§ 17. Mr. Hendersonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement about the current performance of Scottish manufacturing industry, with particular regard to jobs, productivity, profitability and exports.
§ Mr. LangScottish manufacturing industry has undergone a major transition in recent years. A stronger core of companies and sectors has emerged from the recession of the early 1980s which are able to compete more effectively with companies from other parts of the United Kingdom and from abroad. The rate of growth of manufacturing productivity has been considerably faster in Scotland than in the United Kingdom in most years since 1979. Recent evidence from the CBI "Industrial Trends Survey" suggests that export markets are more buoyant than they have been for some time, with the upward trend likely to continue and that the rate of job loss also appears to have been moderating.
§ 37. Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the latest estimate of how many manufacturing jobs have been lost since June 1979.
§ Mr. LangOn a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of employees in employment in manufacturing in Scotland is provisionally estimated to have fallen by 192,000 between June 1979 and December 1986.