HC Deb 22 March 1982 vol 20 cc680-1
18. Mr. Chapman

asked the Secretary of State for Industry by what percentage the total number of employees of BL has been reduced in the last two years.

Mr. Wakeham

At the end of 1981 the number of BL employees world-wide had decreased by 29 per cent. from the level at the end of 1979. In United Kingdom employment alone, the percentage decrease over the same period was 34.5 per cent.

Mr. Chapman

I appreciate the unpopularity of British Leyland management because of those fairly dramatic reductions in its labour force, but will my hon. Friend confirm that even during this period about £1,000 million of taxpayers' money has been poured into British Leyland? Can my hon. Friend give the House any assurance that these figures will not obtain in the future and that the taxpayer will be asked to bear very little subsidy for this company?

Mr. Wakeham

The board of British Leyland has said that it does not intend to ask the Government for any more funds. Therefore, I can give the assurance that my hon. Friend seeks. I ought also to point out that output of cars per man has increased substantially in British Leyland—by some 30 per cent. in 1981 over 1980. A balanced view of the company is important.

Mr. Dalyell

Does the Minister think that his hon. Friend the Member for Chipping Barnet (Mr. Chapman) would have asked that question when he was the hon. Member for Birmingham, Handsworth in a previous Parliament? There is a difference between Chipping Barnet and Birmingham. Will the Minister also have a stab at my previous question? With 1,000 tractor engineers flung on the dole at Bathgate, where will those who want to buy British-made tractors be able to buy them?

Mr. Wakeham

I am surprised that the hon. Gentleman keeps running down the tractor industry. The British tractor industry is one of the most efficient—

Mr. Dalyell

Come off it. Just answer the question.

Mr. Wakeham

—in the world. Some 70 per cent. of the output of the British tractor industry is exported, and an increase in world demand is required so that the unused capacity in the industry can be utilised.

Mr. Hal Miller

Will my hon. Friend join me in recording our appreciation of the great increase in productivity achieved by both management and work force at BL, and also join me in looking forward to the new union agreement, leading, we hope, to a more participatory style of management?

Mr. Wakeham

I pay tribute to the achievements so far. Considerably more steps need to be taken to take full advantage of the upturn in the economy when it comes.

Mr. Park

Will the Minister, instead of regarding this slashing of the labour force as a matter of congratulation, give some thought to the possibility that in its haste to dismantle certain aspects of BL the company got rid of design teams—the very people who could have enabled it to gain a larger share of the market and thereby save this huge number of people from being thrown on the labour market?

Mr. Wakeham

The hon. Gentleman is entitled to his view, and as he represents Coventry I understand his feelings on the matter. However, the views that he expressed were not those expressed by the BL management. It is the BL management and the BL work force that we are successfully trying to support in attempting to make the motor industry viable again.

Mr. Dover

Will the Minister take this opportunity to compliment the workers at Chorley and Leyland, who, despite enormous pressure from the shop stewards, finally agreed to return to work and accept the reduction of 1,855 jobs in the Chorley and Leyland area? Surely that augurs well for future co-operation between management and men and for the profitability of BL.

Mr. Wakeham

As in many other instances, the work force has shown good sense, realising that viable jobs are the only jobs that matter in the long run.

Mr. Orme

Does the Minister agree that a successful British Leyland, which we all want, is important not just to the workers in British Leyland but to the tens of thousands of workers in the components industry, who depend for their jobs on the success of a British-owned car firm?

Mr. Wakeham

I agree. That is why we have invested a substantial amount of money in British Leyland and why we believe that its long-term viability is one of the Government's most important industrial objectives.