§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the statement by an official of his Department in his letter dated 6th January to the director of personnel of John Lewis, that as of 21st December 1977 the Government had not fully resolved their own decisions on a network of blacklist and related problems, of which the John Lewis Partnership case was one, and they had indeed only just done so, was made with his authority; and whether he will outline the reasons for the failure of his Department to have reached decisions by that date.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettYes. Very few firms, of which the John Lewis Partnership was one, were subject to discretionary action as a result of breaches of the520W pay limits in the two previous rounds and it was necessary to consider carefully how they should be treated in the present round, which in turn brought into question the procedures for dealing with such cases generally. Naturally these matters took time to resolve.
§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, pursuant to the published correspondence about the John Lewis Partnership, he accepts the figures in the letters from the firm dated 28th July 1977 and 2nd February 1978 that the total number of employees whose settlement was in breach of stage 3 was approximately 444 out of 25,000, and the excess sum was about £27,000 out of a total wage bill of £54 million; and, if not, what alternative figures are available to him.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettI know of no breach of the current pay guidelines by the John Lewis Partnership. The correspondence to which the hon. Member refers relates to a breach of the guidelines in the last pay round, where for a certain number of their employees the company awarded increases some 50 per cent higher than the £2.50—5 per cent.—£4 pay limits then in force. I have no reason to challenge the figures quoted in the hon. Member's Question.
§ Mr. Michael Lathamasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, pursuant to the statement in the published correspondence with John Lewis by his official on 6th January 1978, that the Government were determined to resist major breaches of pay policy, and decided their policy towards discretionary sanctions accordingly, he regards the John Lewis settlement as a major breach of pay policy; and what criteria he adopted in reaching his decision in this matter.
§ Mr. Joel BarnettYes. The settlement gave a certain number of employees increases which exceeded the £2.50—5 per cent.—£4 pay limits then in force by some 50 per cent.
§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the Written Answer to the hon. Member for Blaby, Official Report, 8th February, column 590, how many firms are now being subjected to economic sanctions for having negotiated pay settlements above the 10 per cent limit.
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§ Mr. Joel BarnettDiscretionary action is currently being taken against 25 firms which have negotiated settlements outside the guidelines for this round.