HC Deb 27 October 1980 vol 991 cc165-6W
Dr. McDonald

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list in the Official Report the number employed in the asbestos cement industry in the United Kingdom in each year since 1945.

Textile Industry Clothing and Footwear Percent Textiles, Clothing and Footwear
United Kingdom 6.0 5.8 11.9
Belgium 8.1 6.5 14.5
Denmark 3.2 4.4 7.6
France 5.9 6.2 12.1
Germany (FR) 4.2 4.4 8.6
Irish Republic 8.8 9.3 18.0
Netherlands 4.1 3.5 7.6
Notes:
The figures for textiles do not include manufacture of man-made fibres.
Data are not available for the clothing industry which do not include footwear. Figures for Denmark relate to 1977.
Corresponding figures for Italy and Luxembourg are not available.
Sources:
Eurostat—'Employment and Unemployment 1972–78'.
Central Statistics Office, Dublin.

Mrs. Kellett-Bowman

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what are the figures for (a) job losses in the textile industry and (b) job losses in the clothing industry, excluding footwear, from 1 January to the latest available date.

Mr. Jim Lester

[pursuant to his reply, 8 August 1980, c. 409]: Precise information about job gains and losses is not available, but an indication of the net change can be seen by comparing the levels of estimates in employment at different dates.

Between January and May 1980, the latest date for which information is available, the numbers of employees in employment in Great Britain in the textile industry and in the clothing industry, excluding footwear, fell by 20,600 and 11,400 respectively.

Mr. Jim Lester

[pursuant to his reply. 8 August 1980, c. 409]: The information is not available. The standard industrial classification does not separately identify the asbestos cement industry.

Mrs. Kellett-Bowman

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of jobs in manufacturing is accounted for by textiles and clothing to the latest date (a) in the European Economic Community and (b) in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Jim Lester

[pursuant to his reply, 8 August 1980, c. 409]: Owing to differences between countries in methods and coverage used in compiling the statistics, these figures are not fully comparable.

The proportions of manufacturing employees in textiles and clothing in 1978 were: