§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will state the numbers of employees in electronics in Scotland in (a) 1979 and (b) 1985, or the nearest available date; if he will break down those employees by sector and occupations; and if he will explain the basis on which he calculates his figures or estimates, including the proportion of electronics employers consulted in the completion of the figures.
304W
§ Mr. Allan StewartComprehensive information is not available on the basis requested. In 1978, the total number of employees in employment in electronics is estimated to have been some 37,000 and the breakdown by MLH industries in the 1968 standard industrial classification was as follows:
thousand MLH 354 Scientific and industrial instruments and systems 8.3 MLH 363 Telegraph and telephone apparatus and equipment 2.7 MLH 364 Radio and electronic components 10.0 MLH 365 Broadcast receiving and sound reproducing equipment 0.7 MLH 366 Electronic computers 8.1 MLH 367 Radio, radar and electronic capital goods 7.4 These estimates are taken from the Annual Census of Employment.
Total employment in the electronics industry in mid-1983 is estimated to have been 42,500: this estimate is based on information held in the regional data system which incorporates employment information provided by employers to a range of Government inquiries and also from other sources. It is not directly comparable with the 1978 estimate because of the change in the standard industrial classification introduced in 1980.