§ 12. Mr. Lawsonasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he can now state what redundancies are likely to occur at Hawker Siddeley, Bitteswell, as a result of the present Government's defence cuts.
§ Mr. William RodgersThe number of redundancies at particular factories depends not only on our decisions on defence cuts but on decisions by management on such matters as the reallocation of work within the company and changes in the amount of work put out to sub-contract.
§ Mr. LawsonIs the Minister aware that the uncertainty caused by the defence cuts, the fears of redundancy and the uncertainty that will be caused by his failure to answer my Question is very unsettling for the fine work force at Hawker Siddeley, Bitteswell, in my constituency? Will he allay that uncertainty by giving a more forthcoming answer to questions about the Government's curmudgeonly attitude to potential overseas customers, who are important for Hawker Siddeley in general and for Hawker Siddeley, Bitteswell?
§ Mr. RodgersI entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman about the very fine 261 work force of Bitteswell. I had the advantage of discussing some of these matters recently with their representatives. As I am sure the hon. Gentleman will agree, in the last resort it is for management to decide, after consultation, how best to use the work force in the light of the orders available. I am sure that management will do that and take account of all we have said here and enter into further discussions if it so wishes.
§ Mr. Leslie HuckfieldWill my hon. Friend accept that the men who work on the Argosy conversion project have a special case since four out of 14 of the aircraft conversions are already partially completed? Does he realise that it is probably cheaper to complete those conversions which have been started than to cancel them?
§ Mr. RodgersMy hon. Friend has put down a later Question on this subject, but I am afraid that his assumption is incorrect.