§ Mr. Strawasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list in the Official Report the total number of employees, and the total number of redundancies declared by the Royal Ordnance Factories, and the Royal Ordnance Factories plc. for each calendar year since 1973 to date for each Royal Ordnance factory and for the United Kingdom as a whole.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonInformation in the form requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost and effort, but the following may be helpful:
Average number of employees Number of redundancies declared1 9 months to 31 March 1975 18,550 13 Year to 31 March 1976 20,556 nil Year to 31 March 1977 22,535 nil Year to 31 March 1978 23,169 nil Year to 31 March 1979 23,235 509 Year to 31 March 1980 22,084 122 Year to 31 March 1981 21,672 1,018 Year to 31 March 1982 20,208 461 Year to 31 March 1983 18,859 91 1 Redundancy figures are those declared in a calendar year.
§ Mr. Strawasked the Secretary of State for Defence in what way he intends to consult Parliament before a final decision on the sale of Royal Ordnance Factories plc. is made.
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§ Mr. Archie HamiltonParliament has given approval to the Government's policy of moving Royal Ordnance plc. to the private sector and has been kept informed of progress. The necessary decisions needed to achieve the Government's objective will be announced in due course, and will no doubt be the subject of appropriate comment and questions.