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Unemployment, South-east Essex
Dr. Spink : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what intiatives he is taking to assist the long-term unemployed in south-east Essex.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Long-term unemployed people in south-east Essex have access to a range of opportunities specifically aimed to give them the help they need to get back to work. These include Restart, job clubs, the job interview guarantee, training for work, and job plan workshops.
We have also recently introduced learning for work, community action and an expanded business start-up scheme for long-term unemployed people which are just a part of the 1.6 million opportunities available nationally this year through the Employment Service and training and enterprise councils to help unemployed people find the best route back to employment. This is an increase of about 600,000 opportunities on last year.
Sickness Certification
Mr. Lewis : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the extent to which staff of the Employment Service have encouraged fit, unemployed persons to seek sickness certification from their general practitioners as an alternative to registering for employment ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The chief executive of the Employment Service has assured me that Employment Service staff do not encourage fit, unemployed persons to seek sickness certification from their GPs. Only where clients raise doubts about their fitness and capability for work, and are willing to seek further advice from their GP will advisers suggest that they do so. If the Employment Service has doubts about their capability for work, but the client does not wish to seek further medical advice their claim will be taken and referred to the independent adjudicating authority for a decision on entitlement to an unemployment benefit.
Accident Victims (Retraining)
Mr. French : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what research has been undertaken by his Department into effective methods of retraining accident victims.
Miss Widdecombe : The Department has undertaken no national research specifically relating to retraining accident victims. People with disabilities, including those whose disabilities arise from accidents, have priority under a wide range of employment and training programmes including training for work and, where eligible, learning for work and community action.
People with disabilities retain their priority status throughout their period of unemployment, or until they have entered each one of our main programmes.
Labour Market
Dr. Liam Fox : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he intends to take to improve the workings of the British labour market.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The aim of the Department is to support economic growth by promoting a competitive,
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efficient and flexible labour market. We have already taken steps to achieve this through step-by-step reforms of industrial relations and trade union law, through deregulation to reduce burdens on business and increase choice and opportunities for individuals, by encouraging training and enterprise, and by helping and requiring unemployed people actively to seek work. We need to maintain these policies if United Kingdom business is to remain competitive.Health and Safety at Work
Mr. Cryer : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will consolidate the current statutory instruments on health and safety at work.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on 18 May 1993, Official Report, column 129.
Young People
Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of 16 and 17-year-olds are in full-time employment.
Miss Widdecombe : The latest available estimates, not seasonally adjusted, from winter 1992-93 labour force survey shows that 12 per cent. of 16 and 17-year-olds in Great Britain were in full-time employment. Seventy per cent. of this age group were in full-time education.
Miss Lestor : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what number of 16 and 17-year-olds are currently without a job, a place in higher education or a place on a training scheme.
Miss Widdecombe : I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment, pursuant to the oral answer of 16 February, Official Report, column 116, what information is available from the labour force survey about the number of those aged 16 and 17-year-olds unemployed according to the International Labour Organisation definition in autumn 1992 and winter 1992-93 ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : The available information appeared in a feature article in the July 1993 Employment Gazette --"Economic Activity of 16 and 17 year olds", table 1, page 308.
Mr. Mandelson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to increase training provision and other employment measures for young people in Hartlepool.
Miss Widdecombe : Teesside training and enterprise council has a wide range of measures in place to help young people in Hartlepool, including the guarantee of a place on youth training.
Dr. Twinn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what initiatives his Department is taking to improve career opportunities for young people in London.
Miss Widdecombe : Youth training and training credits are available to young people through training and enterprise councils in London, as elsewhere. These offer a
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wide range of training opportunities which will enhance and improve the career opportunities of those young people participating. Training and enterprise councils will also continue to work in collaboration with the careers service to further develop new and innovative training opportunities for young people.Mr. Eric Clarke : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what number of 16 and 17-year-olds are currently without a job, a place in higher education or a place on a training scheme.
Miss Widdecombe : I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
Women in Management
Mrs. Gillan : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what initiatives he has encouraged to improve opportunities for women to progress into senior management positions.
Miss Widdecombe : I am convinced that every woman with the necessary inclination, ambition and ability should be allowed a fair and equal opportunity to progress to the highest level possible of her chosen profession. I wholly endorse the aims of the employer-led Opportunity 2000 initiatives, which seeks to enhance the quality and quantity of women's participation in the work force and the Department seeks to be one of the truly exemplary employers in the campaign.
The "New Horizons for Women" initiative promotes a whole range of opportunities for women and publications such as "The Best of Both Worlds" and "Rising to the Challenge" encourage employers to adopt flexible working practices, which can be of benefit to many women with responsibilities beyond the workplace, and to consider the valuable contribution which women have to make to the world of work.
Horse Racing
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are estimated to be employed in jobs relating to the horse racing industry ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : The information is not available. Employment relating to the horse racing industry cannot be distinguished from other leisure industries within activity reading 9791--sport and other recreational services--of the Standard Industrial Classification 1980.
Manufacturing Employment
Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on manufacturing employment in the west midlands.
Miss Widdecombe : In March 1993, there were 547,000 employees in manufacturing industries in the west midlands.
Mr. Milburn : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of manufacturing employment has been lost since January 1990.
Miss Widdecombe : Between January 1990 and May 1993, the number of employees in manufacturing in Great
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Britain fell by 18 per cent. However, the fall in manufacturing employment is not new ; its peak was as far back as 1966. In addition since March 1983, reductions in manufacturing employment have been more than offset by increases in other parts of the economy.Working Population
Mr. Thomason : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people in the United Kingdom are in work as a percentage of the total population of working age ; and what is the average figure in the European Community.
Miss Widdecombe : The United Kingdom percentage in spring 1991 was 70.2 per cent. compared with an EC average of 61.6 per cent. based upon the latest published EC labour force survey report. The most recent available estimate for the United Kingdom is for winter 1992-93 when the percentage was 70 per cent.
Home Workers
Mr. Battle : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is his Department's assessment of the number of home workers in Leeds, West.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : It is estimated that in West Yorkshire some 19,000 people work at home as their main job, including those who are self- employed. Estimates of the numbers of homeworkers are not available for Leeds, West or other local areas.
Business Start-up Scheme
Mr. Bates : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of those enterprises started under the business start-up scheme are still trading after three years.
Miss Widdecombe : The business start-up scheme has not been operational long enough to give the information asked for. The business start-up scheme replaced the enterprise allowance scheme and only came into operation in April 1991. The full results of a survey of those starting the scheme in May 1991 is to be published later this year. This shows that 71 per cent. were still operating the same business 18 months after starting.
Nuclear Safety
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he wil make a statement on the work of the Health and Safety Executive in relation to Sellafield.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The Health and Safety Executive's nuclear installations inspectorate and field operations divisions carry out regular inspections of BNFL's operations at Sellafield under the Health and Safety at Work etc, Act 1974 ; the relevant statutory provisions of the Nuclear Installations Act 1965, as amended and other relevant legislation.
Redundancy Legislation
Mr. Clapham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to review the redundancy legislation.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Minor changes to the statutory notification and consultation procedures were made in the
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Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act. These provisions will come into force on 30 August. We have no plans to change the arrangements for statutory redundancy payments.Careers Service
Ms Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much expenditure (a) has already been incurred and (b) will be incurred in implementing those provisions of the Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993 relating to the careers service.
Miss Widdecombe : I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 26 July 1993.
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Labour Statistics
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many women in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales and (iii) England were economically active whose youngest child was aged (a) 0-four years, (b) five to 10 years, (c) 11 to 15 years, or had no children, for the latest year for which figures are available.
Miss Widdecombe : The latest available estimates from the winter 1992-93 labour force survey are given in the table :
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|Standard |Supportive |Executive |People with |Ex-offenders|Total
|disabilities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |83 |3 |9 |1 |1 |97
Yorkshire and Humberside |93 |13 |7 |0 |1 |114
East Midlands |89 |7 |16 |1 |1 |114
London and South East |288 |42 |43 |4 |4 |381
South West |90 |5 |14 |1 |2 |112
Wales |77 |0 |8 |0 |0 |85
West Midlands |119 |9 |13 |0 |1 |142
North West |166 |6 |13 |1 |3 |189
Scotland |116 |10 |9 |0 |0 |135
National |1,121 |95 |132 |8 |13 |1,369
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish figures for the projected labour force in Scotland for each year until 2001 (a) for males and (b) for females.
Miss Widdecombe : The figures were published in the June 1992 issue of the Employment Gazette --table 1, pages 294-5--and more detailed analyses are available from the NOMIS database in the Library.
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the annual labour activity rate for (a) males and (b) females in Scotland between the current year and his Department's published figure for 2000.
Miss Widdecombe : The figures were published in the June 1992 issue of the Employment Gazette --table 4, pages 300-1--and more detailed analyses are available from the NOMIS database in the Library.
Mr. Watson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list how many (a) males, full time, (b) females, full time and (c) females, part time in Scotland were covered by collective agreements at work both in 1979 and for the latest full year for which such figures are available.
Miss Widdecombe : The information is not available in the form requested. However, information on the proportion of employees covered by collective agreements in the groups specified, as at April 1992, is shown in the table. Comparable figures for 1979 are available only at disproportionate cost.
|Standard |Supportive |Executive |People with |Ex-offenders|Total
|disabilities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Northern |83 |3 |9 |1 |1 |97
Yorkshire and Humberside |93 |13 |7 |0 |1 |114
East Midlands |89 |7 |16 |1 |1 |114
London and South East |288 |42 |43 |4 |4 |381
South West |90 |5 |14 |1 |2 |112
Wales |77 |0 |8 |0 |0 |85
West Midlands |119 |9 |13 |0 |1 |142
North West |166 |6 |13 |1 |3 |189
Scotland |116 |10 |9 |0 |0 |135
National |1,121 |95 |132 |8 |13 |1,369
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EC Social Policy
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans he has to consult (a) employers or their representatives and (b) employees and trade unions over the European Community green paper on social policy.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The European Commissioner for Social Affairs has already sought the views of all interested parties on his proposal to publish a green paper on the future of European social policy. After the green paper has been published the Commissioner will initiate a further extensive round of consultation. I am sure that employers and trades unions will want to play a full part in that debate.
Child Care
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what response he has received to the document "Good Childcare, Good Business", produced by Employers for Childcare, a copy of which has been sent to him.
Miss Widdecombe : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will be meeting the organisers of Employers for Childcare in the near future, when they will discuss the issues raised in their document.
Social and Labour Affairs Council
Ms. Quin : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what matters he expects to be discussed at the next meeting of the EC Social and Labour Affairs Council.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The agenda for the next meeting of the EC Labour and Social Affairs Council on 12 October has not yet been fixed.
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However, the Belgian presidency has indicated that it expects the agenda to include some or all of the following items:Directive on Atypical Work
Directive on Posted Workers
Directive on European Works Councils
Directive on the Protection of Young Workers
Directive on Biological Agents
Directive on Parental Leave
Directive on the Reversal of the Burden of Proof in Sex Discrimination Cases
Initiative on Employment
The Commissioner's Green Paper on Social Policy
Disability
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps his Department have taken against training and enterprise councils who have been found to be not making available suitable high quality training for people assessed to have a disability.
Miss Widdecombe : Each training and enterprise council sets out in its business plan its proposals for the year ahead including the help it can give to people with disabilities. Regional directors regularly review the performance of each TEC to ensure that it delivers the agreed plan. There are a range of sanctions which the Department can bring to bear.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled directors there are on each training and enterprise council board; and what percentage of the TEC boards this represents.
Miss Widdecombe : The information is not available.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled people in the United Kingdom of working age are neither in work nor in training; and what percentage of the disabled population in this age group this represents.
Miss Widdecombe : The labour force survey - LFS - asks people of working age if they currently have any health problem or disability which limits the kind of paid work they can do. Estimates based on answers to this question will include people with short-term health problems and disabilities as well as those registered as disabled. The latest estimates show that of people in the United Kingdom with such health problems or disabilities, 523,000 - 10.4 per cent. - were unemployed on the ILO definition.
These figures are based on estimates for Great Britain in winter 1992-93 and those for Northern Ireland in spring 1992 and are not seasonally adjusted.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of training and enterprise council public meetings were fully accessible for disabled people in (a) 1990-91, (b) 1991-92 and (c) 1992-93.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested is not available. It is a matter for each training and enterprise council to ensure proper access to their annual public meetings.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is meant by the term "suitable high quality training" as used in the 1993- 94 training and
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enterprise council operating agreement in relation to the availability of training for people assessed to have a disability.Miss Widdecombe : Suitable high-quality training means training that meets the requirements placed on training and enterprise councils' providers to achieve the standard of approved training organisation status or agreed alternative.
From April 1994, new revised arrangements will come into effect covering all TEC products and services. These build on the existing arrangements and the considerable development work undertaken by TECs.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many disabled employees there are within each training and enterprise council; and what percentage of the work force this represents.
Miss Widdecombe : The information requested is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. As and employer, every training and enterprise council is required to satisfy the statutory obligations of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what steps are being taken by his department to measure and compare high quality training for disable people within and between training and enterprise council areas.
Miss Widdecombe : Training and enterprise councils' business plans are examined before approval to ensure that they have included objectives and targets for helping people with disabilities. TECs are required by their contract to provide regular performance statistics relating to the training, and placing, of people with disabilities. The Department's regional contracts managers review TECs' achievements against objectives at regular intervals.
Performance reports produced as part of this monitoring process are used to ensure that appropriate action is being taken and that TECs are delivering the agreed plan within the terms on their contract.
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of training and enterprise council resources are spent on disabled people in each TEC.
Miss Widdecombe : This information is not available in the form requested.
Astra Training
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he intends to take to secure training programmes undertaken by, and the future employment of, staff employed by Astra Training in Sheffield.
Miss Widdecombe : The Department contracts with training and enterprise councils for the delivery of training programmes in their areas. It places a contractual obligation on the TECs, where a training provider closes, to find the trainees concerned suitable alternative training. This provision will come into effect in the event that Astra's receivers close any skillcentres. We understand that skillcentres are continuing to offer services to customers while the trading
is reviewed.
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