§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is his estimate of the number of jobs that will be lost as a result of the reduction in equipment orders for the Services following the 1975 and 1976 defence review and cuts; and what is his estimate of the number of jobs in the shipbuilding industry that will be lost as a result of the reduction of one-seventh in the number of destroyers, frigates and mine counter-measure vessels and one-third in Royal Fleet Auxiliaries.
§ Mr. William RodgersOn the first part of the Question, I would refer the hon. Member to the Second Report of the Expenditure Committee and the recent Defence White Paper (Cmnd. 6432). On the second part the Defence Review reductions in the Royal Navy's shipbuilding programme will mean that about 11,000 direct job opportunities in the286W shipbuilding industry will be lost over the next 10 years.