§ Ms. ArmstrongTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the European Commission draft directive on parental leave and leave for family reasons.
§ Mr. NichollsThe Government believe that such matters are best dealt with between employers and employees according to their particular circumstances and so remain opposed to the introduction of any such prescriptive measures.
Changes between June 1986 and June 19881 Percentage Changes between June 1986 and June 1988 Region Employees in employment Self-employed Total employees in employment and self-employed Employees in employment Self-employed Total employees in employment and self-employed (Thousands) (Thousands) (Thousands) (Per cent.) (Per cent.) (Per cent.) South East 215 183 398 2.9 20.2 4.8 East Anglia 72 29 101 9.4 27.6 11.6 South West 33 31 64 2.1 12.1 3.5 West Midlands 80 29 109 4.0 15.5 4.9 East Midlands 42 30 72 2.8 18.0 4.3 Yorkshire and Humberside 33 32 65 1.8 14.8 3.2 North West 2 22 24 0.1 8.2 0.9 North 27 7 34 2.5 6.7 2.9 Wales 13 0 13 1.5 0.0 1.3 Scotland 1 -3 -2 0.1 -1.5 -0.1 GREAT BRITAIN 519 358 877 2.5 13.9 3.7 1 The latest date for which figures are available