§ Mr. Roy Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Industry what he estimates to be the overall shortage of skilled metallurgists; and what information he has about the extent of the shortage in Wales.
§ Mr. Michael MeacherThe latest information available is from the Professional and Executive Recruitment Service and relates to the end of November 1974. For Great Britain there were 349 candidates registered as metallurgists of which 115 were unemployed; the corresponding number of unfilled vacancies notified was 113. For Wales the corresponding figures were 32 candidates of which 8 were unemployed and unfilled vacancies notified were 5.
§ Mr. Loveridgeasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will list which major United Kingdom statistical tables published by HMSO now use "tons" as their unit of measurement and which use "tonnes"; and if he will make a statement on future policy.
§ Mr. MeacherIt is not practicable to provide a list of statistical tables, as the number involved is considerable. The tables are published by HMSO in a variety of publications including, for 215W example, the Monthly Digest if Statistics Annual Abstract of Statistics, United Kingdom Energy Statistics, Agricultural Statistics, Business Monitors, and the Overseas Trade Statistics for the United Kingdom. Publication policy on unit of measurement generally conforms with the practices adopted by the industries concerned.