§ Mr. Chapmanasked the Secretary of State for Industry what was the total number of employees of BL Ltd. on the last date for which figures are available; and what were the figures on that date in each of the preceding five years.
§ Mr. WakehamWeekly average numbers of BL employees, taken from the company's 1980 annual report and accounts, are as follows:
Year ('000) *1976 183 1977 195 1978 192 1979 177 1980 157 * 15 months to 31 December 1976. In his statement of 28 August presenting the company's half-year results to June 1981, Sir Michael Edwardes said that manning levels had fallen to below 129,000 on 1 July 1981. The comparable figure for 31 December 1980 was 143,000.