§ 28. Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Employment how 208W many textile workers in the North-West have lost their jobs in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement on the prospects for the industry.
§ Mr. GoldingNo comprehensive records are kept of those leaving the textiles industry, but I am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that notifications to it indicate a provisional 4,935 redundancies as being due to occur in the industry in the north-west region during the 12 months to June 1978. The new arrangements for low-cost imports negotiated under the Multi-Fibre Arrangement should go a long way towards providing the United Kingdom textiles industry with greater security in the future, but ultimately this industry's difficulties will not be cured until there is a sustained improvement in demand for its products.