To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give an estimate of the number of people employed in the United Kingdom motor vehicle manufacturing industry in each year since 1979; and if he will make a statement concerning Government policy towards that industry.
The number of people employed in the United Kingdom motor vehicle manufacturing industry is shown in the table.Government policy for the motor industry, as for industry as a whole, is to set the framework for free and fair competition and the encouragement of enterprise.
| Numbers employed in the United Kingdom motor vehicle manufacturing industry 1979–90 | |
| Year | Employees (Thousands) |
| June | |
| 1979 | 466·3 |
| 1980 | 437·1 |
| 1981 | 365·7 |
| 1982 | 318·0 |
| 1983 | 299·0 |
| 1984 | 280·8 |
| 1985 | 274·0 |
| 1986 | 265·8 |
| Year | Employees (Thousands) |
| 1987 | 260·0 |
| 1988 | 269·1 |
| 1989 | 270·8 |
| 1990 | 268·3 |
Note:
The employment figures are those under the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) heading 35, "Motor vehicles and their parts". Thus the figures include employees in the large automotive components sector. However, the actual employment figure will be higher when taking into account the manufacture of components not separately identifiable as specific to the motor industry.