HC Deb 10 July 1969 vol 786 cc283-5W
38. Mr. Dudley Smith

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity whether, in drawing up the criteria for prices and incomes policy after the end of 1969, she will exempt from restrictions increases granted to adults earning less than £15 a week for a full week's work.

Mr. Harold Walker

We are studying the content of the incomes policy after the end of 1969 and we are giving particular attention to the treatment of the low paid under the policy. I cannot yet say what our conclusions will be but my right hon. Friend will be consulting the C.B.I. and T.U.C. before reaching final decisions.

if she will publish a table showing the change in the numbers of wholly unemployed, actual and seasonally adjusted, respectively, between May and June in each of the years for which seasonally-adjusted figures are available.

Mr. Hattersley

I will, with permission, circulate the table in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

The following is the information:

54. Mr. Higgins

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity what the percentage increase has been in the general level of wages and salaries, prices and dividends from the date when all three items were covered by the Government's statutory prices and incomes policy to the latest convenient date; how these percentages compare with the prices and incomes policy norms; and what conclusion she draws from these figures.

Mr. Hattersley

Between March 1968 and April 1969 wage and salary earnings rose by 9.2 per cent. and retail prices by 7.4 per cent. Information about dividend payments is not yet available. There are no norms for price or pay increases, although pay increases are subject to a ceiling of 3½ per cent. a year unless justified by productivity agreements. A part of the rise in earnings is due to increased output and longer hours and increases above the ceiling negotiated under productivity agreements. A major part of the rise in prices is the result of devaluation and tax increases following devaluation.

57. Mr. Arthur Lewis

asked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity whether she will state, for the period ended Monday, 7th July, the number of cases that have been referred to the National Board for Prices and Incomes concerning salaries and wages, the numbers of workers affected and the average wage in each group; and in how many of these cases the salaries of company chairmen and directors were referred back to the Board for further investigation.

Mr. Harold Walker

80 references on incomes questions have been made to the National Board for Prices and Incomes. Information on the numbers of workers affected and the average wage of each group is not available. No cases have been referred back to the Board for investigation of the salaries of company chairmen and directors. The Board has, however, reported on Top Salaries in the Private Sector and Nationalised Industries.