§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement on his proposals for the provision of adequate resources for industrial tribunals in 1991.
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment when he will extend the jurisdiction of industrial tribunals to deal with wrongful dismissal and other breach of contract claims by dismissed employees.
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was the maximum and what was the average time between the making of a claim to an industrial tribunal and its hearing in the years 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 and in the first six months of 1990; and what he expects the average of these to be in the second six months of 1990 and in the first six months of 1991.
§ Mr. ForthI regret that the information is not available in the precise form requested. The table shows the percentage of applications coming to first hearing at an industrial tribunal within 12, 16, 20 and 26 weeks, respectively, of receipt of the applications.
Percentage 12 months ended 12 weeks 16 weeks 20 weeks 26 weeks England and Wales 31 December 1985 52 72 82 90 31 March 1987 57 74 85 92 31 March 1988 56 74 83 90 31 March 1989 51 70 81 92 31 March 1990 52 73 82 92 30 September 19901 50 70 83 91 Scotland 31 December 1985 22 70 88 93 31 March 1987 11 47 75 88 31 March 1988 44 72 83 91 31 March 1989 52 78 87 92 31 March 1990 43 72 85 91 30 September 19901 53 74 87 93 1For six months. It is not our practice to give estimates of future performance of the industrial tribunals.
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much money was allocated to industrial tribunals during the years 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 and in the first six months of 1990; and how much he expects the average to be in the first six months of 1990 and in the first six months of 1991.
§ Mr. ForthThe budget for industrial tribunals for 1991–92 has not yet been fixed. The allocations for the years 1986 to 1990 were as follows:510W
Year ended (£) 31 March 1986 10,736,000 31 March 1987 11,288,000 31 March 1988 10,834,000 31 March 1989 10,151,000 31 March 1990 10,769,000 31 March 1991 12,223,000 The allocations to the tribunals exclude accommodation costs.
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has made an estimate of the likely increase in the work of industrial tribunals when their jurisdiction is increased so as to include wrongful dismissal and other breach of contract claims by dismissed employees.
§ Mr. ForthI do not expect the extension of jurisdiction to result in a significant increase in the work of industrial tribunals.
§ Mr. JannerTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many cases were dealt with by industrial tribunals in the years 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989 and in the first six months of 1990; and how many he estimates will heard by industrial tribunals in the last six months of 1990.
§ Mr. ForthThe number of cases in which tribunals promulgated decisions, for the years 1986 to 1989 and for the first six months of 1990, is as follows:
12 months ended Number 31 March 1987 39,404 31 March 1988 34,233 31 March 1989 29,317 31 March 1990 31,913 30 September 19901 17,304 1 For six months. It is not our practice to give estimates of the number of cases to be heard by the industrial tribunals.