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Construction Industry (Safety)
42. Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to improve safety in the construction industry ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : Prime responsibility for health and safety rests with employers and employees in the workplace. As part of a continuing process to promote long-lasting change in the industry, the Health and Safety Commission has proposed regulations to : (a) strengthen management of health and safety on construction sites ;
(b) require all employers with more than five employees to obtain relevant safety advice.
The Health and Safety Executive is also targeting inspection activity where it will be most effective. Inspectors will focus on more hazardous activities like roofwork and demolition and on the quality of site management and its ability to manage health and safety.
44. Mr. Rooker : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employees have been killed and injured on construction sites in the past five years.
Mr. Nicholls : The information requested is set out in the following table :
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Injuries to employees in the construction industry
reported to all
HSC/E enforcing authorities 1984 to 1988-89<1><3>
Date of |Fatal |Major<4> |Over three
accident |day
----------------------------------------------------------
1984 |100 |2,288 |<2>-
1985 |104 |2,239 |<2>-
<5>1986-87 |99 |2,736 |16,468
<5>1987-88 |103 |2,767 |16,622
<2><5>1988-89 |100 |2,865 |16,240
<1> Provisional.
<2> Not available.
<3> Reported to HSE's Factory and Agricultural
Inspectorates and all other relevant enforcing
authorities, under the Notification of Accidents and
Dangerous Occurrences Regulations, 1980 (NADOR) and the
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences
Regulations, 1985 for later years.
<4> As defined in NADOR for the years 1984 to 1985. The
introduction of RIDDOR widened the definition of the
major injury category thereby making direct comparison of
figures with those for earlier years impossible.
<5> Years beginning 1 April.
Czechoslovakia
43. Mr. Nicholas Bennett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the outcome of his last visit to Czechoslovakia.
Mr. Howard : I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Swindon (Mr. Coombs) on Tuesday 5 June, Official Report, columns 457-58.
Women Returners
46. Dr. Reid : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he is taking to encourage women back into the workplace after having children.
Mr. Nicholls : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the right hon. Member for Salford, East (Mr. Orme) on 13 March, Official Report, column 214.
YTS (Scotland)
48. Mr. McAllion : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many YTS trainees there were in Scotland at the latest date.
Mr. Nicholls : At 31 March 1990, there were about 45,100 young people undertaking YTS training in Scotland.
Inner-city Areas
53. Mr. Robert G. Hughes : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the estimated expenditure of his Department in inner- city areas in 1990-91.
Mr. Eggar : My Department will spend about £1.1 billion during 1990-91 in the 57 areas on which the Government's action for cities measures are targeted.
Scottish Conservative Party Head Office
54. Mr. Harry Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set up an official inquiry into employment practices and industrial relations at the Scottish Conservative party head office, Chester street, Edinburgh.
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Mr. Howard : No.Labour and Social Affairs Council
55. Mr. Paice : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment under which articles of the treaty of Rome the decisions were made at the Labour and Social Affairs Council meeting in Brussels on 29 May.
Mr. Eggar : Based on the articles of the treaty of Rome, the following decisions were made in Brussels on 29 May.
Article 118A, adoption of the Council directive on the minimum health and safety requirements for handling heavy loads.
Article 118A, adoption of the Council directive on the minimum health and safety requirements for work with display screen equipment.
Article 118A, agreement of a common position on the Council directive on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to biological agents.
Article 128, adoption of the council directive for a proposal for action programme on continuing training (FORCE).
Article 235, adoption of the Council decision for a third joint programme to encourage the exchange of young workers within the Community.
Other decisions taken, for which no treaty basis is required, were : adoption of resolutions on the dignity of women and men at work, long-term unemployment and the fight against racism and xenophobia.
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Agriculture
57. Mr. Gill : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what the trend of full-time employment in the agriculture industry has been over the past five years ; and what assessment he has been able to make of future trends.
Mr. Nicholls : The number of full-time employees in employment in the agriculture industry over the past five years is shown in the table. The Department does not make forecasts of future trends in employment.
Full-time employees in
employment in the
agriculture industry
Great Britain: Thousands
|Number
----------------------------
December 1984 |253.7
December 1985 |247.1
December 1986 |237.6
December 1987 |231.5
December 1988 |220.6
December 1989 |208.1
Women in Work
58. Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the member states of the European Community with a greater number of women in work than the United Kingdom.
Mr. Nicholls : In 1987, the latest date for which comparable data are available, the United Kingdom has more women in civilian employment than any other member state.
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Female civilian work force in employment
in the European Community: 1987
Thousands
|Females |Civilian |Percentage
|workforce in| of civilian
|employment |workforce in
|employment
-------------------------------------------------------------------
United Kingdom |10,729 |24,755 |43
Germany |10,042 |25,440 |39
France |8,822 |20,976 |42
Italy |7,065 |20,584 |34
Netherlands |1,829 |5,251 |35
Belgium |1,419 |3,621 |39
Luxembourg |58 |169 |34
Ireland |346 |1,067 |32
Denmark |1,201 |2,663 |45
Greece |1,236 |3,597 |34
Spain |3,477 |11,383 |31
Portugal |1,724 |4,169 |41
74. Mrs. Roe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of the projected growth in the labour force between 1989 and 2001 is female.
Mr. Nicholls : The information required is contained in the article "Labour force outlook to 2001" published in Employment Gazette , April 1990, a copy of which is available in the Library.
EC Commissioner for Social Affairs
59. Mr. Hayes : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he last met the European Commissioner for Social Affairs to discuss employment legislation.
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Mr. Howard : I last met the European Commissioner at a formal Council of EC Labour and Social Affairs Ministers in Brussels on 29 May.
Hungary (Ministerial Visit)
63. Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the outcome of his visit to Hungary.
Mr. Howard : I visited Hungary from 3 to 5 June. During my stay I met the newly appointed Minister of Labour, Mr. Sandor Gyo"rivanyi, and other members of the Government. I also had discussions with Hungarian business men and entrepreneurs, and visited a factory.
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Discussions focused on the importance of ensuring that the climate is right for small firms to flourish, and the more immediate practical help and advice my Department can give.On 5 June Mr. Gyo"rivanyi and I signed a joint statement on co-operation between our two countries in the labour market area. We agreed a programme of immediate assistance which will include advice and practical help in the development of training and retraining, including open learning, employment services, and small firms and enterprise.
In addition, I invited the Hungarian Government to send officials to Britain for an extended visit to study the relevance of our conciliation and arbitration systems.
I am pleased that the Hungarian Government have asked my Department for assistance and that we have been able to agree a programme of co-operation. I look forward to the development of a rewarding and beneficial relationship between our respective Ministries.
Trade Unions (Injunctions)
66. Mr. Leigh : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any proposals to alter the liability of trade unions to ex parte injunctions.
Mr. Nicholls : No. The law gives an employer threatened with an unlawful call to take industrial action the right to seek an injunction against the relevant union in order to protect his business. The procedure for obtaining an injunction against a trade union is no different from the procedure for obtaining an injunction to stop unlawful behaviour by any other organisation, and my right hon. and learned Friend has no intention of changing that.
Minimum Wage
67. Mr. Michael Brown : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has received any representations calling for the introduction of a national statutory minimum wage.
Mr. Nicholls : Since 1 December 1989 my right hon. and learned Friend has received 21 representations on this subject.
Employment Medical Advisory Service
69. Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the staffing of the employment medical advisory service within the Health and Safety Executive.
Mr. Nicholls : On 1 April 1990, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 134 staff in post in the Health and Safety Executive's employment medical advisory service (EMAS). In addition, there were 21 staff in post performing headquarters functions for EMAS in HSE's medical services headquarters.
Job Creation
70. Mr. Adley : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will monitor the effectiveness of job creation programmes by category of sector in which the jobs are created, examining specifically those related to infrastructure.
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Mr. Eggar : The Government do not run job-creation programmes as such. Our approach has been to develop an economic and labour market framework which encourages competition, flexibility and enterprise and thus frees business to create new jobs. The success of this policy is demonstrated by the fact that, at over 27 million, employment is now at its highest level ever, and has grown by more than 3.5 million since March 1983. Within this approach, my Department operates a range of programmes designed to help unemployed people back into work, through training, counselling and help with job search.
Home Workers
72. Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of home workers employed within the Greater London area.
Mr. Eggar : A survey conducted in 1981 found about 37,500 homeworkers in the Greater London council area.
No later estimates are currently available.
Bed-and-Breakfast Accommodation
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what recent representations he has received on the 100-day rule and the provision of bed-and-breakfast accommodation ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Nicholls : A number of representations has been received from across the industry reflecting a wide range of views. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is fully aware of the tourism industry's concerns on this issue.
TVEI, Kirklees
Mrs. Peacock : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what amount of money was made available, or planned, for the technical and vocational education initiative in 1989-90 and 1990-91 for Kirklees metropolitan council area.
Mr. Eggar : Kirklees was given £284,630 in 1989-90 for its TVEI preparatory project. The planned expenditure in its preparatory project in 1990-91 is £278,820.
Employment Training
Mr. Madden : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he proposes to make any changes in the financial arrangements for those undertaking employment training to place their children in nursery, creche or playcare.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 22 June 1990] : The former £50 limit on weekly payments to childminders has been abolished. Training and enterprise councils and training agency area offices have discretion over the means by which they ensure the provision of child care support for lone parents on employment training.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state in real terms the amount to be spent on employment training for each of the financial years 1989-90 to 1992-93.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 25 June 1990] : The following table shows, in real terms, the amount spent on employment training in 1989 -90 and the amount expected to be spent in 1990-91 to 1992-93.
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Expenditure at constant (
1988-89) prices
|£ million
-------------------------------
<1>1989-90 |1,030
<2>1990-91 |1,034
<2>1991-92 |993
<2>1992-93 |976
<1> Actual expenditure.
<2> Planned spend.
Mr. Blair : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many training contracts with training providers for (a) YTS and (b) ET have not been renewed for the present financial year, listing in each case the name of the training provider, the reason for non-renewal and the number of training places involved for both YTS and ET.
Mr. Nicholls [holding answer 25 June 1990] : Information in the format requested would be available only at disproportionate cost. The process of renegotiating YT and ET contracts for this year is nearly complete. The latest information is that of about 3,450 YT contracts to be renegotiated, 105 have not been renewed, and of about 1,300 ET contracts, 15 have not been renewed.
Skills Training Agency
Mr. McLeish : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the future of the privatised Skills Training Agency and its contribution to the tackling of long-term skill needs.
Mr. Nicholls : [holding answer 25 June 1990] : A key objective of the sale was to transfer as much of the Skills Training Agency to the private sector as was possible.
The Government are highly satisfied with the successful sale of 51 skill centres, together with other STA training services. The terms agreed for the sales were designed to give purchasers a good prospect of long-term viability as training businesses. All purchasers have indicated their intention to develop skills training that meets market needs.
Retirement Pensions
Sir David Price : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, in light of the recent decision by the House of Lords in the case of James v. Eastleigh Borough Council, what advice he is now offering to employers in respect of age eligibility for retirement pensions.
Mrs. Gillian Shephard : I have been asked to reply.
The James case deals with concessions for people over state pension age. It does not extend to social security or occupational pension schemes.
DEFENCE
Radar
Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the facilities provided at the proposed military radar base at St. David's, Dyfed, could be used as part of a guidance system for either the tactical air-to-surface missile or Tomahawk missiles.
Mr. Alan Clark : The over-the-horizon radar transmitter proposed for a two-year trial at St. David's airfield,
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Dyfed, will be a long-range, very early warning installation, and will not have the accuracy necessary for use in conjunction with TASM or Tomahawk missiles. There are therefore no plans to utilise the OTHR as part of a missile guidance system.Mr. Ron Davies : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give consideration to using the former United States navy base at Benbradagh mountain at Dungiven, County Londonderry, as a site for the radar installation currently proposed for Brawdy, Pembrokeshire.
Mr. Alan Clark : The site at Dungiven is too far north to be a suitable location for the proposed two-year trial of an over-the-horizon radar in the United Kingdom.
Open Verdict"
Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will obtain for his departmental library a copy of "Open Verdict" by Tony Collins.
Mr. Neubert : The MOD library already possesses a copy of this work.
Holy Loch
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what information he has on the planned retirement date for the Poseidon missile- equipped submarines currently deployed at Holy Loch ; (2) what discussions have been held between his Department and the United States authorities concerning United States Navy use of the Holy Loch base after the retiral of the Poseidon missile from United States navy service.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply given to the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish (Mr. Bennett) on 20 March 1990 at column 521.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what additional duties at the Holy Loch base will be performed by United States personnel to be accommodated in the new houses to be leased by the United States navy in the Dunoon-Sandbank areas.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : None. The United States Navy's requirement for additional housing is to alleviate a longstanding shortfall.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current number of military and civilian personnel assigned to the United States navy base at Holy Loch ; and what changes are planned in these levels over the next three years.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : Approximately 2,000 personnel work at the Holy Loch facility. No significant changes in numbers are currently envisaged by the United States navy.
Mr. Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what provision is made for (a) firefighting, (b) nuclear emergencies and (c) maintenance support of submarines at the Holy Loch facility during periods of absence of the USS Simon Lake.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : In periods of absence of the submarine tender, the United States navy has alternative
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arrangements to cover emergencies, of which Her Majesty's Government are aware. The provision of maintenance support for its submarines is solely a matter for the United States Government.Air Defences
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current assessment of the threat to United Kingdom air defences.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The principal potential threat to United Kingdom air defences is that posed by the medium bombers of the Soviet Air Force based in the western USSR.
This force has been--and continues to be--steadily modernised by the deployment of the supersonic Backfire, which is replacing the older Badger and Blinder.
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current assessment of the need for (a) ground attack aircraft, and (b) air defence aircraft ; and what was the assessment one year ago.
Mr. Archie Hamilton : The assessed need for combat aircraft has been reflected in the plans described in successive statements on the defence estimates. We are currently reassessing our defence requirements as part of the "Options for Change" study.
Defence Review
Mr. O'Neill : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what communications have taken place with the defence industry regarding the economic and industrial implications of the study of options for change ;
(2) what communications have taken place with the defence industry regarding future equipment requirements of the armed forces as part of the study of options for change.
Mr. Alan Clark : I am in constant touch with industry and the whole range of procurement matters is discussed. The issues which arise are being taken into account during the current exercise.
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FOOD
Fishing Quotas
Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will next meet representatives of the fishing industry to discuss quotas.
Mr. Salmond : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will next meet representatives of the fishing industry to discuss quotas.
Mr. Andrew Welsh : To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he will next meet representatives of the fishing industry to discuss quotas.
Mr. Curry : I and my noble Friend the Minister of State, Scottish Office will be representing the United Kingdom at the next Fisheries Council in Luxembourg on 27 June. I expect to meet representatives of the fishing industry on that occasion.
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