§ Major GLYNasked the President of the Board of Trade (1) the number of locomotive engine building firms in England and Scotland; the number of men that these firms employ if the works were fully occupied with orders; the capacity of the plants in production of engines per week or per month; the number of men at present employed; the total number of locomotives of all types that have been built in the first 10 months of this year; what proportion of these engines were for British Dominion or Colonial Governments or companies, Indian or foreign, respectively; and how do these figures compare with 1926, 1925 and 1913;
(2) how many firms there are in England and Scotland engaged in the construction of railway rolling-stock, both passenger vehicles, special vans, and mineral wagons, respectively; how many men are, under normal conditions, employed and what is the number employed at present; what has been the output of these firms in passenger vehicles and mineral wagons for the first 10 months of this year, and what proportion of these orders was for Dominion or Colonial Governments or companies, Indian or foreign, respectively; and how do these figures compare with 1926, 1925 and 1913?
§ Captain HACKINGI am unable to state the number of firms engaged in Great Britain in the industries referred to. As regards the production of locomotives and railway rolling-stock, the information I can give my hon. and gallant Friend is in respect of the year 1924, and is contained in Preliminary Reports, numbers 4, 14 and 16, on the 1924 Census of Production, copies of which I am sending him.
As regards employment, separate figures are not available for locomotive building. Figures relating to insured workers, and unemployment, in the railway carriage, wagon and tramcar building industry are published monthly in the Ministry of Labour Gazette, while Report No. 4, referred to above, gives the average numbers employed in 1924 by 1809W firms, other than railway companies, engaged in railway carriage and wagon building.
As regards exports, I am sending my hon. and gallant Friend a statement showing the particulars he asks for, so far as they are available.