§ 15. Mr. John Evansasked the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will now issue a circular to local authorities advising them to ban lump labour from all local authority contracts.
§ Mr. KaufmanThe Government are urgently considering what action should be taken to tackle the abuses of the lump in the construction industry, and the question of advice to local authorities will need to be considered in the light of the measures that are applied generally.
§ Mr. EvansI thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Does he accept that lump labour is a sore on the body of the construction industry? Is it not disgraceful that many local authorities still have not banned the use of lump labour within 1542 their sites? Will he ask local authorities, as a matter of urgency, to stop the use of lump labour in local authority contracts?
§ Mr. KaufmanAs my hon. Friend knows, the Government are committed to dealing with the abuses of lump labour, and legislation will be brought forward in this Session of Parliament. Local authorities, a large number of which, I am happy to say, are Labour-controlled, have the right to decide their own policies. In advance of our legislation, it does not seem right to us that we should have two bites at this cherry.
§ Mr. CostainWill the hon. Gentleman define lump labour? Does he not appreciate that, like sin, it means different things to different people? Is he aware that many local authority building contracts prohibit what his hon. Friends call lump labour, and it is not used?
§ Mr. KaufmanI shall send the hon. Gentleman a document which adequately defines lump labour.