§ 2.56 p.m.
§ Baroness SHARPLESMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will make available a breakdown of the total sums paid out by way of temporary employment subsidies during the financial years 1975–76 and 1976–77 to (a) nationalised industries, (b) quoted public companies, and (c) independent businesses.
Lord WALLACE of COSLANYMy Lords, I regret that the information is not available in the form requested, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The nationalised industries 974 generally are excluded from the temporary employment subsidy scheme, which is available to registered companies throughout the private sector of industry and commerce. No distinction is made between quoted public companies and independent businesses.
§ Baroness SHARPLESMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for that reply. I regard it as rather unsatisfactory, but I appreciate the cost involved. Does the noble Lord appreciate that, while we all want unemployment to be reduced, independent unquoted companies require at least two days a week to fill in the five extremely complicated forms, plus the other correspondence with which they have to deal, and sometimes they then have to wait many months for the temporary employment subsidy to arrive? Surely it was not the original intention of Her Majesty's Government to deal with the temporary employment subsidy in this way.
Lord WALLACE of COSLANYMy Lords, I would agree with the noble Baroness that that was not the intention of the Government. If the noble Baroness will give me some concrete instances, I shall certainly have them investigated. I quite agree with her that there should not be this unnecessary delay.