§ Q3. Mr. Dykesasked the Prime Minister what plans he has to take the chair at any forthcoming meeting of the National Economic Development Council.
§ The Prime MinisterI refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) on 17th January.—[Vol. 867, c. 909.]
§ Mr. DykesIf the miners refuse to accept the reasonable NCB offer, the three-day working week will have to continue for some time. Will my right hon. Friend, therefore, discuss with the Chancellor of the Exchequer the possibility of including on the agenda in forthcoming meetings the serious question of many industrial companies and small companies literally facing bankruptcy in the future unless there is a change?
§ The Prime MinisterI am sure that the NEDC will wish to discuss, as it has done very frequently in the past, the industrial as well as the general economic situation. I discussed this matter with the CBI yesterday and with the TUC a week ago.
§ Mr. McBrideWill the Prime Minister tell his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment that regardless of phase 3 he is empowered to act within legislation to settle this dispute, or has he so circumscribed his powers that the Secretary of State for Employment is now as obsequious as is Mr. Robin Day?
§ The Prime MinisterThat is not the general view expressed in the Press today, but that is Mr. Day's affair. The Secretary of State for Employment carries out his full responsibilities in the context of the counter-inflation policy approved by Parliament.