§ Mr. Lomasasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people are at present employed in the woollen textile trade in the West Riding of Yorkshire; and what is his projection for 1975.
§ Mr. RidleyAs to present employment in the wool textile trade in the West Riding of Yorkshire, I have nothing to add to the reply relating to the Yorkshire and Humberside region given by the Under-Secretary of State for Employment to the hon. Member on 30th November, 1970. As to projected employment, the study of the industry referred to in answer to the previous Question forecasts that employment in the United Kingdom wool textile industry as a whole will decline from 144,000 in 1967 to 121,000 in the mid-1970s. The extent to which the Yorkshire and Humberside region in particular would be affected cannot be forecast with any degree of 411W accuracy, since this must depend on how the industry's structure develops.—[Vol. 807, c. 290–1.]