HC Deb 29 July 1975 vol 896 cc1478-9
5. Mr. McCrindle

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make it his practice to issue quarterly reports on the operation of the Government's policy on the restriction of wage and salary increases to£6 per week.

Mr. Booth

The Government are discussing with the TUC and CBI arrangements for the collection of information about pay settlements to enable the progress of the policy to be jointly reviewed. We have no plans to publish the results of the review quarterly, though I shall of course keep this House informed about the state of progress.

Mr. McCrindle

Is it not vital not only that the Government's anti-inflation policy succeeds but that it should be seen to succeed?

Mr. Powell

It cannot succeed.

Mr. McCrindle

Does not the Minister agree that it is vital to obtain the support of public opinion and, on a quarterly basis, for the Government to announce who are the rogue elephants, be they unions or employers? Does he not agree that such announcements would considerably help the public in supporting the Government in their policy?

Mr. Booth

I agree very much that it is of the utmost importance to have public support for the Government's policy. I do not accept that it is only a matter of identifying culprits, although that is necessary for the purpose of obtaining public support. The public will readily recognise whether there is success for the policy, in so far as it is intended to counter inflation, by the way in which prices move in the shops. They will also be able to identify a number of other factors. However, that is not to say that the House or the public should not be kept informed of the results of surveys that we shall make on a voluntary basis with the CBI and the TUC.

Mr. Skinner

Does my hon. Friend appreciate that the only detective work that will be considered and brought into practice by any Government operating an incomes policy will be against those who are easily identifiable as members of organised collective groups—namely, trade unions? Does he appreciate that millions of people are outside such groups and cannot be monitored effectively because they are not organised, because they operate on their own? Does my hon. Friend accept that the result will be that only the trade union sector will be monitored, and it will be only that sector that will be blamed for any problems which arise? The net result will be the chaos that we have experienced on the previous four or five occasions.

Mr. Booth

It is the case that it is much easier to identify the claim of a group of organised workers than it is to identify single private arrangements. That is one of the reasons for its being of the utmost importance that we do not go ahead with a Government espionage system but seek broad agreement with the TUC and the CBI so that we can make a proper measurement of the effect of these policies.