§ Mr. Onslowasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what statistics his Department maintains relating to industrial disputes in each of the nationalised industries;
(2) in what form statistics relating to industrial disputes in the steel industry reach his Department.
§ Mr. BoothExcept for the coal mining industry, for which information is supplied by the National Coal Board, the statistics, including those for the steel industry, are based on reports from my local officers and regional manpower advisers. In the public sector these are supplemented as necessary by information obtained from central authorities. The figures are aggregated on an industrial basis according to the United Kingdom Standard Industrial Classification (1968). From 1973 arrangements have been made to identify stoppages in the public sector, distinguishing public corporations, which include but do not separately distinguish nationalised industries. Analyses for 1973 will not be available for some weeks.