§ Mr. Stallardasked the Lord President of the Council whether he will make a statement regarding difficulties at the Stationery Office involving the printing of the OFFICIAL REPORT, which have resulted in long serving craftsmen being forced to take industrial action.
§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Lord President of the Council why HANSARD was not published on Wednesday, 15th November; and if he will make a statement.
312W
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerI have been asked to reply.
Owing to complaints about working conditions in parts of the Parliamentary Printing Press, night staff who are responsible for composing operations stopped work for a period on the night of 15th November. As a result the OFFICIAL REPORT was not printed but limited copies of the transcript were made available to Members. Urgent action is being taken by HMSO Management in conjunction with the Property Service Agency of the Department of the Environment to remove the cause of complaint. There has been constant consultation with the staff on the problems which have arisen from the commissioning of a new heating and ventilating system. The OFFICIAL REPORT for 15th November will be printed and published at a later date.