House of Commons Hansard Debates for 9 Jul 1991

Training and Enterprise Councils

23. Mr. Speller : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he will take to help the TECs provide a higher level of training for the south-west.

Mr. Jackson : Training and enterprise councils have been given the resources to undertake training which is relevant to the needs of their local areas.

Labour Statistics

24. Mr. Riddick : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total number of people in work in (a) 1979 and (b) the last year for which figures are available.

Mr. Howard : The work force in employment in the United Kingdom stood at 25,365,000 in June 1979 and at 26,666,000 in December 1990--an increase of 1.3 million over the period.

Ms. Gordon : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were registered unemployed in Tower Hamlets in each year since 1970, by electoral ward.

Mr. Jackson : Information, relating to claimants at unemployment benefit offices, is available from June 1983 and can be obtained from the NOMIS database in the House of Commons Library.

Trade Unions (Complaints)

25. Mr. David Evans : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many complaints the trade union certification officer has received from trade union members in each of the last two years.

Mr. Forth : The certification officer is an independent authority appointed under statute. I understand that he received five formal complaints under specific statutory provisions from trade union members during 1989, and 12

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such complaints during 1990. Details are given in the certification officer's annual reports to the Secretary of State, copies of which are available in the Library.

Rugby and Daventry Travel to Work Area

27. Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many are now employed in the Rugby/Daventry travel to work area ; and what the number was when the Rugby/Daventry travel to work area was first established.

Mr. Jackson : The most recent estimates of employment in travel-to- work areas are taken from the September 1989 census of employment. There were then an estimated 49,400 employees in employment in the Rugby and Daventry travel-to-work area. This compares with a figure of 44,100 in September 1981, the earliest date for which figures are available.

EC Social Affairs Directives

26. Mr. Burns : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many social affairs directives of the EC have been implemented by (a) the United Kingdom, (b) France, (c) Germany and (d) Italy ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Howard : A European Commission report in November 1990 showed that the United Kingdom had implemented all 18 measures agreed in the social area, France and Germany had implemented 17, and Italy 11. These figures support our view that the Community needs to pay as much attention to implementation and enforcement of agreed measures as it does to new proposals.

Salary Increases

22. Mr. Beaumont-Dark : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the effect of high salary increases on employment.

Mr. Howard : There is no doubt that high pay increases cost jobs. It is estimated that a 1 per cent. increase in the average real wage lowers employment by about 110,000 to 220,000.

Disabled People

Sir Michael McNair-Wilson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what appeal mechanism exists for disabled persons who are refused employment because of their disability.

Mr. Jackson : Where people feel that they have been refused employment because of their disability they can take up the matter with the disablement advisory service or a disablement resettlement officer who, where appropriate, can contact the employer and seek to overcome any prejudice or misunderstanding including providing guidance on the wide range of help available for integrating people with disabilities into the work force.

Training Schemes, Avon

Ms. Primarolo : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what were the amounts of allocations agreed from the European social fund for employment and training schemes in the Avon training area for the years commencing 1 April 1989, 1990 and 1991.

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Mr. Forth : Allocations for the European social fund are determined on a calendar year basis. The amounts per calendar year for individual schemes supported outside the Government sector in Avon are as follows :


Year    |Amount         

        |£              

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

1989    |478,387        

1990    |490,697        

1991    |648,782

Allocations for 1991 have not yet been finalised and are therefore provisional. In addition to these specific allocations, the Avon area benefits from the European social fund through support for national programmes such as employment training and youth training.

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Government Measures

Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment is made of the impact on employment of new Government measures ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Jackson : The new measures that my right hon. and learned Friend announced on 19 June will promote employment by helping unemployed people back to work, preparing them for the jobs that are available and keeping them in touch with the labour market. They will raise the total number of opportunities which the Government are making available to unemployed people from 650,000 to 840,000 this year and to 900,000 next year--more than ever before.

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