§ Q11. Mr. Hamlingasked the Prime Minister if he is satisfied that adequate Government action is taken to deal with the problems of redundancy which arise from the merger of large firms; and if he will make a statement.
§ The Prime Minister. Yes. It is the policy of the Government to encourage rationalisation which will increase industrial efficiency. It is also the policy of the Government, and we have given practical expression to this in a number of ways, that the problems of redundancy must be sympathetically handled. As the House knows, we are currently discussing with the Confederation of British Industry and the Trades Union Congress the possibility of issuing agreed guidance to all concerned in dealing with redundancies.