§ Mr. Adleyasked the Secretary of State for Industry how many civil servants in his Department are engaged full-time in activities associated with (a) the steel industry, (b) motor vehicle manufacturing, (c) chemicals, (d) heavy engineering and (e) machine tools; and what have been the overseas earnings for each of these sectors for each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldNumbers of staff in my Department engaged full-time in activities associated with the following commodities are:
Steel 57 Motor Vehicle Manufacturing 36 Chemicals 15 Machine Tools 22 There is no generally recognised definition for heavy engineering.
Figures of overseas earnings are not available under these headings, but values of visible exports are as follows:
airlines, and arrangements for further discussions are in hand.
§ Mr. Terry Walkerasked the Secretary of State for Industry what moves are being made to lease the Concorde aircraft to foreign airlines.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldWe are prepared to consider leasing as an alternative to sale and proposals have been put by the manufacturers to a number of airlines. The policy issues involved in various 359W forms of leasing are currently being examined by the British and French Governments.