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Mr. Bowis: Indeed. But, in any event, options in the directive gave us the necessary flexibility to continue our current best practice--and I think that we do have best practice, which has been seen to work.
It has been suggested that we are proposing to increase the number of hours for which children may work. That is not so. What we propose is to bring up to date the law governing children's working hours on Sundays. The current two-hour limit is not reasonable in the 1990s: many shops now open on Sundays, and I believe that children should be able to work in those shops if they wish to.
I am conscious, however, that merely increasing the number of hours for which children may work on Sundays could erode their leisure time with their families, or the time in which they must do their homework. That is why our proposals are carefully framed to maintain the current limit on the number of hours that may be worked over the weekend, while providing a choice of when those hours may be worked. I consider that increased flexibility a positive step, and expect it to be particularly welcomed by the various ethnic and religious groups for which Sunday is not a special day.
I believe that experience of suitable work at a suitable age, in strictly controlled circumstances, can be positively beneficial to children.
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. Michael Morris):
Order. Is the Minister giving way?
Mr. Corbyn:
I thought that the Minister was about to sit down.
I referred to the consultation document sent out by the Department, and the lack of published responses. Are the responses to be published? If so, when?
Mr. Bowis:
We shall certainly present our conclusions on the consultation in due course, but we do not propose to publish the details of the letters that we have received. As on other occasions, it was not made clear to those who wrote to us that that might happen, and it is not normal practice, but we shall certainly take into account the views that have been expressed on both sides of the argument.
Local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the law is adhered to. We are working on some minor changes to the current law, both to ensure that it is fully up to date and to comply with the terms of the directive. I believe
that, when local authorities update their byelaws as part of the process, the publicity that that will engender will lead to a greater knowledge of the law, and therefore greater compliance with it.
I hope that the hon. Gentleman will feel that we have good law in this country. That law needs to be complied with, and it needs to be publicised on occasion, but sensible working practices for children can be helpful to those children as they develop and grow. It is not a question of supporting families' incomes; it is a question of helping children to grow into responsible citizens. In that spirit, I believe that the steps that we are taking will be helpful.
Question put and agreed to.
Adjourned accordingly at twenty-two minutes past Seven o'clock.
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