Optical Equipment

Mr. Fearn
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) shops and (b) manufacturers dealing with optical equipment were trading in Britain in 1987; and what are the current figures.

Mr. Norman Lamont
[holding answer 20 April 1990]: What information is available is shown in the table.---------------------------------------------------
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|(a) Shops                                        |||
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|Opticians                                        |
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|Chemists and photographic shops                  |
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|(b) Manufacturers                                |||
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|Surgical instruments and appliances              |
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|Scientific and industrial instruments and systems|
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|Photographic and document copying equipment      |
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Source: CSO Register of Businesses.