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Mr. Forth : A minimum wage set at the final level proposed by the Labour party of two thirds male median earnings could destroy over a million jobs if pay differentials were half restored. If differentials were fully restored up to two million jobs could be lost.
EC Social Charter
17. Mr. Hardy : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what regulations he proposes to introduce to implement the employment provisions of the EC social charter.
Mr. Howard : The social charter, signed by the 11 other member states, was a political declaration and has no legal effect. Where legislation is required to implement directives agreed under the social action programme, this will be introduced within the timetable for implementation set out in each proposal.
26. Mr. Madel : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the outcome of the discussions on the social charter in Maastricht on 10 December.
Mr. Howard : The Maastricht treaty on European union confirms that the social provisions chapter within the existing treaty of Rome will be retained. There will be no extensions of the Community's present powers in employment and social affairs, and no increase in the use within the Council of Ministers of qualified majority voting. That is the outcome for which the Government argued throughout the negotiations. It leaves the leading responsibility for employment and social policies where it belongs, firmly in the hands of national Parliaments, and is good news for British jobs and for the competitiveness of our industry.
Should other member states wish to go further than provided for in the treaty, they can do so by way of the separate protocol and agreement on social affairs.
Trade Union Training Centres
18. Ms. Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he will next meet the TUC to discuss trade union unemployed workers' training centres.
Mr. Jackson : My right hon. and learned Friend last met the TUC on 18 December last year. He has no plans at present to meet the TUC to discuss the matter in question.
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EC Working Time Directive
19. Mr. John Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received from British industry concerning the proposed European working time directive.
Mr. Howard : British industry is virtually unanimous in its opposition to the proposals. I fully agree with the Confederation of British Industry that the directive would be a needless strain on our competitiveness, and a threat to jobs and earnings.
Training
20. Mr. McMaster : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has any plans to improve the provision of training for people with disabilities and/or learning difficulties.
Mr. Jackson : Training and enterprise council and local enterprise company operating agreements require
"suitable high quality training to be made available for all trainees who have disabilities or other significant personal disadvantages which give rise to special training needs." Each TEC and LEC must show in its corporate and business plans how it intends to meet the training needs of individuals and the local labour market. These plans form the basis of TEC contracts with the Department, and LECs with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
25. Mr. Rowe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he plans next to meet the CBI to discuss its members' contribution to training.
Mr. Howard : I have regular contact with representatives of the CBI on a range of issues. I have at present no plans for a meeting on the particular subject mentioned by my hon. Friend.
Industrial Action
21. Mr. Andrew Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many working days were lost due to industrial action in (a) January 1979, (b) 1990 and (c) the latest 12-month period for which figures are available.
Mr. Howard : There were 0.8 million working days lost in the 12 months to October 1991, the latest available period, and 1.9 million working days lost in 1990 as a whole. These compare with 3 million working days lost in the single month of January 1979.
Unemployment
22. Mr. Pawsey : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what additional action he plans to take to assist those who are unemployed and aged over 50 years.
Mr. Jackson : We have already announced plans to offer help back to work for nearly a million unemployed people in 1992-93 through our employment and training programmes. This includes increased opportunities through employment action, our new temporary work programme, and extra support for jobclubs and the job interview guarantee. All these programmes are open to people aged over 50.
23. Mr. David Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he next intends to meet the TUC to discuss unemployment.
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Mr. Howard : I have discussed various matters with the TUC on a number of occasions including at the National Economic Development Council. The next meeting of the Council will be on 1 April.
Manufacturing Industry, Sheffield
24. Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the latest estimates of the prospects for full-time jobs, involving at least a 35-hour week, for both male and female in manufacturing industry in Sheffield for the foreseeable future.
Mr. Jackson : The Department, as was the practice under previous Governments, does not publish detailed forecasts of employment nor comment on the forecasts of others.
Age Discrimination
27. Mr. Cran : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has had on the subject of age discrimination by employers ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : My right hon. and learned Friend and I have met many of the voluntary sector organisations which speak out against age discrimination by employers, and have received representations from others. We continue to urge employers to abandon arbitrary age limits in recruitment as inefficient and wasteful, and to treat everyone on their merits.
Tourism
28. Mr. Butterfill : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people were employed in tourism in (a) 1981 and (b) 1991.
Mr. Forth : There were an estimated 1.2 million employees in employment in tourism-related industries in June 1981, and 1.4 million in June 1991. In addition, there were around 163,000 self employed in tourism- related industries in 1981 and around 190,000 in 1991.
Mr. Fearn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to visit Southport to discuss the tourist industry.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. and learned Friend has no such plans. However, my noble Friend Viscount Ullswater, who has ministerial responsibility for tourism matters, hopes to be visiting Southport next March.
Youth Training
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently undertaking a youth training course in the Greater London area ; at what cost to public funds ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Jackson : Figures are not available for the Greater London area. In November, the latest date for which information is available, there were 15,800 young people in youth training in the London region (of which Greater London is a part).
The programme budget for youth training in the London region for 1991-92 is £492,000.
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Unemployment, Greater London
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the number of people registered as unemployed in the Greater London area and the number of job vacancies for the area at jobcentres on 7 January 1992.
Mr. Jackson : The latest available data relate to 14 November 1991 for unemployed claimants and 6 November 1991 for unfilled vacancies at jobcentres. On these respective dates there were on a seasonally adjusted basis, 378,000 unemployed claimants and 6,200 unfilled jobcentre vacancies, in the Greater London region.
Figures for January will be released on 13 February.
Maastricht
Sir Michael Neubert : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what implications the outcome of the negotiations over the social chapter at Maastricht have for the United Kingdom.
Mr. Forth : The treaty on European union agreed at the European Council at Maastricht confirms that the existing social provisions chapter within the present treaty (articles 117-122) will be retained without change. The outcome of the negotiations on the social chapter provides the necessary basis for the development of a sensible Community social dimension and the United Kingdom will continue to participate fully in all relevant discussions.
That is the outcome for which the Government argued throughout the negotiations. It leaves the leading responsibility for employment and social policies where it belongs, firmly in the hands of national Parliaments, and is good news for British jobs and for the competitiveness of our industry.
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Should other member states wish to go further than provided for in the treaty, they can do so by way of the separate protocol and agreement on social affairs.Job Release Scheme
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will announce the results of the review of the rates of allowance payable under the job release scheme.
Mr. Jackson : Although the job release scheme closed to new applicants on 31 January 1988, the allowance will continue to be paid to participants for up to five years. Following our annual review, the allowances payable from 6 April 1992 under the job release scheme will be as follows :
Those who are married with a dependent wife whose net income from all sources does not exceed £17 a week : £94.45 taxable. Those who do not have a dependent wife or whose wife's income exceeds £17 a week : £77.80 taxable. The spouses earnings limit which affects whether the higher or lower rate is paid has been raised to £17 from £16.
Employee Participation
Mr. Janman : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he intends to seek the views of business on the new European Commission proposal for a recommendation concerning the promotion of employee participation in profits and enterprise results including equity participation.
Mr. Forth : Yes. A public consultation document on this subject has recently been issued by the Department. A copy has been placed in the Library.
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