§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many self-financing productivity schemes were notified to his Department in the period 31st July 1977 to 31st July 1978; and how many workers were involved;
(2) how many self-financing productivity schemes notified to his Department in the period 31st July 1977 to 31st July 1978 were approved without modification; how many were approved after 831W modification; and how many were rejected;
(3) how many self-financing productivity schemes set up after 31st July 1977 are known to his Department to have since been discontinued as they have proved not to be self-financing;
(4) how many self-financing productivity schemes negotiated between 31st July 1977 and 31st July 1978 provided that the productivity payments involved be made in the form of a separate supplement to earnings;
(5) how many assurances from negotiations have been received by the Government in each quarter since 30th June 1977, stating that attendance at work has improved sufficiently to warrant productivity deals based on this improvement; and how many of these assurances have been rejected;
(6) how many officials in his Department are engaged in monitoring the progress of self-financing productivity schemes introduced as part of a pay settlement after 31st July 1977.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerDuring the period 31st July 1977 to 31st July 1978 my Department was informed of 1,840 self-financing productivity schemes in the private sector, involving nearly 2 million workers.
My Department does not approve schemes. Employers are responsible for ensuring that their schemes are self-financing, and in each case my Department seeks an assurance that this is so. However, my Department's advice has often led to proposals being modified, or concluded schemes being renegotiated, in order to ensure that they are self-financing. But detailed information on the number of such cases is not readily available.
Companies are not required to notify my Department if a scheme is wound up.
Negotiators are advised that productivity payments should be made separately. I believe this advice has been followed in the great majority of cases.
My Department has received 12 assurances that productivity schemes based on attendance at work have proved to be self-financing in practice. All have been accepted. Seven were received in the quarter ended 30th June 1978; four in 832W the quarter ended 30th September 1978; and one since that date.
Eighty-two officials in my Department are currently engaged in giving advice on, monitoring and vetting pay settlements of all kinds in the private sector. It is not feasible to say what proportion of their time is devoted to monitoring the progress of self-financing productivity schemes.
§ Mr. Lawsonasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what is his estimate of the rate of growth of productivity in the relevant part of the economy that would occur in the period since 1st August 1977 if all the self-financing productivity schemes involved in the major settlements monitored by his Department were assumed to be fulfilled and if no changes in productivity took place for other reasons; and what is his estimate of the rate of growth of productivity in the economy as a whole over the same period if there were no similar improvement in productivity involving that section of the work force whose settlements are not closely monitored by his Department.
(2) what is his best estimate of the number of genuine productivity schemes introduced during stage 3 of the Government's pay policy in compliance with that policy which would not have been introduced in the absence of that policy; and what is his best estimate of the increase in national productivity that has arisen from such schemes.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerNo such estimates are possible.