§ 24. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many redundancies there have been in manufacturing industry in the period June 1979 to the end of January 1981; and what steps he intends to take to curtail this process of deindustrialisation.
§ Mr. Alexander FletcherSome 68,700 workers have been involved in redundancies of 10 or more people notified to the Manpower Services Commission as having taken place in manufacturing industry in Scotland in the period 1 June 1979 to 31 January 1981. Our policies are designed to reduce inflation thereby restoring competitiveness to industry so that expansion can take place. The Government operate generous regional and fiscal measures to assist industrial expansion wherever possible and we particularly aim to encourage higher technology industries in which future growth prospects lie.