§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the preliminary findings from research into the impact of employment legislation on companies employing fewer than 50 people.
§ Mr. Harold Walker:The survey undertaken by the Opinion Research Centre earlier this year into the effects of employment legislation on small firms employing fewer than 50 people shows that these effects have been greatly exaggerated and that the legislation is not normally one of the small employer's major concerns. In this connection, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to
604W
Wages Council Percentage of establishments inspected Total arrears £ Aerated Waters (England and Wales) … 5.9 2,674 Aerated Waters (Scotland) … 5.4 69 Boot and Shoe Repairing (Great Britain) … 2.7 1,509 Retail Bread and Flour Confectionery (England and Wales) … 8.0 44,100 Retail Bread and Flour Confectionery (Scotland) … 9.1 3,747 Button Manufacturing (Great Britain) … 7.0 — Coffin Furniture and Cerement (Great Britain) … 8.8 44 Corset (Great Britain) … 8.6 487 Cotton Waste Reclamation (Great Britain) … 13.9 49 the hon. Member for Twickenham (Mr. Jessel) on 28th November.