§ Mr. Banksasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the number of jobs and job opportunities, region by region, which have been lost in defence establishments and defence-based industries as a result of the Government's reduction in defence expenditure since taking office.
§ Dr. GilbertAs a result of the reduction in defence expenditure since this Government took office, it is estimated that, excluding the Royal ordnance factories which operate through a trading fund, there has to date been a net loss of some 14,000 jobs at home and overseas for civilians directly employed by the Ministry of Defence, and a reduction of some 90,000 job opportunities in the defence industries.
A breakdown of the job losses for directly employed civilians, region by region, is not readily available and I will write to the hon. Member on this point. The methods used to estimate employment prospects in the defence industries do not, however, permit of the figures being broken down geographically.