§ Sir C. Osborneasked the Minister of Labour what estimate he has made of the time it will take for the labour saved by the latest cut of £150 million in public works investment to go to the export industries; how long it will take to retrain this labour; what arrangements have been made to transfer the labour from one part of the country to another; what industries he estimates will be able to absorb the labour released; how many workers are involved; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GunterIt is impracticable to make precise estimates of the kind sought. By concentrating its savings on less essential expenditure and paying due regard to the needs of development areas the Government aim to ensure that any redeployment is of maximum benefit to the economy. Vacancies, particularly for skilled workers, exist in most industries, including manufacturing industries producing exports. Where necessary, the public employment services will play their part to the full in helping workers to find suitable new jobs and assistance to transferred workers is available. The equipping of workers with the necessary skills will be assisted by the machinery of the Industrial Training Act and the resources available to Industrial Training Boards.