§ Mr. Concannon asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many De Lorean cars have been shipped to the United States so far in the current year; and how many of those cars have been sold.
§ Mr. Adam Butler: I am informed by the company that at 26 October 1981 4,343 cars with an export value of $76 million had been shipped to the United States of America. Of these, 2,650 had been sold or were in the hands of dealers at 22 October 1981; the balance were in transit or undergoing customerisation.
§ Mr. Concannon asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what would be the estimated cost to the Government of benefit payments to those now employed directly or indirectly by the De Lorean Motor Company if those people were unemployed.
§ Mr. Adam Butler: I regret that in this as in any other instance relating to a specific group of workers it is not possible to provide a precise answer without incurring disproportionate cost. The total benefit payable would depend on the personal circumstances of the individuals concerned, marital status, number of dependants and so on. However, a recent sample of unemployed claimants receiving benefit revealed that the average weekly payment throughout Northern Ireland was £41.50, and if it is assumed that each employee of De Lorean Motor Cars Ltd. would receive this sum the weekly cost would be £106,115.
§ I regret that it is not possible to estimate to an acceptable degree of accuracy the number of employees of other companies whose jobs depend on the De Lorean enterprise.