§ Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity to what extent industrial development in Scotland is being retarded by the shortage of skilled manpower; and how these deficiencies are being met.
§ Mr. HattersleyThere are some shortages of skilled labour in Scotland but in very few of these occupations is there currently an excess of unfilled vacancies over wholly unemployed, and in almost all cases this excess is marginal. I do not think that the extent of these shortages is such as to constitute a serious constraint on industrial development in Scotland. Various efforts are being made to improve the situation both by Industrial Training Boards and through my 23W Department's own Government Training Centres, of which there are nine in Scotland and will be ten by 1970.