§ 23. Mr. Mackintoshasked the Minister of Labour what consideration he gave, in drafting the Selective Employment Payments Bill, to the need to empower him to alter both the employments qualifying for premium and refund and the levels of premium or refund between the various administrative divisions of his Department in order to enable him to give extra emphasis to the regional economic development programme of the Government.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsThe Government gave very careful consideration to its regional objectives when deciding to introduce the Selective Employment Tax. It decided that the right course would be to keep a careful watch on progress in the regions and to take whatever further regional measures might be necessary in the light of experience.