asked the Secretary of State for Wales what measures his Department has taken in the past 12 months to bring about an improvement in the activity of the civil engineering industry in Wales; and if he will give comparative figures of the degree of activity for each of the three monthly periods of the past year.

I have let contracts for road and bridge works on trunk roads and motorways in Wales worth over £120 million between September 1981 and September 1982 as follows:

September/December 1981

12 schemes worth £7·14 million

January/March 1982

8 schemes worth £66·01 million

April/June 1982

5 schemes worth £1·01 million

July/September 1982

7 schemes worth £46·62 million