§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Employment in which employment areas and trades preparatory work and initial experiments are taking place prior to the use of his powers under Section 95 of the Employment Protection Act 1975.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerPreparatory work leading to pilot projects in the use of these new powers is currently in progress. It is hoped to begin projects in January 1977 covering two retail trades. Wages inspectorate divisions in different parts of the country will be involved, but the precise areas have not yet been selected.
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Employment why he is delaying activation of the section of the Employment Protection Act dealing with time off work for public duties, until he is ready to activate the sections dealing with time off for trade union duties and activities.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerSection 59 of the Employment Protection Act, dealing with reasonable time off for public duties, involves considerations similar to those raised by Sections 57 and 58, dealing with time off for trade union duties and activities. It is sensible to activate all three sections together, and at a time when the capacity of the industrial tribunals has been expanded sufficiently to cope with the additional work load arising from implementation of the Employment Protection Act.