§ Mr. Holtasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the likely effect of his new code of practice on jobs in the furniture industry.
§ Mr. MaudeIt is estimated that employment in the United Kingdom in the manufacture of upholstered furniture is about 22,000 and employment in the supplier industries is about 14,000. A substantial proportion of upholstery fabrics used in United Kingdom manufacture are imported.
It is difficult to estimate the effect on employment of the introduction of new regulations based on the code of practice proposals.
I do not anticipate that there will be significant adverse effects on employment in furniture manufacturing. One supplier of fire-retardant fillings has estimated that the development of these materials, which the code of practice approach will encourage, will lead to substantially enlarged employment in that sector, amounting to several thousand new jobs. The code of practice also provides opportunities for import substitution in the fabrics sector. Overall, the effect on employment in the furniture industry and its suppliers is likely to be beneficial.