§ Dame Joan Vickersasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government will now initiate measures for the ratification of the International Labour Conventions Numbers 59, 100, 103, 111, 117, 118 as proposed in Resolution 397 and Recommendation 545 which were adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 28th January, 1969.
§ Mr. WhitlockIt has been the policy of successive Governments not to ratify184W international instruments until domestic law and practice conform to their requirements.
Convention No. 59 states that no child under the age of 15 may be employed in industry. We consider that the 1962 Education Act, which states that all children in the United Kingdom must remain in full-time education until they are 15, safeguards the interests of children in this respect. However, it is possible for a child in this country, whose fifteenth birthday falls during the holidays, and who, therefore, need not return to school, to take up employment some weeks before he is 15. In such cases, the United Kingdom would be in breach of Convention 59, and cannot, therefore, ratify it.
Convention No. 100 concerns equal remuneration. Her Majesty's Government accept the principle of equal pay for equal work and are committed to its complete application at the earliest possible time. Talks between the Department of Employment and Productivity, the Trades Union Congress and the Confederation of British Industry on the phased introduction of equal pay have revealed practical difficulties, including a substantial increase in the nation's wages and salary bill, and Her Majesty's Government have been forced to the conclusion that priority must be given to the policy for productivity, prices and incomes. The fact that equal pay has not yet been implemented in the United Kingdom is also the main, though not the only, obstacle to our ratification of Convention No. 111 on Discrimination in Employment.
With regard to Conventions No. 103 and No. 118, until the present comprehensive review of the United Kingdom social security provisions has been completed Her Majesty's Government are not in a position to say whether, or to what extent, they could give effect to the terms of the Conventions.
Convention No. 117 was expressly designed for newly independent States. The question of ratification for the United Kingdom does not arise.
§ Dame Joan Vickersasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government with regard to 185W Recommendation Number 546 on the general policy of the Council of Europe which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 29th January, 1969; and what instructions he has given to the United Kingdom Permanent Representative in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe for the implementation of the proposals contained in this Recommendation.
§ Mr. WhitlockThis Recommendation is still under consideration by the Committee of Ministers.
§ Dame Joan Vickersasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, in view of Recommendation Number 485 on the ratification of Protocols Numbers 2, 3 and 4 to the European Convention on Human Rights which was adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 26th January, 1967, whether Her Majesty's Government are now prepared to ratify Protocol Number 4.
§ Mr. WhitlockNot at present.
§ Mr. Ian Lloydasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government on Recommendation Number 549 on statutory limitations as applicable and Resolution Number 401 on crimes against humanity, adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 30th January 1969; whether he will instruct the United Kingdom Permanent Representative in the Committee of Ministers to vote for the proposals
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RENT OFFICER COMPLEMENTS Panel 1st July, 1967 1st July, 1968 7th March, 1969 Full-Time Half-Time or More Less Than Half-Time Full-Time Half-Time or More Less Than Half-Time Full-Time Half-Time or More Less Than Half-Time London … 87 — 2 86 — 2 85 — 2 Northern … 10 2 1 10 2 1 10 2 1 Yorkshire … 13 4 2 12 — — 11 1 — Manchester … 23 3 4 19 1 4 19 1 3 Liverpool … 14 1 — 11 1 — 11 1 — West Midlands … 14 6 5 11 1 5 11 1 5 East Midlands … 12 1 13 11 1 10 11 2 10 Eastern … 5 9 3 6 7 1 6 7 1 Luton … 5 1 1 5 1 — 5 — — Thames Valley … 5 3 6 3 3 6 3 2 2 Bristol … 10 4 — 10 — — 10 — — Devon and Cornwall … 5 — 6 4 3 1 4 3 1 Southern … 4 6 1 4 6 1 4 6 1 Surrey and Sussex … 11 3 2 11 3 2 10 2 2 Kent … 7 — — 7 — — 7 — — … 225 43 46 210 29 33 207 28 28 in the Recommendation; and whether he will comply, at national level, with the proposals in paragraph 8(a) of the Recommendation and paragraph 8 of the Resolution.
§ Mr. WhitlockThe Committee of Ministers took note of the Resolution and is still considering the Recommendation.