HC Deb 27 March 1973 vol 853 cc279-80W
42. Mr. Adley

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services in which other countries within the EEC either the State accepts, or the trade unions are absolved from accepting, financial liability flowing from the voluntary withdrawal of labour by strikers.

Sir K. Joseph

I regret that the information requested by my hon. Friend is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Some information in regard to payments of social assistance in the then EEC countries was given in my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, North (Mr. Ralph Howell) on 13th June last; similar social assistance arrangements exist in Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. While supplementary benefit is payable for strikers' families in accordance with the provisions of the Ministry of Social Security Act 1966, this does not absolve trade unions from accepting financial liability for their members on strike. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment said in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Haltem-price (Mr. Wall) on 7th November last, it is clearly right that trade unions should bear their proper share of financial responsibility for official disputes and that is still normally the case in most strikes.—[Vol. 838, c. 1231–3, and Vol. 845, c. 799–800.]

Mr. Ralph Howell

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give guidance to assist officials administering supplementary allowances, in the light of advice tendered to claimants in a document entitled "Claimants Handbook for Strikers", a copy of which the hon. Member for Norfolk, North has sent to him.

Mr. Dean

The existing guidance in standing instructions dealing with claims for supplementary benefit made during trade disputes is adequate for the purpose. In addition, the Supplementary Benefits Commission has recently published an explanatory leaflet entitled "Supplementary Benefits and Trade Disputes" which is intended to correct the misleading state- ments made in publications of this kind to which my hon. Friend refers.