§ 2. Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what she estimates to be the numbers of employed people who are left-handed; if she will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT any available breakdown; and if she will initiate an investigation into the increases in productivity which may be achieved by introducing left-handed working arrangements for left-handed people.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity (Mr. Harold Walker)My Department has not made any such estimates, but some current research suggests that about 5 per cent. of the population is completely left-handed, and many more have some degree of left-handedness. Most left-handed persons adapt themselves to existing machinery and plant layout and I have no evidence that the problems of such persons are a sufficient obstacle to increased productivity to call for a special investigation.
§ Mr. RobertsIs my hon. Friend aware that my experience completely contradicts the latter part of his Answer? Is he further aware that in industry the production of an individual or even the production of a team is often hampered by the left-handed person who finds himself in difficulty in a right-handed world? Does he appreciate that this is a serious matter which needs attention not at individual firm level but at Government level to ensure that help is given in terms of machines and industrial working layouts?
§ Mr. WalkerI am sure that my hon. Friend's experience also tells him that the same equipment would invariably have to be used by right-handed people; in other words, if machines were altered to suit left-handed people, the problems which now afflict them would tend to afflict right-handed people. The difficulties which my hon. Friend has in mind are quite well known in industry and I do not believe that the cost of further investigations would be justified by the net results.
§ Mr. Biggs-DavisonWhich handed is the Secretary of State for Social Services?