§ Mr. Huntasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he attended the Conference of Ministers for 679W Family Affairs held at Oslo from 17th to 19th September under the auspices of the Council of Europe; and if he will make a statement on the results of this conference.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsMy hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State represented the Government at this conference which was the fourteenth in a series of informal discussions between Ministers responsible for family affairs in the countries that are members of the Council of Europe. Its theme was the implications for family life of the growing equality of man and woman.
Ministers were agreed on the desirability of progress towards certain goals. These included adaptation of the conditions of working life to the circumstances of families with small children, provision of day care for children, avoidance of the perpetuation of traditional views on the rôles of men and women, equal access to education and to all occupations, the involvement of women in community and political activities, and the greatest possible choice, for the individual family, of the pattern of life and division of labour within the family.
The Council of Europe will in due course publish a full report of the conference.