HC Deb 03 July 1984 vol 63 cc136-7
6. Mr. Proctor

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to introduce legislation to amend section 47 of the Race Relations Act 1976; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Alan Clark

Yes, Sir, but precise details have yet to be decided. My right hon. Friend will make an announcement in due course.

Mr. Proctor

Does my hon. Friend agree that the Commission for Racial Equality's code of practice for employment exacerbates rather than soothes racial feelings? Since the code was introduced under section 47 of the Race Relations Act in a way which makes it impossible for the House or the Secretary of State to amend it, does my hon. Friend accept that many hon. Members would like that legislation to be amended as soon as possible?

Mr. Clark

I reject the allegation that the code exacerbates racial feelings. The code has no legislative force, as my hon. Friend knows, but it is extremely useful as a general document of reference for the majority of cases in which natural common sense and humanity applies and which might need reference to a set of advisory assertions. The code has a value in that role. My hon. Friend says that the Secretary of State does not have the power to amend the code, only to accept or reject it. We hope to correct that by legislation in the near future.

Mr. Janner

If the Minister rejects the views expressed by the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Proctor), which I venture to doubt, why do he and his Government play down the importance of the code by calling it merely advisory, when it has more force than that? Why do Ministers fail to implement its recommendations in any Government Department, including that of the Minister?

Mr. Clark

On the contrary, I am surprised that the hon. and learned Member for Leicester, West (Mr. Janner), who lays claim to a certain stature and respect in the House, should make personal allegations of that kind at Question Time. I do not propose to comment further. The Commission for Racial Equality published its report today. The hon. and learned Gentleman might not have had time to see it. That report welcomes the steady progress that the Government are making in this respect.

Mr. Budgen

Is it the business of the Government to introduce codes which have no legal force and which are merely advisory? Would it not be better to say honestly and openly that this is not an area of activity in which any Government should be engaged?

Mr. Clark

No. In this complex and evolving example of race relations it is useful to have a work of reference. The code is no more than that.

Mr. Sheerman

Will the Minister not only reject the views expressed by his colleagues on the Back Benches, but go further and give the code a more positive position in his Department and in the Manpower Services Commission? Is the hon. Gentleman aware that after much probing Opposition Members discovered that only 15 of the area manpower boards have any ethnic representation? Will he ensure that his Department issues a directive so that black people can be members of the manpower boards?

Mr. Clark

I note what the hon. Gentleman says. The Manpower Services Commission is aware of the position. The trouble is that the candidates are not coming forward.