asked the President of the Board of Trade how the figures for British car exports for the first ten months of this year compare with those for the first ten months of last year.

This information is available from the October issue of the Trade and Navigation Accounts.

Would the Minister like to make any comment on the serious position which these figures reveal, in spite of an improvement in the last few weeks? He will be aware that the total is down by 37·9 per cent., that in the United States it is down by 83·5 per cent., in Canada by 53·2 per cent. and in the remainder of the Commonwealth by 18·4 per cent. These are very bad figures indeed. What is the Department doing to assist and persuade the motor industry to improve its export performance?

The fall in exports is, of course, of great concern, not only to the Government, but to the industry. With the help of my right hon. Friend's Department, manufacturers are making special efforts to recover lost ground in export markets and the latest figures, to which the hon. Member has referred, give grounds for a little hope.

Will the Minister confirm that in the United States, exports fell in the first nine months of this year to something like 15,000, compared with 127,000 last year? Despite the apparent improvement in the market due to the excellent performance of the specialist cars, is there not a long way to go before we can re-establish the situation in which the bread and butter of the motor industry—the cars of medium size and medium price—can be successfully exported to the United States?

All that is true, but it is also true that the main manufacturers are mounting greatly increased efforts in the United States.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the total exports of this industry for the first nine months of this year amounted to £430 million? Ought not the industry to be congratulated, acting, as it is, under very difficult conditions?