§ Mrs. Bainasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will list in the Official Report the total tonnage of orders given to Scottish shipyards in 1960, 1965, 1970 and 1975; what orders are on hand at the present time; and what the Government's official analysis is of the relationship between job opportunity and orders at the present time.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldThe total tonnage of merchant ship orders of 100 gross tons and over placed with Scottish shipyards in the years requested was as follows:
000grt as a percentage of total UK per cent. 1960 38.1 1965 20.6 1970 30 1975 10.9 The merchant orders on hand at 31st December 1976 at Scottish shipyards were:
000grt as a percentage of total UK per cent. Ships not yet commenced 22.4 Ships in the course of construction. 17.8 Total on order 19.7 As I made clear to the House on 24th February, we are seeking by introduction of the Intervention Fund to achieve the maximum amount of planned employment in the shipbuilding industry.
Warship construction figures have not been included in the above because of the difficulty in combining merchant and warship weights. I will write to the hon. Member on this point as soon as possible.