§ Q2. Mr. Speedasked the Prime Minister if he will set up an interdepartmental inquiry into the first six months' operation of the Trades Union Congress's solemn and binding undertaking regarding the settlement of industrial disputes.
§ The Prime MinisterNo, Sir.
§ Mr. SpeedDoes the Prime Minister consider that industrial relations generally and the incidence of strikes in particular have improved or worsened during the last six months?
§ The Prime MinisterThe hon. Gentleman will be aware that the problems that this country has been facing are in common with those of countries nearly all over the advanced industrial world. But the question relates to the action of the Trades Union Congress, and I believe, in the face of the difficulties which it has had, the Trades Union Congress has done a remarkable job. It has intervened in a significant number of strikes and has settled several of them, though perhaps not as quickly as we would have hoped. The hon. Gentleman is wrong if he is trying to imply that the T.U.C. is not carrying out the solemn and binding undertaking which it gave to the Government.