asked the Secretary of State for Industry what has been the percentage fall in manufacturing and output since May 1979; and what is the corresponding average fall for all other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries over the same period.

Between the first half of 1979 and the third quarter of 1982 the index of manufacturing production for the United Kingdom fell by 16 per cent. compared with a fall of 3½ per cent. for the OECD as a whole. More recently however output in the OECD as a whole has fallen much more rapidly than in the United Kingdom: 5 per cent. in the year to Q3 1982 compared with only 1½ per cent. for the United Kingdom.