§ Mr. F. Noel-Bakerasked the Minister of Supply whether he has considered a statement circulated by the Southall district committee of the Amalgamated Engineering Union and sent to him by the hon. Member for Brentford and Chiswick on 11th December about exports, redundancy and the engineering industry; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. G. R. StraussYes. The statement is based on a misunderstanding of the position at the two firms concerned. As regards the first firm, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for North Tottenhame (Mr. Irving) on 15th December. As regards the second firm, the company do not expect a drastic curtailment of production or large-scale redundancy.