§ Mr. Ian McCartneyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will publish industrial tribunal statistics for 1994–95, indicating which proportion of applications to industrial tribunals come from companies which employ fewer than 24 people, broken down by jurisdiction in the same format as those made available for 1993–94. [41129]
Mr. John M. TaylorIndustrial tribunal statistics for 1994–95, in the same format as those previously made available for 1993–94, were published in the July 1996 issue of "Labour Market Trends". The industrial tribunals do not collect information on the number of people employed by companies involved in cases before them.
§ Mr. McCartneyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what statistical evidence was supplied by his Department to the deregulation task force on industrial tribunal cases for their 1995–96 report; and if he will publish this evidence. [41130]
Mr. TaylorThe information on industrial tribunal performance and work load supplied to the deregulation task force was that published in departmental reports, the 955W Green Paper "Resolving Employment Rights Disputes: Options for Reform" and "Labour Market Trends". In addition, in the first three months of this year the tribunals have met their main performance target of bringing 80 per cent. of cases to a first hearing within 26 weeks of the date of registration.
§ Mr. McCartneyTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the advantage of the proposal made by the Trades Union Congress in the consultation on the draft Employment Rights (Dispute Resolution) Bill to allow directions hearings on test cases where there are multiple applications to industrial tribunals. [41131]
Mr. TaylorThe rules of procedure already allow the tribunal judiciary to hold directions hearings on test cases in multiple applications. However, I shall consult both presidents of the industrial tribunals about the TUC proposals to see whether any changes in the rules are appropriate.