§ 21. Sir Richard Glynasked the Minister of Labour what plans he has for seeking to increase the employer's contribution to the redundancy payments scheme; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GunterNone, Sir.
§ Sir Richard GlynIs the right hon. Gentleman assuring the House that there will be no increase in redundancy as a result of the Selective Employment Tax, or that the cost of the increased redundancy will be borne by Treasury subvention?
§ Mr. GunterI am asked what plans the Ministry has to increase redundancy payments, and there are none. As for the Selective Employment Tax, we know that one object is to encourage economy in the use of labour in the service industries. It is difficult to foresee what the effect will be.
§ Mr. Hugh FraserWill not the Minister consult his colleague, the Chancellor, in order to see whether some of the money which at the moment is coming from the tax should be given not to employers in the manufacturing Industries 902 but to employers in other industries, in order to ease the burden of redundancy, so as to make this scheme more effective than it looks like being.
§ Mr. GunterI will certainly draw attention to what the right hon. Gentleman has said.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerHas the Chancellor changed his views? He interrupted me during my speech and said this was not the object of the tax.
§ Mr. GunterOne of the objectives is to ensure greater economy in the service industries so as to get more men into the manufacturing industries. All I would say is that it is too early to judge the effects of the tax.