§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
To list, for each publicly owned enterprise, the number of workers employed at the end of 1977 or, where this information is not readily available, at the most convenient recent date; the date to which the figure applies, if it is not 31st December, 1977; the most recent estimate made by the enterprise of the number of workers it will employ in the future; the date to which that estimate relates; and. if estimates have been made relating to several different 1370WA future dates, each of those estimates and the dates to which they relate.
§ The PARLIAMENTARY UNDERSECRETARY of STATE, DEPARTMENT of the ENVIRONMENT (Baroness Birk)I regret that to provide the information requested for the numerous public corporations other than the nationalised industries would involve a disproportionate expenditure of time, effort and resources. The following table shows the estimated numbers employed by the nationalised industries on 31st March 1978:
Forecasts of future employment are not available for all the nationalised industries and such forecasts as the industries have made are subject to numerous uncertainties. It would not in my view be right to reveal these figures, for which the industries themselves are responsible.
National Coal Board 239,300 Electricity Council and Boards 158,700 North of Scotland Hydro-electric Board 3,900 South of Scotland Electricity Board 13,600 British Gas Corporation 99,600 British National Oil Corporation 800 British Steel Corporation 200,000 Post Office 404,900 British Airways Board 57,300 British Airports Authority 5,800 British Railways Board 240,000 British Transport Docks Board 11,500 British Waterways Board 3,200 National Freight Corporation 40,100 National Bus Company 65,100 Scottish Transport Group 14,100 British Aerospace 68,800 British Shipbuilders 85,000 1,711,700