HC Deb 26 June 1979 vol 969 cc125-7W
Mr. Park

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the numbers of workers involved in redundancies in the recorded closures of manufacturing industrial establishments for the last six months.

Mr. Mayhew

I regret that the information as requested is not available. However, the following table sets out the total number of redundancies where closure of the establishment is involved—excluding the construction industry—notified to the Secretary of State in the last six months, in accordance with the provisions of section 100 of the Employment Protection Act 1975.

December 1978 9,033
January 1979 15,425
February 1979 16,213
March 1979 21,124
April 1979 12,048
May 1979 10,722

Mr. Park

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what were the numbers of employees in manufacturing industries for the latest month for which statistics are available, nationally and regionally.

Mr. Jim Lester

The following table gives provisional estimates of the numbers of employees in employment in manufacturing industries at March 1979, the latest date for which this information is available.

Thousands
South-East and East Anglia* 2,058
South-West 439
West Midlands 979
East Midlands 592
Yorkshire and Humberside 704
North-West 981
North 430
Wales 303
Scotland 603
Great Britain 7,089
Manufacturing industries are defined as Orders III-XIX of the Standard Industrial Classification (1968).
*Estimates are not available for the South-East and East Anglia regions separately.

Mr. Park

asked the Secretary of State for Employment at the nearest convenient date, how many persons engaged in manufacturing industries were on short-time working.

Mr. Jim Lester

During the week ended 10 March, 38,800 operatives in manufacturing industries in Great Britain were on short-time working either for the whole or for part of the week.

Mr. Park

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of manufacturing establishments had disputes for the latest period for which statistics are available, nationally and regionally.

Mr. Mayhew

The percentage is not now calculated because of the difficulty in ensuring total recording of all stoppages, particularly those of very short duration.

However, available information suggests that the proportion of manufacturing establishments having strikes has been comparatively small and that the great majority of businesses are practically unaffected by industrial stoppages involving a significant loss of working days. This information was published in "Strikes in Britain", DE Manpower Paper No. 15 (HMSO 1978) and the Department of Employment Gazette, January 1978.

Mr. Park

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many days were lost due to disputes in manufacturing industries for the latest period for which statistics are available, nationally and regionally.

Mr. Mayhew

Following is the information for the year 1977.

DAYS LOST IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
Regional analysis (thousands)
1977 1978
South-East 1,272 ..
East Anglia 127 ..
South-West 219 ..
West Midlands 1,971 ..
East Midlands 449 ..
Yorkshire and Humber side 581 ..
North-West 1,597 ..
North 517 ..
Wales 526 ..
Scotland 697 ..
Northern Ireland 104 ..
United Kingdom 8,057 7,692*
*A regional breakdown for 1978 will be included in the annual figures to be published in the Department of Employment Gazette on 26 July 1979.