HC Deb 20 January 1993 vol 217 cc364-5
4. Mr. Dunn

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the change in manufacturing productivity for the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

The Minister for Industry (Mr. Tim Sainsbury)

Manufacturing productivity in the three months to October 1992 was at record levels, 2 per cent. higher than in the previous three months and 5 per cent. higher than the same period a year earlier.

Mr. Dunn

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Would he care to speculate on what those figures might be if all the restrictive practices that we abandoned, abolished and swept away were reimposed according to the policy of the Labour party?

Mr. Sainsbury

That is a good point. It is ghastly to contemplate where we might be if we had not introduced our reforms of industrial relations law, in the teeth of persistent opposition from Labour.

Mr. Snape

Does the Minister accept that in the real world, under a Conservative Government, total employment in manufacturing continues to decline, particularly in the west midlands? Instead of planting silly questions such as this, will the right hon. Gentleman tell us what action the Government will take to save this vital sector of British Industry?

Mr. Sainsbury

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will agree that if we are to have an internationally competitive manufacturing sector, its productivity must be of the highest standard. The hon. Gentleman should bear in mind the fact that, because of our changes to industrial relations law, productivity growth in manufacturing industry since 1979 has been three times as fast as that achieved under the last Labour Government.