§ Mr. Bishopasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is aware of the increasing need of pre-employment and refresher courses to adapt to new techniques and renew skills for women, and especially those in charge of single parent families when returning to paid employment after a break; and what further action he proposes.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI am certainly aware of the need of women returning to the labour market to have access to pre-employment and refresher courses to adapt to new techniques and renew skills.
The Manpower Services Commission informs me that under the Training Opportunities Scheme both types of course are provided in a wide range of occupations. They are open to women returning to work after a break, including those in charge of single parent families. Courses specially designed for such women include some part-time courses for commercial work recently started on an experimental basis to assess the demand for this kind of provision. The initial response has been encouraging.
The Training Services Agency's expansion programme under its five-year plan provides for further development of 341W training opportunities for women returning to the employment field after a break for family reasons.
§ Mr. Bishopasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will publish a table of the hourly rates of working women's earnings, showing the numbers earning each rate and the proportion of the whole they represent for each of the years 1970–1973.
§ Mr. Albert BoothThe following estimates for April in each year, derived from the New Earnings Survey, indicate the numbers of women aged 18 and over
ESTIMATES OF THE NUMBERS AND PERCENTAGES OF FULL-TIME WOMEN (AGED 18 OR OVER) IN ALL INDUSTRIES AND SERVICES IN GREAT BRITAIN WHOSE GROSS HOURLY EARNINGS WERE LESS THAN SPECIFIED AMOUNTS April 1970 April 1971 April 1972 April 1973 Grass hourly earnings Number (million) Percentage Number (million) Percentage Number (million) Percentage Number (million) Percentage Under 25p 0.5 9.7 0.2 4.1 0.1 2.1 0.0 0.7 Under 30p 1.4 26.2 0.6 12.4 0.4 7.1 0.1 2.7 Under 35p 2.3 43.9 1.5 28.2 0.9 16.3 0.3 7.2 Under 40p 3.1 58.7 2.3 43.6 1.6 30.3 0.8 16.0 Under 45p 3.6 69.6 3.0 57.3 2.3 43.8 1.3 27.6 Under 50p 4.0 77.5 3.5 67.7 2.9 55.7 1.9 40.0 Under 55p 4.3 83.0 3.9 75.2 3.4 64.8 2.5 51.8 Under 60p 4.5 86.7 4.2 80.9 3.8 72.1 3.0 61.6 Under 70p 4.8 91.5 4.6 88.1 4.3 82.3 3.6 75.2 Under 80p 4.9 93.9 4.8 92.2 4.6 88.2 4.0 83.6 Under100p 5.0 96.4 5.0 95.8 4.9 93.9 4.4 91.6 Full-time women included in the analysis 5.2 100.0 5.2 100.0 5.3 100.0 4.8 100.0 *Excluding those whose pay for the survey pay period was affected by absence.
§ Mr. Bishopasked the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is taking to encourage more women to enter and train for work in engineering and technical pursuits; and what action he is taking to ensure adequate training facilities.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe employment services of my Department and the Careers Service take every suitable opportunity to encourage women and girls to consider a wide range of careers—including engineering and technical pursuits—for which they are suitable.
The Manpower Services Commission informs me that facilities for training in engineering and other technical occupations are provided under the Training Opportunities Scheme and these are open to women. A number of women are currently being trained in these occupations but the percentage under training remains low. The Training Services Agency has declared the training needs of women to be a matter requiring special attention. In its five-year plan published 342W in full-time manual or non-manual employment in all industries and services in Great Britain with gross hourly earnings less than the specified amounts for the survey reference pay-period. The estimates are subject to sampling error and exclude about 2¾ to 3 million women whose normal weekly hours were either not more than 30—under 25 in the case of teachers—or not specified. The 1973 estimates also exclude about 500,000 full-time women whose pay for the survey reference period was affected by absence, because the number of hours for which they were paid was not collected.
recently the agency has set out its programme for seeking ways of widening training opportunities for women and is taking this up with industrial training boards.
§ Mr. Bishopasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied that in the nationalised industries under the control of his Ministers the same facilities are accorded to their women employees as were recommended in the 1971 Civil Service Department report, The Employment of Women in the Civil Service; and, if not, if he will take appropriate action in the light of Her Majesty's Government's policy on anti-discrimination.
§ Mr. John FraserMatters of personal policy are the responsibility of the industries themselves. Not all of the recommendations in the 1971 Civil Service Department report, "The Employment of Women in the Civil Service" are appropriate to all women employees in the nationalised industries. The Government are working on proposals relating to discrimination on grounds of sex generally. 343W No specific initiatives are at present in mind for nationalised industries only in respect of equal opportunities for women.