HC Deb 03 May 1988 vol 132 cc715-6
8. Rev. Martin Smyth

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he plans to introduce fair employment monitoring in Great Britain; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Nicholls

No, Sir.

Rev. Martin Smyth

If there is a need for such a system in Northern Ireland, why does the Minister consider that it is not needed here, in view of the report by the Commission for Racial Equality and the Select Committee on Employment's paper "Discrimination in Employment"? Or does the Minister accept that employment should be provided only on grounds of merit?

Mr. Nicholls

I understand the hon. Gentleman's point, and I fully appreciate his anxiety and sincerity, but the situation in Northern Ireland is unique. Northern Ireland is a unique part of the United Kingdom, and, unfortunately, from the hon. Gentleman's point of view, unique remedies have to be applied to it. Therefore, while the system is appropriate in Northern Ireland, we see no reason to extend it to the mainland.

Mr. Marlow

Was the absurd nonsense that is currently proposed for Northern Ireland in our election manifesto? Some of my hon. Friends would not wish to vote against something that had been in our election manifesto.

Mr. Nicholls

My hon. Friend knows that if he wishes to take up specific points of policy relating to Northern Ireland he should take them up with our right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. I do not think that I shall give in to the temptation of being led down the road of considering election manifestos and what conclusions one should draw from them, but I am grateful to my hon. Friend for teasing me.

Mr. Nellist

Given the monitoring of employment that is carried out by the Minister's Department, to which the hon. Member for Billericay (Mrs. Gorman) referred a few minutes ago, and the allegations in today's editions of The Guardian, The Times, The Daily Telegraph and the sewer press by the Secretary of State about the claiming of unemployment benefit by my constituents in Coventry and the west midlands, what about the other side of the coin? How many officers at the jobcentres are employed by his Department to ensure that every unemployed person gets his full entitlement to benefit? What is his Department's advertising budget to ensure a full and fair take-up of employment benefit? [Interruption.] If allegations are to be made in the Chamber about unemployed workers moonlighting, which activity is not surprising given the poverty level of benefits, I can only says that when every Tory Member of Parliament has only one job—[Interruption]—it will be a little less hypocritical of them to lecture working-class people about moonlighting.

Mr. Nicholls

It clearly falls to me to welcome the hon. Gentleman back to our deliberations. From the welcome that he received from this side of the House, he will have gathered that he is a long-standing favourite with me and my right hon. and hon. Friends. The pity is that being a long-standing favourite does not mean that he talks any sense. It is perfectly obvious that his recent holiday from our deliberations has not helped him.

We owe it to those who pay tax and make the contributions that fuel the social security budget to ensure that that money is properly directed. If the hon. Gentleman comes to the House to give credit and credence to those who are prepared to defraud the system, he bears a heavy responsibility.