§ Mr. Bulmerasked the Secretary of State for Employment what resources are being devoted within his Department to research into future patterns of employment; what results have been obtained from this research; and if he will place in the Library a list of the research, wherever carried out, of which his Department is aware and considers useful into future patterns of employment.
§ Mr. WaddingtonIn the current financial year, my Department plans to spend £50,502 and the Manpower Services Commission £290,000 on research into future patterns of employment. In addition, there are internal staff costs which are difficult to estimate but are relatively small. The results of this research which consist of books, articles and working papers and include sets of detailed medium term forecasts, assessments of future employment levels and assessments of the effect of the introduction of new technology on the future demand for, and distribution of, skills are used in formulating policy and in planning services.
Full details of my Department's and the MSC's research activities and expenditure in 1980–81 were published by HMSO in "Research 1980–81".