§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will request the Post Office, the Gas Board, Electricity Boards, British Railways, British Airways and other publicly owned industries to notify any unfilled vacancies at present occurring.
§ Mr. GoldingI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the Employment Service Agency at area, district and local level maintains close contact with its counterparts in the publicly owned industries referred to, and that every effort is made to ensure that all vacancies arising are lodged with the appropriate employment office or offices or job centre or job centres of the agency.1138W The agency is always ready to accept sole recruitment responsibility, in respect of any employer, and this applies to the public and private sector equally. Bearing in mind the autonomy held by many area/regional authorities in the public sector, the commission believes that liaison can be most effectively maintained at that level, and that any approach from the centre, on the lines suggested, would be unlikely to produce noticeably better co-operation.