§ Mr. Parrisasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have been made redundant in the most recent available year in (a) local government, (b) central Government, (c) the nationalised industries and (d) the private sector; and what percentage of the work force in each of these categories these figures represent.
§ Mr. WaddingtonThe full information requested is not available. In 1981 there were 9,262 redundancies reported to the Manpower Services Commission as due to occur in local government services—SIC Minimum List Heading 906. This figure, which is not comprehensive, represents about 1 per cent. of the corresponding number of employees.
Although the Manpower Services Commission data—from ES955 returns—which are held in the House of Commons Library, are classified by industry or service, they are not sufficiently detailed or comprehensive to yield satisfactory estimates of redundancies among the other
118W
Unemployment by industry—United Kingdom August 1979 August 1981 Minimum List Heading (MLH) of the Standard Industrial Classification Number Percentage rate Number Percentage rate Construction (MLH 500) 152,543 10.4 380,698 25.9 Bricks, fireclay and refractory goods (MLH 461) 2,385 5.5 5,828 14.3 Glass (MLH 463) 3,209 4.3 9,548 13.6 Timber (MLH 471) 3,471 3.9 8,351 9.7 Furniture and upholstery (MLH 472) 5,045 5.3 13,477 14.7 to prove that legal liability for his alleged injuries lies with the defendant. Each claim is considered on its merits and the reasons for not admitting liability vary accordingly It would not be appropriate to comment on particular cases, some of which may go before the courts.