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Standard Spending Assessments
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans he has to include (a) standard morbidity rate or (b) other health indicators in the standard spending assessments for local authorities.
Mr. Curry [holding answer 21 October 1993] : We have considered the use of a range of health factors as part of the review of standard spending assessments for 1994-95. We shall consult in the usual way on our proposals for the revenue support grant settlement for 1994-95, including standard spending assessments, in the late autumn.
Sea Mammals
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give details of the survey on the abundance and distribution of small cetaceans in the North sea ; and which other countries are involved.
Mr. Yeo : [holding answer 21 October 1993] : The "Small Cetacean Abundance in the North Sea" survey (SCANS) is a major international research project, which aims to record the abundance and distribution of dolphins, porpoises and other small cetaceans in the North sea and adjacent areas. It will provide baseline data for considering whether further conservation measures are necessary. The work will be carried out under the provisions of the agreement on the conservation of small cn, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom are all contributing towards the costs of the
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project, estimated to be 1,408,800 ecu, of which the United Kingdom is contributing 160,000 ecu. The main survey work is to be undertaken in summer 1994.Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what level of funding is being provided for the interim secretariat of ASCOBANS at the sea mammal research unit in Cambridge.
Mr. Yeo : [holding answer 21 October 1993] : The Department of the Environment has provided funding of £43,754 for the interim secretariat of ASCOBANS at the sea mammal research unit in Cambridge, since it was established in June 1992.
Property Services Agency
Mr. David Martin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now give final details of the PSA Building Management sales.
Mr. Curry : The sale of Building Management Scotland was completed on 1 September, and the sales of the other businesses on 1 October. The Government will receive considerations of £3.5 million for Building Management Scotland, a net £10.4 million phased over four years for Building Management South East and South and West combined, and £8 million phased over three years for Noreast Building Management. Government have made a
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payment of £11.46 million to the purchasers of Building Management Manchester but the final amount may be up to about £12.1 million depending on the number of staff who transfer their entitlements to the new pension scheme. This will not be known until six months or more after completion.In addition, the Government injected cash into each business at the point of sale to meet the estimated net liabilities transferred to the purchasers under the sale agreements. The amounts of cash injected were £1.9 million to Building Management Scotland ; £1.0 million to Building Management South East ; £1.4 million to Building Management South and West ; £2.2 million to Noreast Building Management and £2.0 million to Building Management Manchester. In all cases these amounts will be adjusted pound for pound after preparation of completion statements to compare actual net liabilities at the point of sale with the estimates made. The assets transferred exclude the amounts owed by customers to the five building management businesses for work done up to the sale. These debts will be collected by PSAS and retained in Government. Staff in all five businesses were asked to choose between transfer to the private sector or a possible period of secondment to the new business. Not all staff who were available for secondment were selected. The results are summarised below :
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Business |Transferred |Selected for |Not selected for
|secondment |secondment
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Building Management South East |439 |618 |98
Building Management South and West |616 |668 |52
Noreast Building Management |494 |405 |110
Building Management Manchester |699 |397 |126
Building Management Scotland |484 |273 |106
The Government have entered into a severence sharing arrangement with each purchaser, under which it will fund redundancies including those of secondees and non-elected staff that may arise up to an agreed maximum figure. These are : Building Management South East £30 million, Building Management South and West £25 million, Noreast £29.5 million, Building Management Manchester about £28 million and Building Management Scotland £15 million. In aggregate these amount to about £127.5 million.
The Government have also guaranteed the redundancy entitlements of transferring staff against the purchasers' bankruptcy for up to five years post sale. The maximum aggregate value of this contingent liability is estimated at around £65 million.
The departmental minute laid on 14 June 1993 indicated that the maximum contingent liability to be undertaken in the sale negotiations was estimated not to exceed £200 million. Final details of the sums paid in respect of the sale of the building management businesses will not be available for some time as this will depend on the number of transferred staff remaining with the businesses for more than five years from the date of sale.
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EMPLOYMENT
Bank Holidays
Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals he has to add to or transfer existing bank holidays.
Mr. David Hunt : An announcement will be made in due course.
Books (VAT)
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made regarding the impact on employment in the publishing and bookselling sector of imposition of VAT at 17.5 per cent. on books.
Miss Widdecombe : I am not willing to speculate on the possible effect of measures that may or may not be in the forthcoming Budget.
Noel Employment Ltd.
Mr. Fraser : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what account his Department took in its decision to grant an employment agency licence to Solo Employment Agency, of that agency's relationship to the former Noel Employment Ltd. in respect of (a) the address of the premises of the agency and (b) the identity of the directors of the agency.
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Mr. Michael Forsyth : The Department has granted a licence under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 to Solo Appointments (Hammersmith) Ltd. The premises of the agency were formerly those of a branch of Noel Employment Ltd. One of the directors of the agency was formerly a director of Noel Employment Ltd. The Department took account of all relevant information and found no grounds for refusing to grant the licence.
Disabled Employees
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will list for each of the last 10 years, the number of public sector employers who have been prosecuted for not employing the required percentage of disabled employees ; what was the fine imposed ; and what is the current percentage of disabled employees employed in the public sector ;
(2) if he will list for each of the last 10 years, the number of private sector employers who have been prosecuted for not employing the required percentage of disabled employees ; what was the fine imposed ; and what is the current percentage of disabled employees employed in the private sector.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the questions has been delegated to the Employment Service agency under its chief executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter to Mr. Martin Redmond from M. E. G. Fogden, dated 22 October 1993 :
As the Employment Service is an Executive Agency, the Secretary of State has asked me to write to you direct to respond to your Parliamentary Questions to him about the number of public and private sector employers prosecuted for not employing the required percentage of disabled employees ; the fines imposed and the current percentage of disabled employees employed in public and private sectors. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of the Agency.
It may be helpful if I briefly explain employers' duties and obligations under the provisions of the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944.
The Act placed a duty on employers who have twenty or more workers to employ a Quota of registered disabled people. The standard Quota is currently set at three per cent. of the employer's total workforce. It is not an offence to be below Quota. However, when in this situation, an employer has a further duty under the Act to engage suitable registered disabled people if any are available when vacancies arise. A below Quota employer must
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not engage anyone other than a registered disabled person without first obtaining a permit to do so, and must not discharge a registered disabled person without reasonable cause. Failure to comply with either of these latter two obligations is a criminal offence. Employers in scope of the provisions of the Quota Scheme must keep records to show that they are complying with the requirements.No employer has been prosecuted for infringing the provisions of the Quota Scheme in the last ten years.
You also asked about the percentages of disabled employees employed in the public and private sectors. I regret that information is not collected in this precise form. However, I can provide approximate figures related to registered disabled employees. Each year tables showing the number and percentage of registered disabled people employed by a wide range of public sector employers are published, with their agreement, in the Employment Gazette. The latest figures, relating to 1 June 1992, were in the April 1993 issue of the Gazette. The average percentage of registered disabled people employed by the public sector employers whose individual figures were published in the Gazette was 0.8 per cent.
Deduction of the data for this range of public sector employers from national data in respect of all employers who are in scope of the Quota provisions produces an approximate figure of 0.7 per cent. for employers in the private sector.
I hope this is helpful.
As decided by the Administrative Committee of the House of Commons, Chief Executive replies to written Parliamentary Questions will now be published in the Official Report. I will also place a copy of this letter in the Library of the House.
Wages Statistics
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many establishments were found to be underpaying wages in each year since 1979 ;
(2) what information he has as to how many establishments (a) failed to post wages council notices, (b) failed to keep adequate records of hours worked and (c) failed to keep adequate records of wages paid in 1992 ;
(3) how many establishments were found to be making underpayments in wages council trades in 1992 ;
(4) how many (a) checks were carried out and (b) underpayments discovered for each wages inspectorate division in 1992 ; (5) how many workers' pay levels were checked by wages councils in 1992 for each wages council inspectorate ;
(6) how many establishments were covered by wages councils on the register at December 1992.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information requested is provided in the following tables :
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Table 1
Establishments covered by wages councils on register at December 1992
Divisions
Wages councils |London |South East |East |South West |Midlands |North West |Yorkshire and |North |Scotland |Great Britain
|Humberside
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aerated waters |14 |12 |70 |17 |34 |48 |15 |19 |50 |279
Clothing manufacturers |2,000 |136 |226 |316 |1,042 |1,006 |448 |148 |179 |5,501
Boot and shoe repairing |370 |215 |249 |272 |382 |449 |620 |83 |138 |2,778
Button manufacturing |16 |3 |1 |4 |11 |4 |2 |3 |0 |44
Coffin furniture and
cerement making |0 |0 |0 |2 |6 |5 |4 |0 |1 |18
Cotton waste reclamation |1 |0 |0 |1 |6 |20 |0 |0 |0 |28
Flax and hemp |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |6 |7
General waste materials
reclamation |99 |74 |92 |157 |212 |286 |222 |89 |105 |1,336
Hairdressing |3,828 |3,027 |3,140 |4,237 |5,072 |5,262 |3,389 |2,000 |2,504 |32,459
Hat, cap and millinery |14 |3 |38 |1 |3 |17 |10 |9 |1 |96
Lace finishing |0 |0 |0 |0 |56 |1 |0 |0 |1 |58
Laundry |142 |121 |63 |137 |224 |89 |53 |43 |148 |1,020
Linen and cotton handkerchief
and household goods and linen
piece goods 3 |1 |3 |4 |13 |116 |9 |2 |2 |153
Made-up textiles |23 |14 |42 |31 |37 |45 |46 |18 |27 |283
Ostrich and fancy feather
and artificial flower |11 |2 |7 |4 |0 |3 |1 |4 |3 |35
Perambulator and invalid
carriage |2 |2 |3 |1 |9 |4 |5 |1 |0 |27
Retail bespoke tailoring |166 |36 |43 |39 |27 |53 |31 |12 |32 |439
Rope, twine and net |1 |1 |5 |26 |4 |24 |16 |3 |22 |102
Sack and bag |5 |0 |5 |5 |10 |15 |11 |1 |3 |55
Toy manufacturing |9 |12 |27 |27 |21 |59 |30 |11 |7 |203
Retail trades (non-food) |16,499 |11,641 |11,430 |14,265 |21,543 |16,566 |10,913 |5,138 |8,457 |116,452
Retail food and allied
trades |10,866 |12,588 |10,283 |14,180 |15,793 |19,049 |11,149 |7,694 |9,861 |111,463
Licensed non-residential
establishments |5,978 |5,962 |8,194 |10,064 |13,875 |11,053 |6,920 |4,229 |5,484 |71,759
Licensed residential
establishments and
licensed restaurants |4,853 |4,278 |3,730 |7,460 |3,683 |4,157 |2,366 |1,580 |3,827 |35,934
Unlicensed place of
refreshment |3,559 |2,720 |1,506 |3,551 |1,885 |2,474 |1,523 |877 |1,733 |19,828
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |48,520 |40,850 |39,159 |54,808 |63,952 |60,820 |37,787 |21,964 |32,597 |400,457
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Table 2
Establishments checked and underpayments found in wages council trades-1992
Wages councils |Establishments |Percentage of |Establishments |Percentage of |Establishments found|Percentage of all |Percentage of
|checked by all |register checked |checked by visit |register checked by |underpaying |establishments |establishments
|methods |visit |checked underpaying |visited underpaying
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aerated waters |11 |3.9 |11 |3.9 |1 |9.1 |9.1
Clothing manufactury |316 |5.7 |284 |5.2 |89 |28.2 |31.3
Boot and shoe repairing |240 |8.6 |103 |3.7 |11 |4.6 |10.7
Button manufacturing |4 |9.1 |4 |9.1 |0 |.0 |.0
Coffin furniture and
cerement making |5 |27.8 |4 |22.2 |0 |.0 |0
Cotton waste reclamation |1 |3.6 |1 |3.6 |0 |.0 |0
Flax and hemp |0 |.0 |0 |.0 |0 |.0 |.0
Fur |4 |4.0 |4 |4.0 |0 |.0 |.0
General waste materials
reclamation |51 |3.8 |40 |3.0 |5 |9.8 |12.5
Hairdressing |2,625 |8.1 |1,830 |5.6 |505 |19.2 |27.6
Hat, cap and millinery |1 |1.0 |1 |1.0 |0 |.0 |.0
Lace finishing |0 |.0 |0 |.0 |0 |.0 |.0
Laundry |69 |6.8 |65 |6.4 |30 |43.5 |46.2
Linen and cotton
handkerchief
and household goods
and linen piece goods |2 |1.3 |2 |1.3 |0 |.0 |.0
Made-up textiles |32 |11.3 |31 |11.0 |9 |28.1 |29.0
Ostrich and fancy feather
and artificial flower |5 |14.3 |5 |14.3 |0 |.0 |.0
Perambulator and invalid
carriage |3 |11.1 |3 |11.1 |0 |.0 |.0
Retail bespoke tailoring |20 |4.6 |15 |3.4 |2 |10.0 |13.3
Rope, twine and net |8 |7.8 |8 |7.8 |1 |12.5 |12.5
Sack and bag |5 |9.1 |4 |7.3 |1 |20.0 |25.0
Toy manufacturing |13 |6.4 |12 |5.9 |2 |15.4 |16.7
Retail trades (non-food) |9,864 |8.5 |4,206 |3.6 |1,449 |14.7 |34.5
Retail food and allied trades |9,278 |8.3 |5,968 |5.4 |2,631 |28.4 |44.1
Licensed non-residential
establishments |5,762 |8.0 |3,166 |4.4 |1,050 |18.2 |33.2
Licensed residential
establishments and
licensed restaurants |2,272 |6.3 |1,824 |5.1 |672 |29.6 |36.8
Unlicensed place of
refreshment |1,793 |9.0 |1,338 |6.7 |560 |31.2 |41.9
------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |32,384 |8.1 |18,929 |4.7 |7,018 |21.7 |37.1
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Table 3
Workers covered by wages councils and results of checks-1992
Wages Councils |No. of Workers (Est.|Total workers |Workers checked by |Workers found unpaid|Per cent. unpaid of |Arrears paid |Arrears not pursued |Arrears not |Total arrears
|1992) |checked |visit |all workers checked |at workers request |pursued-other |assessed as due
|reasons
|(£) |(£) |(£) |(£)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aerated waters |4,400 |337 |337 |1 |.3 |84 |0 |0 |84
Clothing manufacturing |118,500 |7,732 |7,074 |346 |4.5 |35,365 |4,812 |7,536 |47,713
Boot and shoe repairing |5,000 |445 |244 |19 |4.3 |5,601 |2,475 |0 |8,076
Button manufacturing |1,000 |345 |345 |0 |.0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Coffin furniture and cerement
making |200 |77 |73 |0 |.0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Cotton waste reclamation |300 |34 |34 |0 |.0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Flax and hemp |400 |0 |0 |0 |.0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Fur |800 |9 |9 |0 |.0 |0 |0 |0 |0
General waste materials
reclamation |13,000 |441 |330 |10 |2.3 |2,099 |0 |0 |2,099
Hairdressing |69,000 |7,653 |5,389 |627 |8.2 |112,073 |24,742 |7,455 |144,270
Hat, cap and millinery |4,500 |50 |50 |0 |.0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Lace finishing |900 |0 |0 |0 |.0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Laundry |24,500 |1,055 |1,034 |108 |10.2 |12,264 |1,741 |543 |14,548
Linen and cotton handkerchief
and household goods and
linen piece goods |2,800 |92 |92 |0 |.0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Made-up textiles |3,500 |760 |751 |45 |5.9 |1,184 |0 |3,254 |4,438
Ostrich and fancy feather and
artificial flower |500 |324 |324 |0 |.0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Perambulator and invalid
carriage |2,000 |18 |18 |0 |.0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Retail bespoke tailoring |4,000 |42 |35 |2 |4.8 |357 |0 |0 |357
Rope, twine and net |2,200 |187 |187 |2 |1.1 |84 |0 |0 |84
Sack and bag |1,000 |43 |39 |3 |7.0 |187 |0 |0 |187
Toy manufacturing |11,500 |140 |135 |11 |7.9 |398 |0 |0 |398
Retail trades (non-food) |736,000 |133,399 |14,223 |2,537 |1.9 |249,820 |61,908 |38,276 |350,004
Retail food and allied trades |490,000 |142,110 |22,077 |5,130 |3.6 |649,286 |158,651 |32,375 |840,312
Licensed non-residential
establishments |538,000 |57,760 |25,259 |2,882 |5.0 |266,818 |17,583 |16,353 |300,754
Licensed residential
establishments and licensed
restaurants |417,000 |30,522 |23,991 |1,889 |6.2 |129,174 |13,027 |17,968 |160,169
Unlicensed place of refreshment |110,000 |19,813 |7,336 |1,167 |5.9 |96,537 |14,609 |15,276 |126,422
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |2,561,000 |403,388 |109,386 |14,779 |3.7 |1,561,331 |299,548 |139,036 |1,999,915
Column 357
Table 4
Checks carried out and underpayments found in wages inspectorate divisions-1992
Divisions |Establishments |Percentage of |Establishments |Percentage of |Establishments found|Percentage of all |Percentage of
|checked by all |register checked |checked by visit |register checked by |underpaying |establishments |establishments
|methods |visit |checked underpaying |visited underpaying
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London |3,472 |7.2 |1,461 |3.0 |425 |12.2 |29.1
South East |1,323 |3.2 |1,172 |2.9 |385 |29.1 |32.8
Eastern |2,235 |5.7 |1,012 |2.6 |283 |12.7 |28.0
South West |4,631 |8.4 |2,710 |4.9 |1,076 |23.2 |39.7
Midlands |8,519 |13.3 |2,767 |4.3 |979 |11.5 |35.4
North West |2,956 |4.9 |2,854 |4.7 |1,256 |42.5 |44.0
Yorkshire and Humberside |3,173 |8.4 |2,176 |5.8 |875 |27.6 |40.2
Northern |3,073 |14.0 |2,482 |11.3 |892 |29.0 |35.9
Scotland |3,002 |9.2 |2,295 |7.0 |847 |28.2 |36.9
Great Britain |32,384 |8.1 |18,929 |4.7 |7,018 |21.7 |37.1
Note:
From November 1991 the London, South East and Eastern Divisions have been merged to form the new Southern Division.
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Table 5
Workers whose pay was checked in wages inspectorate divisions-1992
Divisions |Total workers |Workers whose pay |Workers found |Percentage underpaid|Percentage underpaid|Arrears paid |Arrears not pursued |Arrears not pursued |Total arrears
|checked |was checked by |underpaid |of all workers |of workers checked |at workers request |for other reasons |assessed as due
|visit |checked |by visit
|(£) |(£) |(£) |(£)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London |85,791 |6,145 |731 |0.9 |11.9 |72,522 |15,737 |13,093 |101,352
South East |6,968 |5,752 |726 |10.4 |12.6 |50,233 |21,458 |9,565 |81,256
Eastern |103,142 |4,662 |502 |0.5 |10.8 |40,714 |24,527 |336 |65,577
South West |41,054 |14,670 |2,112 |5.1 |14.4 |186,140 |22,268 |37,389 |245,797
Midlands |65,373 |20,246 |2,286 |3.5 |11.3 |210,612 |64,008 |24,645 |299,265
North West |14,888 |14,090 |2,298 |15.4 |16.3 |459,058 |57,278 |12,082 |528,418
Yorkshire and Humberside 44,319 12,085 2,006 4.5 16.6 195,908 50,721 15,166 261,795
Northern |19,461 |16,189 |2,049 |10.5 |12.7 |144,130 |15,392 |7,220 |166,742
Scotland |22,392 |15,547 |2,069 |9.2 |13.3 |202,014 |28,159 |19,540 |249,713
Great Britain |403,388 |109,386 |14,779 |3.7 |13.5 |1,561,331 |299,548 |139,036 |1,999,915
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Table 6 Prosecutions for underpayment Divisions |1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- London |3 |- |1 |1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |1 |- South East |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |1 |2 |1 |4 |3 |- |- Eastern |- |1 |1 |2 |1 |1 |- |1 |- |2 |- |- |- |- South West |4 |2 |3 |- |1 |1 |- |- |- |2 |2 |1 |2 |1 Midlands |- |- |- |- |- |- |1 |- |1 |1 |1 |- |- |1 North West |- |1 |1 |- |- |- |- |- |1 |2 |- |- |1 |- Yorkshire and Humberside |1 |1 |1 |- |- |- |1 |- |- |2 |1 |2 |7 |5 Northern |1 |3 |1 |1 |- |- |- |- |- |- |1 |1 |2 |2 Scotland |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |2 |3 Great Britain |9 |8 |8 |4 |2 |2 |2 |2 |4 |10 |9 |7 |15 |12 Note: From November 1991 the London, South East and Eastern Divisions have been merged to form the new Southern Division.
Column 359
Table 7
Establishments found underpaying 1979 to 1985
Divisions |1979 |1980 |1981 |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
London (East) |431 |495 |440 |391 |441 |324 |298
London (West) |249 |259 |270 |294 |339 |354 |357
South East |521 |769 |749 |764 |871 |703 |670
Southern |585 |576 |450 |441 |494 |475 |556
Eastern |685 |941 |848 |726 |727 |914 |688
South West |1,010 |1,201 |1,070 |954 |1,078 |1,033 |929
Midlands (East) |634 |771 |623 |532 |573 |534 |430
Midlands (West) |605 |674 |598 |666 |543 |552 |712
North West (East) |946 |879 |613 |648 |704 |560 |529
North West (West) |1,115 |1,060 |688 |652 |865 |886 |804
Yorkshire and Humberside |1,156 |1,119 |871 |964 |941 |1,026 |818
Northern |893 |902 |736 |552 |630 |721 |815
Scotland (East) |710 |687 |529 |515 |525 |480 |488
Scotland (West) |597 |750 |556 |349 |389 |365 |361
Wales |832 |1,071 |1,033 |821 |722 |534 |609
|--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |--- |---
Totals |10,969 |12,154 |10,074 |9,269 |9,842 |9,461 |9,064
Column 359
Table 8 Establishments found to be underpaying 1986 to 1992 Divisions |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- London |608 |270 |317 |229 |172 |294 |425 South East |646 |503 |537 |478 |313 |413 |385 Eastern |974 |405 |462 |432 |271 |213 |283 South West |832 |961 |1,156 |960 |909 |893 |1,076 Midlands |943 |525 |747 |822 |749 |835 |979 North West |1,397 |541 |869 |1,104 |1,124 |1,083 |1,256 Yorkshire and Humberside |805 |511 |631 |569 |593 |792 |875 Northern |844 |404 |369 |387 |455 |711 |892 Scotland |656 |323 |509 |547 |619 |737 |847 Wales |500 |- |- |- |- |- |- Great Britain |8,205 |4,443 |5,597 |5,528 |5,205 |5,971 |7,018 Notes: (1) The statistics of underpayment have been separated into two tables because the divisional boundaries were changed in 1986. (2) From November 1991 the London, South East and Eastern Divisions have merged to form the new Southern Division.
Column 361
Table 9
Establishments found failing to post wages council notices
1992
Divisions
Wages councils |London |South East |East |South West |Midlands |North West |Yorkshire and |North |Scotland |Great Britain
|Humberside
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aerated waters |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1
Clothing manufacturing |37 |12 |0 |5 |49 |24 |14 |5 |6 |152
Boot and shoe repairing |7 |3 |1 |18 |1 |5 |1 |2 |1 |39
Button manufacturing |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Coffin furniture and cerement
making |0 |0 |0 |0 |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |2
Cotton waste reclamation |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1
Flax and hemp |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Fur |0 |0 |0 |2 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |2
General waste materials
reclamation |0 |2 |0 |0 |2 |1 |5 |2 |1 |13
Hairdressing |158 |43 |40 |110 |72 |107 |109 |64 |92 |795
Hat, cap and millinery |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Lace finishing |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Laundry |3 |2 |2 |9 |4 |6 |7 |1 |8 |42
Linen and cotton handkerchief
and household goods and linen
piece goods |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1
Made-up textiles |0 |1 |0 |5 |0 |0 |1 |2 |0 |9
Ostrich and fancy feather
and artificial flower |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Perambulator and invalid
carriage |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Retail bespoke tailoring |2 |1 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |5
Rope, twine and net |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |2 |0 |3
Sack and bag |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1
Toy manufacturing |0 |0 |1 |3 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |4
Retail trades (non-food) |203 |170 |134 |329 |367 |402 |278 |173 |191 |2,247
Retail food and allied
trades |237 |188 |161 |412 |404 |525 |478 |397 |368 |3,170
Licensed non-residential
establishments |74 |65 |70 |244 |246 |222 |133 |169 |187 |1,410
Licensed residential
establishments and
licensed restaurants |77 |40 |75 |170 |103 |136 |87 |105 |114 |907
Unlicensed place of
refreshment |120 |70 |50 |159 |142 |141 |103 |57 |62 |904
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |919 |597 |535 |1,468 |1,394 |1,569 |1,216 |979 |1,031 |9,708
Column 361
Table 10
Establishments found failing to keep adequate records of wages paid
1992
Divisions
Wages councils |London |South East |East |South West |Midlands |North West |Yorkshire and |North |Scotland |Great Britain
|Humberside
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aerated waters |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Clothing manufacturing |6 |5 |0 |1 |2 |0 |3 |0 |0 |17
Boot and shoe repairing |0 |1 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |2
Button manufacturing |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Coffin furniture and cerement
making |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Cotton waste reclamation |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Flax and hemp |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Fur |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
General waste materials
reclamation |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Hairdressing |9 |8 |1 |21 |9 |19 |14 |22 |7 |110
Hat, cap and millinery |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Lace finishing |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Laundry |1 |0 |1 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |4
Linen and cotton handkerchief
and household goods and linen
piece goods |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Made-up textiles |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Ostrich and fancy feather and artificial flower |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Perambulator and invalid carriage |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Retail bespoke tailoring |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |2
Rope, twine and ood and allied
trades |47 |83 |19 |109 |77 |149 |124 |141 |139 |888
Licensed non-residential
establishments |12 |25 |11 |52 |32 |64 |21 |38 |22 |277
Licensed residential
establishments and
licensed restaurants |4 |20 |6 |36 |6 |27 |9 |9 |10 |127
Unlicensed place of
refreshment |23 |38 |7 |49 |16 |30 |20 |18 |10 |211
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |113 |223 |59 |348 |184 |363 |216 |259 |217 |1,982
Column 363
Table 11
Establishments found failing to keep adequate records of hours worked
1992
Divisions
Wages councils |London |South East |East |South West |Midlands |North West |Yorkshire and |North |Scotland |Great Britain
|Humberside
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aerated waters |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |1
Clothing manufacturers |20 |11 |0 |2 |26 |15 |10 |1 |5 |90
Boot and shoe repairing |0 |4 |1 |4 |0 |6 |0 |1 |2 |18
Button manufacturing |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Coffin furniture and
cerement making |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Cotton waste reclamation |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Flax and hemp |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Fur |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
General waste materials
reclamation |0 |0 |1 |0 |2 |0 |0 |1 |2 |6
Hairdressing |73 |83 |32 |121 |85 |87 |119 |101 |136 |837
Hat, cap and millinery |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Lace finishing |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Linen and cotton hankerchief
and household goods and linen
piece goods |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Made-up textiles |0 |0 |0 |1 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |1
Ostrich and fancy feather
and artificial flower |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Perambulator and invalid
carriage |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Retail bespoke tailoring |0 |2 |0 |1 |1 |0 |0 |0 |1 |5
Rope, twine and net |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |2 |0 |2
Sack and bag |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0 |0
Retail trades (non-food) |75 |212 |78 |242 |232 |239 |199 |148 |176 |1,601
Retail food and allied
trades |121 |242 |118 |289 |293 |725 |391 |369 |350 |2,898
Licensed non-residential
establishments |42 |96 |67 |200 |164 |156 |85 |176 |165 |1,151
Licensed residential
establishments and
licensed restaurants |42 |65 |60 |140 |62 |120 |72 |83 |99 |743
Unlicensed place of
refreshment |77 |83 |38 |105 |78 |85 |58 |48 |51 |623
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |452 |799 |396 |1,112 |944 |1,435 |936 |930 |992 |7,996
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many underpayments of wages were detected in each year since 1979.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : The information requested is provided in the following table :
Year |Number of
|underpayments of
|wages detected
---------------------------------------------------
1979 |23,223
1980 |29,314
1981 |25,482
1982 |20,406
1983 |20,832
1984 |18,043
1985 |16,948
1986 |15,533
1987 |9,129
1988 |10,860
1989 |11,066
1990 |11,129
1991 |12,812
1992 |14,779
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many workers were covered by wages councils in 1992 ; and if he will make a statement on the results of wages council checks.
Mr. Michael Forsyth : It is estimated that the number of workers covered by wages councils in 1992 was 2,561,000. The checks made by the wages inspectorate show that most employers covered by wages councils were paying wages council rates.
Astra Training Centres
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations he has received from training and enterprise councils over the collapse of the Astra training centres and/or their acquisition by Mr. Patrick Doyle ; on what dates each such representation was received and from which training and enterprise council ; what plans he has to meet representatives of the training and enterprise councils to discuss their concerns ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : We have received no such representations from any training and enterprise council. Any request from a training and enterprise council for a meeting would be considered in the normal way.
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what requests he has made, or correspondence he has sent to Arthur Andersen and Co., in relation to its role as receiver for the Astra training centres ; what was the date and nature of such correspondence and contact ; and if he will make a statement.
Miss Widdecombe : The Department requested and received information from Arthur Andersen confirming the continued existence of Astra's pension fund and the appointment to the fund by the receiver of an independent trustee. The receiver also informed the Department on 12 October which Astra skill centres had been sold as going concerns.
Column 366
Since Arthur Andersen was appointed as receiver in July there have been telephone and written contacts, and one meeting, in connection with the Department's continued interest as freeholder a head leaseholder of a number of properties occupied by Astra.Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what residual powers, rights and duties Her Majesty's Government possess in respect of the former skill centres acquired by Astra, and its staff, (a) in respect of determining subsequent ownership of the centres and (b) in other respects.
Miss Widdecombe : Her Majesty's Government have no residual powers, rights or duties relating to the former skill centres acquired by Astra in relation to the determination of the subsequent ownership of the centres. Some of the property interests acquired by Astra from the Department in 1990 were subject to clawback provisions, under which the Department is entitled to a share of any development gains made in the 10 years after privatisation, If these property interests are acquired by a purchaser of an Astra skill centre the clawback arrangements he will be bound by them for the balance of the 10-year period.
Paternity Leave
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action he will take to encourage employers to provide paternity leave.
Miss Widdecombe : Matters such as this are best dealt with by agreement between the parties concerned, taking account of their particular circumstances.
Training and Enterprise Councils
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proportion of gross domestic product has been provided to training and enterprise councils, annually since they were established ; what is the total cost of TECs to date ; and how many previously unemployed persons have received training leading to recognised qualifications in this period.
Miss Widdecombe : Full information would be available only at disproportionate cost. The training and enterprise
council--TEC--network in England was completed in October 1991. In 1992-93 TECs spent £1.3 billion on training, education and enterprise programmes.
Estimates from the spring 1993 "Labour Force Survey" show that around 174,000 unemployed people were training towards a qualification compared with 140,000 in the spring 1992 survey.
Health and Safety
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a list of all research commissioned or carried out by his Department or the Health and Safety Commission into the operation of health and safety legislation in small firms ; what figures were obtained as to the number and rate of fatal and/or serious accidents in small firms compared with larger firms ; what subsequent action has been taken by his Department and/or the Health and Safety Commission to improve health and safety in small firms ; and if he will make a statement.
Column 367
Mr. Michael Forsyth [holding answer 21 October 1993] : The Health and Safety Commission--HSC--has not commissioned or carried out external research into the operation of health and safety in small firms.
The Health and Safety Executive--HSE--has carried out two separate analyses of the relative accident records of small and large firms. A report on the first, based on accidents notified under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) Regulations 1985, was published in the January 1991 issue of Employment Gazette , pages 20-24, available in the Library. The study suggested that rates of reported major injuries and of fatalities were higher in small firms--defined as those with 100 employees or fewer. However, the number of fatalities was sufficiently small for the difference in rate to be accounted for by the fact that small firms tend to operate in more hazardous industries.
The second analysis, based on information from the 1990 "Labour Force Survey"--LFS--indicated that, comparing firms with fewer than 25 employees and those with more, injury rates per 100,000 employees are higher among larger firms. These results were published in the Employment Gazette for December 1992, pages 621-38.
Research carried out by the Employment Department is listed in the annual report on research. The 1993 report will be published on 25 October and a copy will be placed in the Library.
The HSC is currently considering ways in which the effectiveness of its approach to regulation of health and safety for small firms and self- employed people might be improved.
EDUCATION
Outdoor Education Centres
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what representations he has received on the impact of granting budgeting powers to individual schools on local education authority outdoor education centres ; what research has been conducted by his Department on the subject ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Forth : My right hon. Friend has received a number of representations. The Department has not commissioned any research into this question, but the Sports Council is undertaking a research project into LEA residential outdoor centres as a community resource for sport and education : the Department is keeping in touch with that work.
Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Education by whom his Department was represented at the national conference on local authority outdoor education centres held at 1 Kensington Gore, London, on 16 July.
Mr. Forth : There was no representation from this Department at the conference, but officials from the Department for National Heritage, which is the main parent Department for sport and recreation, were present.
Column 368
Schools, Sheffield
Mr. Bill Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for Education what weight he gives, in considering representations from governors and parents of schools in Sheffield, to the overall policies and objectives set out by Sheffield local education authority.
Mr. Robin Squire : In so far as statutory proposals for the organisation of schools reflect the overall policies and objectives set out by a local education authority, my right hon. Friend looks at each case on its merits, having regard to all relevant factors including statutory objections and other representations made to him.
English Curriculum
Mrs. Ann Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will publish in full the responses received to the proposed revision of the English curriculum ; and if he will provide a detailed breakdown of the responses on the 1 to 6 scale in section G of the consultation document.
Mr. Robin Squire : Consultation on the proposals for revisions to the English order was carried out by the National Curriculum Council (NCC), and a report on that consultation is being published this week by the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority, the successor body to the NCC.
DEFENCE
Nuclear Submarines
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies his Department has commissioned from the Royal Naval college, Greenwich, on the potential scope for accidents involving the release of radiation at dedicated naval bases or Z-berths for nuclear submarines.
Mr. Hanley : The Royal Naval college, Greenwich is primarily a teaching establishment. The function of the department of nuclear science and technology at the college is to undertake training in support of the naval nuclear propulsion programme--including plant operation and maintenance, and nuclear accident management. Like other advanced academic establishments, the college undertakes theoretical work relevant to its teaching function, including mathematical modelling related to nuclear reactor accident response.
Spending
Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of gross national product is spent on defence in (a) the United Kingdom, (b) Germany, (c) Japan and (d) France.
Mr. Hanley : Defence expenditure for the United Kingdom, Germany and France in 1992 as a proportion of GDP, is set out in figure 11 of the 1993 "Statement on the Defence Estimates" (Cm 2770) and is respectively 4.1 per cent., 2.2 per cent. and 3.4 per cent. Japan is expected to devote around 1 per cent. of its GDP to defence in 1992-93.
Low Flying
Mr. Trotter : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information he has on the number of sorties conducted by (a) foreign aircraft in the United Kingdom
Column 369
low-flying system and (b) United Kingdom aircraft in the low-flying system of other nations over the most recent period for which figures are available.Mr. Hanley : The number of sorties flown by foreign aircraft in the United Kingdom low-flying system during 1992 was 2,045. During 1993 to the end of September 1,251 sorties have been flown. These figures cover only those sorties flown by foreign aircraft not based in the United Kingdom.
Detailed figures for RAF low flying overseas are not held centrally. A limited amount of information is however, available on low flying carried out by the RAF in Germany and at Goose Bay, Canada. Between April and December 1992 RAF fast jet aircraft flew some 2,400 low-level sorties in Germany, and some 1,800 have been flown so far this year. In 1992 RAF aircraft flew 1,028 low-level sorties at Goose Bay, and 581 have been flown this year.
Mr. Patrick Doyle
Mr. Dobson : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish a list of all meetings held and correspondence exchanged in the past 10 years between his Department and Mr. Patrick Doyle, now of AST Training ; what was the nature of such meetings or correspondence ; what plans he has to meet Mr. Patrick Doyle ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Aitken : My Department has no record of having any contact with Mr. Doyle. I have no plans to meet him.
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Technology Foresight Programme
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the launch of the technology foresight programme on 13 September, indicating what additional resources have been committed to the programme.
Mr. Waldegrave : The purpose of foresight is to develop working partnerships between industry and academia in identifying market and technology opportunities. I am delighted at the constructive response from both to the consultative seminars we are holding across the country on how this might best be achieved. The programme is being guided by a steering group of industrialists and academics chaired by the chief scientific adviser. A budget of approximately £1 million has been allocated to the programme over this and the next financial year.
Civil Servants (Public Meetings)
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in what circumstances Ministers may require civil servants to address public meetings on their behalf.
Mr. Waldegrave : Authority can be given to civil servants to make public speeches explaining declared Government policy or discussing the processes of government. On occasions civil servants have also been authorised to read speeches on policy matters prepared for Ministers who have been prevented at the last minute from
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