HL Deb 07 February 1979 vol 398 c685
Baroness VICKERS

My 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 what instructions have been given to the staff of Government Job Centres with regard to advertising jobs on behalf of firms such as builders and driving schools which often run their businesses with self-employed persons; and how many advertisements from such employers have been blacked.

Lord JACQUES

My Lords, the Manpower Services Commission carries out a policy previously formulated by the Department of Employment and carried out under successive Governments. It handles only vacancies where a normal contract of employment is involved. The legal and other complications of self-employment are quite different from those of employment. No record is kept of the inquiries relating to self-employed vacancies. I am advised that the policy is currently being reviewed.

Baroness VICKERS

My Lords, I should like to thank the noble Lord for that reply and ask him how long the review is going to take, because I think it is essential that this practice should cease.

Lord JACQUES

My Lords, I understand that a decision will be made later in the year, but I do not want to be too optimistic. I would ask the noble Baroness to bear in mind that there are two sides to this question. First of all, I understand and respect her point of view, but I would point out that the National Federation of Self-Employed are not favourable to it. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph in November 1978, the national chairman said: Pressurising job centres into handling self-employment may well be doing a disservice to the small man". Furthermore, I would add that a very substantial part of our working population regard labour-only contracts as a method of avoiding responsibilities.