§ 28. Mr. Juddasked the Secretary of State for Defence what are the extent and cost of work on Royal Navy ships and equipment in Portsmouth Dockyard at present being undertaken by civilian contractors.
§ Mr. J. P. W. MallalieuA wide variety of jobs worth about £34,000 for which the dockyard has no resources or no spare labour.
§ Mr. JuddWould my hon. Friend agree that certain resources of labour 426 within the dockyard are not at present being fully utilised and that to bring in contract labour appears to contradict the Government's policy on productivity and serves to have an adverse effect on the morale of the regular labour force in the dockyard, since contract labour is often paid higher rates than the local labour force?
§ Mr. MallalieuWe try to do as much work as possible with dockyard labour. However, when the dockyard labour force is fully employed or when there is some specialist job that cannot be done by that force, outside labour is employed.