§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Employment what is his Department's estimate of the number of persons who have lost employment 165W in the textile and clothing industries as a result of technological advances in machinery and production methods since 1950.
§ Mr. Jim Lester[pursuant to his reply, August 1980, c. 409]: I regret that such estimates are not available. Employment levels in the textile and clothing industries have been affected by a variety of factors over the last 30 years and it is not possible to assess separately the effects of technological change.