HC Deb 19 May 1975 vol 892 cc297-300W
Mr. Noble

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many employees

Minimum List Heading Numbers made Redundant Number of Establishments Closed
411 Production of Man-made Fibres 30
412 Spinning and Doubling on the Cotton and Flax Systems 180 1
413 Weaving of Cotton, Linen and Man-made Fibres 180 2

Mr. Noble

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many have suffered from short-time working during 1975 in the Lancashire cotton and man-made fibre woven fabric industry, taking cotton and made-made fibres separately.

Mr. Frank R. White

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many employees have suffered short-time working during 1975 in the Lancashire cotton, man-made fibre, spinning textile sector, taking cotton and man-made fibres separately.

Mr. Jim Marshall

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many employees have suffered short-time working

have been made redundant in the Lancashire cotton and man-made fibre woven fabric industry, taking cotton and man-made fibres separately;

(2) how many many mills have closed down in the Lancashire cotton and man-made fibre woven fabric industry, taking cotton and man-made fibres separately.

Mr. Frank R. White

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many mills have closed down in the Lancashire cotton, man-made fibre, spinning textile sector, taking cotton and man-made fibres separately;

(2) how many employees have been made redundant in the Lancashire cotton, man-made fibre, spinning textile sector, taking cotton and man-made fibres separately.

Mr. John Fraser

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that this information is not available in the form required. However, the number of employees recorded as having been made redundant, and the number of establishments closed in the Lancashire cotton and man-made fibre industry during the period 1st January to 12th May 1975 analysed by Minimum List Headings of the Standard Industrial Classification are as follows:

during 1975 in the hosiery and knitting industry in the East Midlands.

Mr. John Fraser

I regret that the information is not available in the form requested. Although the Department maintained records of the numbers of people known to be on short-time working in a particular week it is not possible to identify the total numbers affected by short-time working over a period of time.

Mr. Noble

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of employees, and how many are currently estimated to be on short-time in the Lancashire cotton and man-made fibre woven fabrics industry, taking cotton and man-made fibres separately.

Mr. Frank R. White

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total number of employees, and how many are estimated to be on short-time, in the Lancashire cotton, man-made fibre, spinning textile sector, taking cotton and man-made fibres separately.

Mr. John Fraser

I regret that the information is not available in the precise

MLH 412 MLH 413
Employees in Employment—June 1973:
(i) Lancashire 6,100 21,500
(ii) North-West Region 40,200 36,000
Numbers estimated to be on short-time working in North-West Region in week commencing 5th May 1975 3,100 2,000

Mr. Hoyle

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many employees have been made redundant in the man-mide fibres continuous filament yarns textile sector;

(2) how many mills have closed down in the man-made fibres continuous filament yarns textile sector.

Mr. John Fraser

I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that records of redundancies are maintained by Minimum List Heading of the Standard Industrial Classification and it is not possible to identify from these the information my hon. Friend is seeking. However, the number of employees recorded as having been made redundant in man-made fibre producing (MLH 411) in the period 1st January to 12th May 1975 is 190. No closure within the industry has been recorded for this period.

Mr. Hoyle

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many employees have suffered short time working during 1975 in the man-made fibres continous filament yarns textile sector;

(2) what is the total number of employees, and how many are estimated to be on short time, in the man-made fibres continous filament yarns textile sector.

Mr. John Fraser

Detailed statistics of the numbers on short-time are compiled for a selected week in each month. The following table shows the figures for production of man-made fibres and spinning and doubling on the cotton and flax

form requested. The following table shows the number of employees in employment at June 1973 in Lancashire and the North-West Region in spinning and doubling on the cotton and flax systems, and weaving of cotton, linen and man-made fabrics, minimum list headings 412 and 413 of the Standard Industrial Classification, and the number of workers in these sectors estimated, on the basis of special inquiries, to be on short-time working in the North-West Region in the week commencing 5th May 1975.

systems, minimum list headings 411 and 412 of the Standard Industrial Classification, for the first three months in 1975.

Great Britain
Number of operatives working short time
Week ended Production of man-made fibres Spinning and doubling on the cotton and flax systems
18th January 1975 1,000 1,300
15th February 1975 700 3,100
15th March 1975 600 4,800

The short time figures for March 1975 are the most recent in the normal monthly statistical series. A special inquiry relating to this industry indicated that for the week commencing 5th May 1975, 100 workers in production of man-made fibres and 6,900 in spinning and doubling were on short-time. These estimates, obtained to supplement the regular monthly statistics, are necessarily approximate. The estimated numbers of employees in employment at March 1975 were 31,700 in production of man-made fibres and 53,300 in spinning and doubling on the cotton and flax systems.