§ Mr. Richard Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for Industry (1) if he will make a statement on the future of British Shipbuilders;
(2) if he will make a statement on the outlook for the shipbuilding industry with particular reference to the securing of orders.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallA statement on shipbuilding will be made when the Government have completed their review of the industry.
§ Mr. Richard Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will make public the corporate plan produced by British Shipbuilders on the future of the industry.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallI refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Surrey, North-West (Mr. Grylls) on 18 May.—[Vol. 967, c.9.]
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§ Mr. Richard Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total tonnage of orders won by the British shipbuilding industry in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; what were the comparable figures in each of the previous 10 annual periods; and what is the current annual building capacity of the British shipbuilding industry.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallThe information on orders is incorporated in the table below. My Department is unable to provide information on current building capacity: this is a matter for British Shipbuilders.
GROSS TONNAGE (MERCHANT SHIPS 100 GT AND OVER) ORDERS PLACED IN UNITED KINGDOM YARDS Year ending 000s gross tonnage Mar 69 1,016 Mar 70 987 Mar 71 1,526 Mar 72 1,047 Mar 73 1,989 Mar 74 3,559 Mar 75 396 Mar 76 99 Mar 77 444 Mar 78 591 Mar 79 182
§ Mr. Richard Shepherdasked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the loss sustained by British Shipbuilders in the most recent annual period for which figures are available; and if he will express this as an annual sum per man employed by the organisation.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallBritish Shipbuilders is currently preparing its accounts for the 12 months to 31 March 1979. In its first nine months to 31 March 1978, British Shipbuilders showed a trading loss before tax and after interest of £108 million. In that period, the average number employed was 86,600. The loss was thus equivalent to £1,250 per person employed.
§ Mr. Dixonasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will provide interest-free and dividend-free finance for British Shipbuilders.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallThe future financing of British Shipbuilders is now under review.
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§ Mr. Dixonasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he intends to proceed with the intervention fund to British Shipbuilders to win shipbuilding orders; and, if so, how much finance he intends to allocate.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallThe Commission has been asked to renew its approval of the intervention fund, which expired on 15 March 1979, for a further period to enable the Government to complete their review of the industry. I should stress, however, that this does not commit my right hon. Friend to using the fund; each case will need to be looked at strictly on its merits.
§ Mr. Dewarasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will publish in the Official Report the number of people employed by British Shipbuilders in each of its yards in Scotland at the lastest convenient date.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallThis is a matter for British Shipbuilders.