§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations have been made to him about the proportion of public sector direct labour involved in the construction industry in Northern Ireland; and whether he has any plans to safeguard the construction industry from competition from the public sector.
§ Mr. ConcannonGovernment policy on the use of direct labour by Northern Ireland Departments has recently been questioned by representatives of the industry at the Northern Ireland Construction Industry Advisory Council and also through the Civil Engineering Consultative Committee of the Department of the Environment (NI). I have no proposals for altering the scope of Northern Ireland Departments' direct labour activities. Most of their direct labour employees are engaged in work which has not traditionally been of interest to the construction industry — waterworks, forestry, drainage, maintenance of roads, maintenance and upkeep of Government buildings. As for Enterprise Ulster, most of whose work is constructional in nature, its objective is to provide employment and to help the unemployed to keep contact with and eventually to re-enter the active labour market.
§ Mr. Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the shortage of skilled craftsmen in the construction industry in Northern Ireland; and if he will take steps to fill vacancies for skilled and unskilled workers from the registered unemployed possessing the appropriate qualifications.
§ Mr. ConcannonOn 13th May 1976 there were 193 vacancies in skilled craft occupations in the Northern Ireland construction industry which had been notified by employers. On the same date 2,612 people in these categories were registered as unemployed. There are difficulties in matching vacancies with available manpower owing in particular to the constraints on mobility of labour caused by the security situation. However, the Northern Ireland Department of Manpower Services continues to match workers 417W available with jobs on offer, and is at present collaborating with the Federation of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors (Northern Ireland) to produce a report on this subject based on the situation this month and last.