HC Deb 12 April 1988 vol 131 cc38-9W
Ms. Short

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide details of the sample survey of delays in adjudication officers making decisions on availability for work, by regions, for each quarter from 31 December 1986.

Mr. Lee

Information is not available in the precise form requested. However, the speed with which adjudication officers make decisions (that is, the time between their receiving a referral and reaching a decision after making all necessary inquiries), is monitored in a 5 per cent. sample of cases. This sampling was instigated only from 1 April 1987 (from 1 July in Scotland), and therefore I am only able to provide details for three-month periods ending 30 June 1987 and 30 September 1987. For information on the three-month perod ending 31 December 1987, I refer the hon. Member to my reply in theOfficial Report on Friday 25 March at column 259. The samples show that, for the three-month periods ending 30 June 1987 and 30 September 1987, the percentage of all availability questions (on both new and existing claims and including decisions on availability during holidays) decided within four weeks of referral to an adjudication officer, for each employment service region, was as follows :-

(2) if he will publish the best available estimate by his Department of (a) the total number of establishments covered by wages councils, (b) the number of establishments covered by the Clothing Manufacturing wages council, (c) the number of establishments covered by the Hat, Cap and Millinery wages council, (d) the number of establishments covered by the Linen and Cotton Handkerchief and Household goods and Linen Piece Goods wages council, (e) the number of establishments covered by the Made-up Textiles wages council, and (f) the number of establishments covered by the Retail Bespoke Tailoring wages council.

Mr. Nicholls

At December 1987, the figures requested were:

Number
All wages councils 379,253
Clothing Manufacture 6,964
Hat, Cap and Millinery 123
Linen and Cotton Handkerchief etc. 114
Made-up Textiles 292
Retail Bespoke Tailoring 509

The above figures are updated annually and are regarded as sufficiently reliable for departmental needs. No other such figures or estimates are compiled for the numbers of establishments covered by wages councils.

Ms. Short

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the number of occasions on which section 23 of the Wages Act 1986 has been used to bring civil or criminal prosecutions against individuals for offences by bodies corporate.

Mr. Nicholls

None.

Ms. Short

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish the instructions issued to wages inspectors on the use of section 23 of the Wages Act 1986.

Mr. Nicholls

No specific instructions on the use of section 23 of the Act have been issued to inspectors.