or less than £50,000. | ||||||||||
| ·· Figures cannot be shown separately because information about individual firms would be disclosed. | ||||||||||
asked the Secretary of State for Trade (1) if he will publish a table in the Official Report showing the changes in the level and balance of trade between the United Kingdom and the six original members of the European Economic Community, identifying where practicable those items where any significant
1970 to 1974, indicating where practicable the categories of enterprise in which such investment has been made, including that of productive industry.
The information available is given in the table below. It relates to United Kingdom investment net of disinvestment; portfolio, oil and miscellaneous investment—including other investment in real estate—are not covered. United Kingdom direct investment is the total investment by United Kingdom companies in their overseas branches, subsidiaries and associates, including reinvested profits; separate information is not available on the investment in fixed assets of these overseas affiliates. Corresponding information relating to 1973 will be published in this year's Business Monitor, M4, Overseas Transactions.changes have occurred, between the years 1970 and 1974;(2) If he will publish in the
Official Report a table showing the changes in the level and balance of trade between the United Kingdom and Denmark and Eire, respectively, identifying where practicable those items where any significant
changes have occurred, between the years 1970 and 1974.
There is no commodity analysis of trade on a balance of payments basis, and it is therefore necessary to use information on an overseas trade statistics basis. For 1970, information at division level relating to imports is published in Table 1 of Volume 1 of the Annual Statement of Overseas Trade; corresponding information relating to exports may be found in Table III of that publication. Similar data for 1974 is provided in Tables II and V of the monthly Overseas Trade Statistics for December 1974, an advance copy of
| SITC(R) Division | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | ||||
| 01—Meat and Meat Preparations | |||||||||
| EEC (six) | … | … | … | … | 6 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 12 |
| Denmark and Eire | … | … | … | 40 | 41 | 36 | 34 | 47 | |
| Rest of World | … | … | … | 54 | 52 | 58 | 57 | 42 | |
| 02—Dairy Products and Eggs | |||||||||
| EEC (six) | … | … | … | … | 9 | 13 | 12 | 26 | 46 |
| Denmark and Eire | … | … | … | 31 | 28 | 30 | 39 | 37 | |
| Rest of World | … | … | … | 59 | 58 | 58 | 35 | 17 | |
| 03—Fish and Fish Preparations | |||||||||
| EEC (six) | … | … | … | … | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Denmark and Eire | … | … | … | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 14 | |
| Rest of World | … | … | … | 83 | 83 | 82 | 80 | 77 | |
| 04—Cereal and Cereal Preparations | |||||||||
| EEC (six) | … | … | … | … | 18 | 19 | 22 | 39 | 50 |
| Denmark and Eire | … | … | … | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | |
| Rest of World | … | … | … | 81 | 80 | 77 | 58 | 47 | |
| 05—Fruit and Vegetables | |||||||||
| EEC (six) | … | … | … | … | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 22 |
| Denmark and Eire | … | … | … | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Rest of World | … | … | … | 80 | 80 | 78 | 79 | 77 | |
| 06—Sugar, Sugar Preparations and Honey | |||||||||
| EEC (six) | … | … | … | … | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 18 |
| Denmark and Eire | … | … | … | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Rest of World | … | … | … | 93 | 95 | 95 | 92 | 78 | |
| 07—Coffee, Tea, Cocoa, Spices and Manufactures thereof | |||||||||
| EEC (six) | … | … | … | … | 6 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 15 |
| Denmark and Eire | … | … | … | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 6 | |
| Rest of World | … | … | … | 90 | 90 | 87 | 84 | 79 | |
| 08—Feeding Stuffs for Animals (excluding unmilled cereals) | |||||||||
| EEC (six) | … | … | … | … | 9 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 16 |
| Denmark and Eire | … | … | … | 12 | 16 | 20 | 18 | 20 | |
| Rest of World | … | … | … | 79 | 72 | 68 | 71 | 65 | |
| 09—Miscellaneous Food Preparations | |||||||||
| EEC (six) | … | … | … | … | 27 | 32 | 44 | 48 | 50 |
| Denmark and Eire | … | … | … | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | |
| Rest of World | … | … | … | 66 | 59 | 46 | 41 | 38 | |
| Note: In some cases the figures do not add to 100 because they have been rounded to the nearest whole number. | |||||||||