§ 44. Mr. Eadieasked the Minister of Power what estimate he has made of wastage of manpower in the mining industry in 1969.
§ Mr. FreesonWhile it is not possible to make a precise estimate, I expect that in 1969, wastage from all causes other than redundancy will be rather lower than the figure of about 45,000 estimated by the N.C.B. for 1968.
§ Mr. EadieI thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Is he aware—he probably is—that the figures which he has given 1239 make nonsense of the estimate in the fuel and power White Paper? Is this not a further example of how the White Paper should be entirely scrapped and replaced with fresh estimates?
§ Mr. FreesonIt is fair to say that the figure of 35,000 men, to which my hon. Friend refers, was spread over a number of years. We expect that, in the later years of the period covered by the White Paper estimates, we will come closer to the original 35,000 men than we have done this year.