§ 92. Mr. Penhaligonasked the Paymaster General if he has made any study of the implications for employment in Cornwall of the present position of the tin mining industry.
§ Mr. LangThe Department has not recently undertaken any special study of employment in Cornwall. In 1979 a study of employment in west Cornwall revealed the historic decline of employment in the tin industry there, and noted that the level of employment would always be vulnerable to market price fluctuations. The148W current crisis is clearly a matter of concern, but it is not possible to assess the commercial prospects of the mining companies at present, nor therefore the medium and longer-term employment prospects in the tin industry.