House of Commons Hansard Debates for 13 Feb 1990

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what criteria are used when issuing quota exemption permits under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944.

Mr. Eggar : Disablement resettlement officers are instructed to consider the availability of suitable registered disabled people, and the degree of commitment shown by employers towards meeting their obligations under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944.

Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to ensure that firms not meeting their quota obligations without permits meet their obligations under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944.

Mr. Eggar : This Department will continue to pursue a policy of education and persuasion designed to improve the policies and practices of employers in relation to the employment of people with disabilities. This includes advising them of their obligations under the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act, and using the Department's wide range of services for the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities to help them meet those obligations.

Wages

36. Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what monitoring his Department undertakes of wage levels for jobs being advertised at jobcentres.

Mr. Eggar : Jobcentres have a responsibility to check that employers notifying vacancies are complying with any relevant wages council orders. They also advise employers on locally prevailing rates of pay.

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Mr. Nicholls : The information for full-time adult employees in Great Britain is published in table 1 of part A of the new earnings survey reports for each of the years, and in table 124 of part E of the same reports for full-time employees of all ages. Copies of the reports are in the Library.

Japanese Enterprises

38. Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many jobs have been created in Japanese industrial and commercial enterprises which have chosen to locate their main European research and development centres in the United Kingdom.

Mr. Eggar : Our figures on jobs created by Japanese concerns in the United Kingdom do not differentiate between manufacturing jobs and those in research and development. However, it is estimated that to date 36,000 jobs have been created by the 117 Japanese companies which have chosen to locate here.

Mr. Dunn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish in the Official Report the number of employees working in the United Kingdom who are citizens of the empire of Japan ; and how many United Kingdom citizens are employed in companies resident in the United Kingdom owned by commercial interests resident in the empire of Japan.

Mr. Nicholls : Data on the number of employees in the United Kingdom whose nationality is Japanese are not available.

The Department of Trade and Industry's Invest in Britain Bureau advises that there are 117 Japanese manufacturing companies known to be either currently operating in the United Kingdom or having announced a formal intention to operate. In total, it is estimated that these firms have created or will create some 36,000 jobs.

Social Charter

39. Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has had with trade unions in the United Kingdom as to their views on the EEC social charter and employment opportunities ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar : I have received no representations from the trade unions on the social charter.

Fairground Inspection

42. Mr. Simon Coombs : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on progress on harmonisation of inspection rules for fairground equipment throughout the European Community.

Mr. Nicholls : The European Commission is currently preparing a proposal for a directive concerning trade in fairground equipment. The work is at an early stage but it seems likely that the proposal will cover the design, manufacture and initial testing of fairground equipment. It may also cover the installation and erection of

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fairground equipment as well as the systems of examination and testing which should be used. European Commission staff have indicated that a proposal for such a directive will be submitted to the Council of Ministers within about 12 months.

In anticipation of this directive, CEN (the European standards making organisation) has established a technical committee to prepare harmonised European standards for fairground equipment. These technical standards would support the directive by showing how its requirements could be met.

Farms

43. Mr. Livsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many visits to farms have been made by inspectors of the Health and Safety Executive in the last year ; and how many inspectors exist for this task.

Mr. Nicholls : In the financial year ended 31 March 1989, 37,274 visits to farm premises (including horticulture and agricultural contractors) were made by Health and Safety Executive inspectors ; on 1 January 1990, 149 inspectors were employed in the agricultural inspectorate field force for this purpose.

Trade Unions (Transfer of Membership)

44. Mr. Batiste : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is planning to permit greater choice for trade unionists in transferring membership between unions.

Mr. Nicholls : None. This is entirely a matter for trade unions and their members.

Skills Shortages

45. Mr. Ian Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the problems of skills shortages among firms in the south-east.

Mr. Nicholls : It is for firms in the south-east, as elsewhere, to anticipate their future needs for skills and to deal with any existing shortfalls. In this they will wish to take full account of the challenges set by demographic trends, new technologies and international competition ; and draw on the underused talents of unemployed people, women, ethnic minorities, older workers and people with disabilities.

The Government for their part have introduced a number of measures to help employers including the establishment of training and enterprise councils and launch of business growth training. We are also assisting young people and the unemployed to gain new skills through youth training (YT) and employment training (ET).

Job Creation

46. Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met local authority representatives to discuss job creation.

Mr. Eggar : Neither my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State nor I have held meetings with local authority

representatives to discuss job creation.

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Training and Vocational Education Initiative

49. Mr. Madel : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he is taking to ensure that TVEI equipment in schools is kept modern and in good working order ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls : TVEI is a development programme helping young people gain the skills required in the work force. Education authorities are given a fixed sum to deliver the TVEI programme, only a small proportion of which is normally spent on equipment.

TVEI was not designed to be a continuing source of funds. As TVEI becomes embedded into the learning experience, education authorities are expected to fund any further developments from within their existing resources.

European Commissioner for Employment

51. Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met the European Commissioner for Employment ; and what matters were discussed.

Mr. Howard : I met Mrs. Papandreou on 22 January 1990 when we discussed a range of employment issues.

Self-employment

54. Mr. Hague : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently self-employed ; and what was the figure in June 1979.

Mr. Nicholls : The number of people in self-employment in the United Kingdom in September 1989, the latest figure available, is 3, 141,000. The estimate for June 1979 was 1,906,000. This shows an increase of 1,235,000.

78. Mr. Evennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many self-employed people there are in Greater London ; and how many there were in 1979.

Mr. Nicholls : Estimates for Greater London are not available for 1979. The available estimates of self-employed are as follows :


Self-employed in Greater London                

Unajusted for seasonal variation               

Date                                           

-----------------------------------------------

September 1981                                 

September 1989                                 

Change September 1981-September 1989           

                                               

Percentage change September 1981-September 1989

Job Clubs

55. Mr. David Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have received assistance through job clubs.

Mr. Eggar : Since the job club programme started in November 1984, over 365,000 people have received assistance. Of these over 200,000 have gone directly into jobs and over 52,000 have taken up some other options such as training, self-employment or further education.

80. Mr. Clelland : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if job clubs are to become one of the conditions in the actively seeking work regulations implementing the Social Security Act 1989.

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Mr. Eggar : For claimants to be regarded as seeking work actively, they must take reasonable steps to seek work in each week for which they claim. Active membership of a job club is a way of satisfying the new conditions and a good way of finding a job. Latest figures show that 69 per cent. of job club leavers go into a job, self-employment, further education or training. Membership is voluntary and the new legislation does not mean that claimants are required to join job clubs.

79. Mr. Kennedy : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will review the range of facilities available to users of job clubs in the more remote areas ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Eggar : Members of job clubs in the more remote areas have available the full range of facilities available at other job clubs. These include payment of fares to attend job club. Additionally, an open learning package is provided to help members who cannot attend as often as is usual. The adequacy of facilities is kept under review.

The employment service seeks to provide access to job clubs for long-term unemployed people living in rural areas wherever possible. A further extension of the service occurred on 12 February 1990 with the opening of Portree job club on the Isle of Skye.

Creches

56. Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the provision of workplace creches by employers throughout Britain.

Mr. Nicholls : Comprehensive information on the extent of provision of workplace creches by employers throughout Britain is not available. Figures in the "IMS Manpower Commentary No. 43, Retaining women employees" indicate that the percentage of organisations currently providing such facilities is small, only about 3 per cent. However, indications are that the provision of workplace creches by employers is growing.

Workplace creches can be successful but are only one possible way of helping parents with child care and are not necessarily the most appropriate in all cases. Other possibilities include help with child care costs in the local home area and rearrangement of working hours and holidays to fit in with school hours and terms.

Blacklisting

60. Mrs. Mahon : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to make blacklisting unlawful.

Mr. Nicholls : No.

Employment Service

61. Miss Emma Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will report on the progress of the plan to launch the employment service as an executive agency.

Mr. Nicholls : As my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton Coldfield (Sir N. Fowler) announced on 1 December 1989, Official Report col 461, the employment service will be launched as an executive agency on 2 April. The framework document and annual performance agreement will be published and made available to hon. Members then.

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Tourism

62. Mr. Summerson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many self-employed people are currently employed in the tourism industry.

Mr. Nicholls : The latest available estimate from the labour force survey indicates that there were 204,000 self-employed workers in tourism- related industries in spring 1988, 4,000 more than in spring 1987.

Mr. Butterfill : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the total international tourism revenue figures for the United Kingdom for each of the last 10 years ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls : The table gives the earnings from overseas visitors to the United Kingdom for each of the last 10 complete years plus the current year to date, at current prices.


Year         |Earnings                 

             |(£ millions)             

---------------------------------------

1979         |2,797                    

1980         |2,961                    

1981         |2,970                    

1982         |3,188                    

1983         |4,003                    

1984         |4,614                    

1985         |5,442                    

1986         |5,553                    

1987         |6,260                    

1988         |6,193                    

<1>1989      |6,285                    

<1>To November.

72. Mr. Conway : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what the United Kingdom currently earns from international tourism ; and what information he has on which countries earn more from international tourism than the United Kingdom.

Mr. Nicholls : It is estimated that overseas residents spent £6.2 billion in the United Kingdom in 1988. In 1987 the United Kingdom was ranked 5th in terms of international tourism receipts after the United States of America, Spain, Italy and France.

70. Mr. Knapman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the change in the number of jobs in the tourism industry in the 10 years to 1989.

Mr. Nicholls : Between September 1979 and September 1989, the estimated number of employees in employment in tourism-related industries in Great Britain rose by 216,000 to 1,374,000. In addition, it is estimated from the labour force survey that there were 204,000 self-employed workers in tourism-related industries in spring 1988, 41,000 more than in spring 1981.

67. Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total value of expenditure in the United Kingdom by overseas visitors in 1989.

Mr. Nicholls : It is provisionally estimated that overseas residents spent £6,285 million in the United Kingdom during the first 11 months of 1989, the latest period for which results are available. This is 9 per cent. higher than in the equivalent period of 1988.

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Inner Cities

63. Mr. Loyden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he intends to take to create employment opportunities for the inner city jobless men, women and youth.

Mr. Eggar : My Department will continue to place high priority on the encouragement of enterprise and new and existing businesses in the inner city, and on helping inner city residents improve their skills and qualifications for work. The Department operates a wide range of national but flexible programmes and services directly relevant to these aims, as well as special measures for inner city areas such as schools-industry compacts and the pilot job interview guarantee scheme.

The fact that unemployment in the 57 urban programme areas in England has fallen by over a third since March 1988 demonstrates the effectiveness of this approach, which is pursued in partnership and close collaboration with other Departments and agencies working to improve inner city conditions and economic prospects.

Economic League

65. Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met the organisers of the Economic League ; and what matters were discussed.

58. Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met any member of the board of the Economic League ; and what matters were discussed.

Mr. Nicholls : My right hon. and learned Friend has not met the organisers of the Economic League.

Closed Shop

74. Mr. Harris : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employees are currently employed in workplaces with a closed shop.

Mr. Nicholls : The Green Paper "Removing Barriers to Employment", which was published in March last year, estimated that around 2.6 million people are employed in jobs which are covered by all forms of the closed shop. This estimate was derived from a specially commissioned survey carried out between 22 February and 6 March 1989, a summary of which has been placed in the Library.

Health and Safety

76. Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the current number of directives under consideration which require subordinate legislation on employment matters involving health and safety ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls : Four directives recently adopted under article 118A (Health and Safety of Workers), and a further four draft such directives currently before the Council of Ministers are expected to require implementing legislation. The intention is to implement mainly by regulations under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and in line with the regulatory philosophy of the Act. For those directives still in draft the present assessment is of course subject to final decisions on content. Implementation proposals will be published by the Health and Safety Commission for consultation in due course.

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82. Mr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission ; and what subjects were discussed.

Mr. Nicholls : My right hon. and learned Friend met the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission on 31 January when a range of matters relating to the responsibilities of the Health and Safety Commission and Executive were discussed.

Jobcentres

84. Mr. Jack Thompson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of employees in jobcentres in Britain in 1979 and 1989.

Mr. Eggar : The gross numbers of staff employed in jobcentres as at 1 April 1979 and 31 December 1989 were 11,397 and 7,598 respectively.

No direct comparison can be drawn between the numbers of staff employed in jobcentres in Britain in 1979 and 1989, since a number of functions which would have been reflected in the 1979 figures are no longer carried out in jobcentres.

The 1989 figure does not include 4,781 counselling staff who work in unemployment benefit offices and other employment service premises.

YTS

86. Mr. Holt : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will examine the YTS run by Cleveland county council ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls : Currently, Cleveland county council provides about 1,300 YTS places for a wide range of young people. Two thirds of those leaving the scheme either gain employment or go on to further training.

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Preventable Loss

Mr. Norris : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will list the number of professionally qualified loss prevention staff employed by his Department and the qualifications held by such staff, excluding qualifications obtained during police or military service.

Mr. Eggar : All staff employed by the Employment Department Group have a responsibility to safeguard cash and assets from misappropriation and theft. There are 34 auditors and 15 accountants who are specialised in their fields.

Labour Costs

Dr. Kim Howells : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what labour costs were as a percentage per unit of output in manufacturing, by region, in the United Kingdom in 1987, 1988 and 1989.

Mr. Nicholls : Regional data on manufacturing output are not available.

London Borough of Newham

Mr. Leighton : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the reasons for the decline in unemployment in London being slowest in the London borough of Newham.

Mr. Nicholls : In the period December 1987 to December 1989 unemployment in Newham fell by 28.3 per cent. The two London labour market studies commissioned by my Department have included Newham. In addition to the normal range of training and employment measures available in Newham as elsewhere there are a number of special projects in Newham to help local people into employment.

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