§ 97. Mr. J. P. W. Mallalieuasked the Minister of Technology whether the Navy Department has completed its evaluation of a British Hovercraft Corporation hovercraft for a naval rôle; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. David PriceThe BH7 hovercraft, to which the hon. Member must be referring, is currently undergoing specification trials with the manufacturer. This will be followed by the Department's Acceptance trials using the Interservice Hovercraft Unit. The Naval Evaluation Trials are scheduled for middle of 1971, after certain additional equipment has been fitted, and are expected to take up to two years.
154Wregulated by reference to the cost-of-living index.
§ Mr. BryanSome 150,000 manual workers are now covered by "cost-of-living sliding-scale arrangements" based on the official index of retail prices.
It is estimated that the total includes about 70,000 men and 60,000 women.
A list of the industries concerned is given below: