Paper and Board Industry

HC Deb 30 July 1980 vol 989 cc765-6W

Mr. William Hamilton

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many jobs have been lost in the paper and board industry in Scotland since June 1979; and what are the prospects for 1980–82.

Mr. Alexander Fletcher

In the period since the beginning of June 1979, 190 redundancies in the paper and board industry (covering MLHs 481–484) in Scotland have been notified to the Manpower Services Commission. Of these, 138 are likely to have occurred by the end of July 1980, with the remainder due to take place in the second half of this year. In addition, the Fort William pulp mill will close and further redundancies in the industry may take place over the next year. In recent months the paper and board industry has been affected by the slowing down of world economic activity, and the deterioration in United Kingdom competitiveness.