§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will break down the assistance given under the ferrous foundry industry scheme into the different market sectors; and what proportion of the assistance went to foundries producing high volume repetition castings.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldMost foundries serve a number of market sectors. By 30th June assistance had been approved for 175 iron foundries and 41 steel foundries. The number supplying the various market sectors is as follows:
Market Sector Iron Castings Steel Castings Diesel engines 49 1 Automotive 57 2 Machine Tools 50 2 Heavy machinery 32 18 Valves and pumps 54 21 Agricultural machinery and tractors 46 1 Mining 25 16 Oil and Chemicals 13 16 Iron Castings Steel Castings Construction and earth moving 11 14 Iron and Steel Industry 19 11 Electrical 22 13 General engineering (including jobbing) 97 17 Building 19 1 Foundries producing high-volume repetition castings cover a number of these sectors and the proportion of assistance to them is not readily available, but the market sectors above give some indication.
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§ Mr. Kenneth Clarkeasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether final decisions have now been taken on all applications for assistance under the ferrous foundry scheme which were submitted before the closing date of 31st December 1976; and, if not, how many are still awaiting decisions.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldNo; 201—the bulk of which came in during the closing month of the scheme.