§ Mr. Harold Walkerasked the Secretary of State for Industry what assessment he has made of the forecast of the National Economic Development Council sector working party of the man-made fibres industry that if present trends continue the output of the industry will decline to 395,000 tonnes in 1983 with inevitable further closures.
§ Mr. MacGregorThe man-made fibres sector working party's forecast is based on assumptions about the growth of consumer demand and on the trading performance of the textile and clothing industries. In drawing up the forecast, the sector working party recognised that quite small changes in these assumptions can make significant differences for man-made fibre output. Much will also depend on the business environment.
In these circumstances, it is not particularly fruitful for me to speculate about the size of the industry in 1983.