§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what redundancies have been declared in the textile industry in the North-West region in the last three months for which figures are available; and what action is he taking to stabilise employment in this industry in view of its importance to the region.
§ Mr. Jim LesterIn the three months ending 31 December 1979 my Department was notified of 8,447 potential redundancies in the textile industry in the North-West region. 3,041 of these jobs, however, are the subject of applications for temporary short-time working compensation and it is possible that some of the other redundancies may not take place.
The Government are naturally concerned about the problems of the textile 26W industry. Our economic policies are designed to provide the climate in which textile firms can compete, and we are doing all we can to see that the industry does not suffer from unfair competition by ensuring, for instance, that the multi-fibre arrangement is implemented as effectively as possible. At the same time, however, it is up to the industry itself to become more competitive by improving its productivity, the standard of its design and the quality of its output in order to take advantage of the market opportunities available.