Employment of Women (Hansard, 18 July 1973)

§ Mr. Bishop

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women that his Department should bear in mind the local availability of labour when considering whether work permits should be granted; and what action he intends to take;

(2) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women that consideration should be given to the organisation of work so that flexible working hours and the choice between full and part-time work can be made available to the maximum number of women; and what action he intends to take;

(3) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women that a concentrated effort should be made through careers guidance to make girls aware of the range of employment opportunities available to them; and what action he intends to take;

(4) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women recommending the rapid expansion of day nurseries and nursery school provision with flexible hours adjusted to the requirements of working mothers; and what action he intends to take;

(5) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the employment of women that it is a matter of maximum importance that the impact on training of the reduced training levy should be closely monitored to stimulate 144W training of women; and what action he intends to take;

(6) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women that officers with specialist knowledge of the matters most closely affecting women at work should be available to give advice in job centres; and what action he intends to take;

(7) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women that to help parents seeking placement advice, occupational guidance or training information play areas be provided in employment exchanges so as to encourage more women to use employment services; and what action he intends to take;

(8) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women that as soon as employment exchanges are in a position to accept and process the information there should be a statutory requirement to notify all vacancies to the State employment offices; and what action he intends to take;

(9) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women recommending an inquiry into the conditions under which home work is carried out, on the evasion of registration, and to ensure that this registration is properly enforced; and what action he intends to take;

(10) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women that it is vital that his Department should have regular contact with women's organisations and particularly with the Women's National Commission; and what action he intends to take;

(11) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women that as a matter of urgency the inequality in the training grants paid to men and women should be removed; and what action he intends to take;

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(12) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women that commercial apprenticeships should be provided for young workers in clerical work as only a small minority of firms provide commercial training for their women recruits; and what action he intends to take;

(13) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women that the provision of day release for young workers should be made a statutory requirement on all employers as only approximately 10 per cent. of women receive day-release; and what action he intends to take;

(14) what consideration he has given to the proposal of the Sixth Report from the Expenditure Committee on the Employment of Women recommending the provision of comprehensive and widespread facilities for the after-school and holiday care of school-age children; and what action he intends to take.