§ Mr. Litterickasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what is his Department's estimate of the short- and long-term employment effects of £100 million investment in new production facilities in the following industries: chemicals, electronics, shipbuilding, automobile assembly, machine tools, and textiles, respectively;
(2) what is his Department's estimate of the short- and long-term employment effect of a £70 million investment programme in new production facilities in the sheet glass industry.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettThe employment effect of additional investment in new production facilities in each of the industries mentioned by my hon. Friend will depend on the following principal factors: the extent to which the investment involves the replacement of existing production facilities or an addition to such facilities; the extent to which it results in a higher level of output than would otherwise have occurred; the precise product which the new facilities are intended to produce; the technology which the new facilities incorporate; and the amount and type of construction and engineering work which is involved. In view of all these uncertainties, and also because of insufficient data, it is not possible to give any estimate of what the employment effect of an extra £70 million or £100 million invested in each of the industries would be.