HC Deb 10 May 1984 vol 59 cc455-7W
Mr. Murphy

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the main policy achievements of his Department since May 1979.

Mr. Tom King

Since May 1979, my Department has contributed to the Government's strategy designed to achieve a sound economy, tackle the underlying causes of unemployment and create the conditions necessary for growth.

We have increased the help given through the Department and the Manpower Services Commission under special measures to groups hardest hit by unemployment. In addition to the job release scheme, we have introduced new measures to help the unemployed: the community programme this year will provide up to 130,000 places for long term unemployed people on projects of value to the community. The voluntary projects programme this year will provide voluntary opportunities for at least 50,000 unemployed people. the enterprise allowance scheme to assist unemployed people to become self-employed, was to be extended nationwide from August 1983. the young workers scheme, currently covering some 100,000 young people, provides an incentive to employers to take on young people at wage rates which by allowing realistically for their age and relative inexperience improve their chances of employment; the job splitting scheme, introduced in January 1983, encourages employers to split existing full-time jobs into two part-time jobs and so open more job opportunities for unemployed people.

We have given fresh impetus to the reform of industrial training. In December 1981 our White Paper "A New Training Initiative—A Programme for Action" reflected agreement among all parties on a new approach to training and made proposals for providing effective training for young people, modernising skill training and expanding opportunities for adults.

Our January 1984 White Paper, "Training for Jobs" describes the next steps to be taken to carry forward existing programmes and to increase the effectiveness of training arrangemens generally, and reports on progress towards achieving the original objectives:

the number of statutory industry training boards was reduced from 23 to seven, enabling employers to replace them with training arrangements designed to meet the particular needs of their industries, and provide a better framework for the future; substantial progress has been made in some industries towards the 1985 target date by which skill training for all significant occupations should be to agreed standards; the skillcentre training agency was established in 1983 to ensure that skillcentres adopt a commercial approach in identifying and supplying the training that the commission and employers want. The agency is required to cover its costs from trading income, which will mean the elimination of surplus capacity. the youth training scheme was successfully launched in 1983. It offers to those who leave full-time education at 16 or 17 and remain unemployed—and to some 16-year-olqds who are in jobs—the opportunity of a year's planned training and work experience. Over 350,000 young people have taken that opportunity so far; the technical and vocational education initiative was launched in November 1982 by the Prime Minister to broaden the curriculum iof 14 to 18-year-olds and relate it more closely to employment needs. Fourteen pilot schemes began in September 1983 and the MSC recently announced that the scheme would be expanded from the autumn of 1984 to include a further 45 projects in England and Wales and also five in Scotland; the open Tech programme is now under way with some 750 projects to meet the training needs of technicians and supervisors.

Expenditure on all these special employment and training measures was an estimated £1,768 million in 1983–84*. Spending of £2,083 million has been allocated in the Estimates for 1984–85.

* Expenditure adjusted by applying the gross domestic product deflator at market prices, with 1982–83 as the base year.

The Government have also recently given the MSC important new responsibilities by enabling it to purchase a more significant proportion of work-related non-advanced further education provided by local education authorities. The MSC is now consulting widely about how best to take forward this new initiative.

Over the five years to April 1984 the total staffing of the Manpower Services Commission has been reduced by over 4,000, to a level of a little over 22,000.

The professional and executive register was put on a cost recovery basis from April 1983 and on the information at present available has met that requirement for 1983–84. PER staff has -been reduced from about 800 to about 300 since 1979.

Since coming to office, the Government has remained committed to maintain the level of assistance for disabled people, to help them into jobs. A number of the services and special schemes provided through the Manpower Services Commission have been reviewed since 1979, and changes made to ensure they meet the needs of disabled people as effectively as possible. The Government have asked the Commission to consider ways of making the quota scheme more effective within the existing legislation, and at the same time to press ahead with the development of a code of practice on the employment of disabled people.

Since May 1979 we have followed a consistent step by step approach to industrial relations reform, the benefits of which are now increasingly evident. In particular, the 1980 and 1982 Employment Acts have halted the spread of the closed shop, provided considerable practical protection for non—union workers employed in closed shops and restored effective safeguards for those whose businesses are damaged by indiscriminate secondary action and by secondary picketing.

The Trade Union Bill, now before Parliament, provides an essential further step in our programme of reform. By giving union members the opportunity to participate in the important decisions which affect them the Bill will ensure that trade unions become more responsive to the views of their members and will promote the conduct of responsible industrial relations between trade unions and employers.

Over the past five years my Department has continued to play a full part in the work of the European Community bearing on employment and related issues. Between 1979 and 1983 the allocations to the United Kingdom from the European social fund increased from £130 million to £321 million and this represented a substantial contribution towards the cost of employment and training schemes, particularly for young people. We have agreed a number of constructive Community measures in the employment field, notably relating to health and safety, such as the directives protecting workers from hazards associated with lead and asbestos. In the United Kingdom, my Department has also been closely involved in the major initiatives on the prevention of hearing loss through industrial noise launched by the Health and Safety Commission.

The efficiency and effectiveness of my Department's services have continued to be kept under close scrutiny. In the past year systems for the review of the use of resources by Ministers and top management have been set up and arrangements for installing and improving financial information systems have been made throughout the DE group. A report describing the Department's organisation, activities and performance, and action taken to implement the financial management initiative, was published in February. The requirement for unemployed people to register for work at jobcentres was removed in 1982, and in the unemployment benefit service improvements in efficiency have been identified and are being introduced. Approval has recently been given for new computer terminals in unemployment benefit offices which will improve both the quality and speed of service to the public starting in 1985, and at less cost.