§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of 596W firms covered by wage regulation orders were not inspected under Section 17(1) inspected by the wages council failed to keep satisfactory wage records; and if he will give these figures for each year since 1963.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe information is as follows:
per cent. 1963 12.7 1964 13.0 1965 13.2 1966 12.5 1967 11.8 1968 11.4 1969 11.3 1970 11.2 1971 12.7 1972 12.3 1973 12.1 1974 11.7 1975 11.3
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of firms covered by wage regulation orders were not inspected under Section 17(1) of the Wages Council Act 1959 in respect to wage records; and how many prosecutions there have been for breaches of the law for each year since 1959.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerWages records are always examined when an inspection is carried out under the Act. The percentage of establishments known to be affected by wages orders which were not inspected each year since 1959 is given below:
597W
per cent. 1959 90.1 1960 90.3 1961 91.0 1962 90.6 1963 90.2 1964 90.4 1965 90.1 1966 89.9 1967 90.1 1968 89.7 1969 89.8 1970 88.8 1971 89.0 1972 89.5 1973 89.8 1974 91.0 1975 91.5 Since 1959 there have been eleven prosecutions for failing to keep records as required by Section 17(1) of the Act.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms covered by wages councils have not been visited by inspectors since 1966.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe information given below relates to the number of establishments on the Department's list not inspected in each year since 1966:
1966 456,517 1967 453,538 1968 447,997 1969 445,547 1970 431,432 1971 419,740 1972 416,453 1973 415,752 1974 421,009 1975 418,916 It is not the practice to visit, except on complaint, firms known to operate agreements as favourable, or more favourable, to workers than wages orders. Some establishments included in the above figures belong to multiple firms, the head offices of which are visited.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many firms have been obliged to pay arrears of wages by a wages council; and what is the total sum for each year since 1963.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe information is as follows:
No. £ 1963 9,133 149,095 1964 9,050 161,408 1965 9,471 185,993 1966 9,598 183,666 1967 8,939 181,946 1968 8,795 177,930 1969 8,441 171,667 1970 8,081 157,898 1971 7,675 163,747 1972 9,048 220,084 1973 10,120 306,311 1974 9,084 326,826 1975 11,193 581,906
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment what steps he will take to increase workers' awareness of minimum statutory wages by way of advertisement.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI have no immediate plans for such advertisements. Under the Wages Councils Act employers598W are required to post notices of the relevant wages orders.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of firms investigated by wages councils' inspectors failed to display such notices as may be prescribed for the purpose of informing them of any wages regulation proposals or wages regulation order affecting them; and, of these, how many have been fined.
§ Mr. Harold Walker22.1 per cent. of establishments inspected by wages inspectors in 1975 failed to post the prescribed notices. None of the companies involved were fined; all were instructed to display the notices.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he is satisfied with the number of investigations made by the wages councils' inspectors concerning home workers; and what measures he proposes to take to make the councils more effective.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI am satisfied that the proportion of time spent investigating the remuneration of homeworkers is reasonable in relation to the total commitments of the Wages Inspectorate. But I intend to ask the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service to make investigations of selected wages council industries where there are significant numbers of homeworkers with a view to obtaining further information on the present position.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many complaints were made each year since 1950 to each of the wages councils; what percentage of these complaints was investigated; how many routine inspections were made for each year since 1950 for each of the wages councils' inspectors; and what percentage of firms or firms within the wages council was inspected on a routine basis.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe information is given below for the years 1971–75. All complaints were investigated. Information could be supplied for previous years only at a disproportionate cost.
599W
600W601W
WAGES COUNCILS ACT 1959—NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS RECEIVED 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 Aerated Waters (England and Wales) … … … … 31 25 27 29 22 Aerated Waters (Scotland) … … … … 5 — 1 3 1 Baking … … … … 73 Abolished Boot and Floor Polish … … … … — 1 — Abolished Boot repairing … … … … 13 13 17 12 14 Retail Bread (England and Wales) … … … … 130 108 134 186 167 Retail Bread (Scotland) … … … … 26 24 18 21 21 Brush Broom … … … … 5 1 2 Abolished Button Manufacturing … … … … 5 2 1 — — Coffin … … … … 1 1 — — — Corset … … … … 9 11 3 1 3 Cotton Waste … … … … — 2 1 1 — Dressmaking (England and Wales) … … … … 239 268 251 251 261 Dressmaking (Scotland) … … … … 20 13 16 16 12 Flax and Hemp … … … … — — — — — Fur … … … … 39 17 18 16 14 General Waste … … … … 47 31 37 38 41 Hair, Bass and Fibre … … … … — — — Abolished Hair dressing … … … … 873 869 887 838 912 Hat, Cap and Millinery … … … … 13 9 9 7 4 Hallow-ware … … … … 1 2 1 — Abolished Keg and Drum … … … … 3 2 1 — Abolished Lace Finishing … … … … 3 — 2 — — Laundry … … … … 65 84 89 65 61 Linen and Cotton Handkerchief … … … … 11 12 8 7 10 Made-up Textiles … … … … 8 5 8 3 3 Milk Distribution (England and Wales) … … … … 125 102 107 121 Abolished
602W603W
1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 Milk Distribution (Scotland) … … … … 33 45 35 29 28 Ostrich Feather … … … … 1 1 1 3 — Paper Box … … … … 4 12 11 11 Abolished Perambulator … … … … 3 3 1 1 1 Pin, Hook and Eye … … … … 1 — — — 2 Readymade Tailoring … … … … 79 93 82 94 102 Retail Bespoke Tailoring (England and Wales) … … … … 22 13 21 13 16 Retail Bespoke Tailoring (Scotland) … … … … — 4 — — 2 Road Haulage … … … … 649 645 726 703 671 Rope, Twine and Net … … … … 1 2 2 — — Rubber-proof garments … … … … — 2 3 — — Sack and Bag … … … … 7 — 1 1 2 Shirtmaking … … … … 20 28 24 22 24 Stamped or Pressed Metals … … … … 5 6 5 Abolished Toy Making … … … … 4 12 19 10 13 Wholesale Mantle … … … … 182 150 103 105 118 Bookselling … … … … 38 39 40 48 49 Drapery and Outfitting … … … … 488 446 528 611 702 Furnishing and Allied … … … … 314 364 428 422 526 Retail Food (England and Wales) … … … … 692 767 912 907 991 Retail Food (Scotland) … … … … 122 87 106 109 122 Newsagency and Tobacco (England and Wales) … … … … 158 181 227 234 313 Newsagency and Tobacco (Scotland) … … … … 32 25 29 37 32 Canteens … … … … 120 99 106 122 132 Licensed Non-Residential … … … … 769 820 718 804 1,104 Licensed Residential … … … … 1,430 1,596 1,696 1,613 1,797 Unlicensed place of Refreshment … … … … 406 441 395 359 416
604W605W
WAGES COUNCILS ACT 1959—NUMBER AND PERCENTAGE OF ROUTINE INSPECTIONS 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Aerated Waters (England and Wales) … … 57 6.9 48 6.3 38 5.2 27 3.8 27 3.9 Aerated Waters (Scotland) … … 5 4.4 6 5.6 5 4.8 3 3.1 4 4.3 Baking … … 319 4.0 Abolished Boot and Floor Polish … … 3 6.0 3 6.0 3 7.1 Abolished Boot repairing … … 255 6.8 217 6.2 193 5.7 164 5.1 179 5.6 Retail Bread (England and Wales) … … 2,088 13.9 1,596 10.8 1,539 10.7 1,407 9.8 1,142 8.4 Retail Bread (Scotland) … … 305 12.5 243 10.0 260 11.1 222 9.7 226 10.3 Brush and Broom … … 17 6.4 16 6.0 12 4.8 Abolished Button manufacturing … … 9 6.0 9 6.3 7 5.2 9 6.7 8 6.3 Coffin … … 3 6.8 3 7.0 3 7.5 4 10.0 3 8.5 Corset … … 13 6.2 18 6.6 13 6.7 12 6.2 12 6.3 Cotton Waste … … 4 6.5 5 8.2 4 7.4 4 7.3 4 8.8 Dressmaking (England and Wales) … … 554 7.1 507 6.7 543 7.1 555 7.4 420 5.7 Dressmaking (Scotland) … … 24 4.5 27 5.4 24 4.9 23 4.5 24 4.7 Flax and Hemp … … 3 8.8 3 8.8 2 6.5 3 10.0 2 6.9 Fur … … 67 7.7 45 5.6 44 5.8 22 2.9 27 3.5 General Waste … … 175 6.6 158 6.2 150 6.2 122 5.0 122 5.2 Hair, Bass and Fibre … … 2 10.5 2 10.0 1 5.9 Abolished Hairdressing … … 4,898 13.5 4,516 12.4 4,282 11.9 3,418 9.6 3,211 9.2 Hat, Cap and Millinery … … 36 7.0 36 7.3 26 5.9 17 4.3 22 6.1 Hollow-ware … … 4 6.7 4 7.0 4 7.8 3 7.1 Abolished Keg and Drum … … 6 6.4 6 6.7 6 7.0 5 5.5 Abolished Lace Finishing … … 6 7.0 6 7.4 5 6.5 5 6.9 32 48.4 Laundry … … 125 6.9 187 6.2 102 6.3 73 5.0 67 4.8 Linen and Cotton Handkerchief … … 16 6.3 15 6.2 15 6.2 16 6.9 14 6.6 Made-up Textiles … … 24 6.3 26 7.0 23 6.4 23 6.3 25 7.3 Milk Distribution (England and Wales) … … 230 6.0 220 6.0 175 4.8 144 4.0 Abolished
606W607W
1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Number Per cent. Milk Distribution (Scotland) … 42 4.6 40 4.8 29 3.6 29 3.8 23 3.2 Ostrich Feather … 3 6.3 3 5.9 3 6.0 3 6.4 3 6.8 Paper Box … 45 5.8 34 4.4 39 5.0 25 3.5 Abolished Perambulator … 4 7.3 3 5.7 5 10.0 3 5.9 3 6.1 Pin, Hook and Eye … 1 7.7 1 8.3 1 11.1 1 11.1 1 10.0 Readymade Tailoring … 242 6.3 203 5.4 222 6.1 158 3.9 176 4.8 Retail Bespoke Tailoring (England and Wales) … 136 7.6 99 5.8 94 6.0 73 4.9 62 4.5 Retail Bespoke Tailoring (Scotland) … 9 5.3 8 4.9 7 4.9 8 6.0 3 2.2 Road Haulage … 1,571 5.8 1,384 5.3 1,345 5.2 950 3.6 943 3.5 Rope, Twine and Net … 13 7.0 13 7.7 10 6.1 7 4.4 16 10.4 Rubber-proof garments … 4 6.5 4 7.1 3 5.8 3 5.9 5 11.9 Sack and Bag … 13 6.3 15 7.7 11 6.2 13 7.4 9 5.3 Shirtmaking … 47 6.6 48 7.0 64 9.4 32 4.7 36 5.3 Stamped or Pressed Metals … 28 6.0 25 5.8 25 5.9 Abolished Toy Making … 23 6.1 24 6.2 22 5.8 23 5.8 27 6.9 Wholesale Mantle … 123 6.4 106 5.7 99 5.5 59 3.3 86 4.9 Bookselling … 404 8.1 365 7.1 372 7.2 375 7.0 343 6.3 Drapery and Outfitting … 3,615 6.6 3,439 6.3 3,817 7.0 3,799 6.9 3,337 6.0 Furnishing and Allied … 2,795 6.6 2,599 6.1 3,137 7.3 3,341 7.7 2,666 6.1 Retail Food (England and Wales) … 10,526 13.4 9,322 12.1 7,911 10.6 6,416 8.7 5,758 7.8 Retail Food (Scotland) … 1,194 12.4 1,157 12.3 1,135 12.5 990 11.0 1,035 11.4 Newsagency and Tobacco (England and Wales) … 3,748 13.2 3,490 12.7 3,031 11.2 2,711 10.0 2,471 9.0 Newsagency and Tobacco (Scotland) … 588 12.8 528 12.5 506 12.4 495 12.2 483 12.0 Canteens … 1,855 6.2 1,687 5.7 1,568 5.3 1,170 4.0 1,245 4.3 Licensed Non-Residential … 6,577 11.3 7,136 12.2 6,515 11.0 5,386 9.1 4,801 8.0 Licensed Residential … 1,558 7.6 1,282 6.0 1,371 6.1 1,252 5.4 1,126 4.7 Unlicensed Place of Refreshment … 1,469 6.5 1,377 6.4 1,375 6.4 1,243 6.0 1,041 5.1
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment what measures he proposes to make wages councils more effective in protecting the low-paid workers.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe provisions for wages councils included in the Employment Protection Act are designed to make wages councils more effective by extending their powers and to make them more independent of Government. These provisions came into effect on 1st January 1976 and have been generally welcomed.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will take steps to implement the suggestion put forward by the low-pay unit that he sets a moving target for all wages councils equal to two-thirds of average earnings.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerNo. Wages councils must be subject to pay policy, but of course the flat rate form of the present pay limit and the pay limits proposed for the next pay round take into account the need to protect low paid workers such as those in the wages council sector.
§ Mr. Georgeasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many inspectors were employed in the wages councils for each year since 1963.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerThe number of outdoor wages inspectors in post at the end of each year since 1963 is given below:
1963 142 1964 147 1965 141 1966 141 1967 150 1968 154 1969 146 1970 151 1971 138 1972 141 1973 137 1974 135 1975 128 There are, in addition, supervising and support staff in the regions and at headquarters, and at the end of 1975 there were nine vacancies in the outdoor inspectorate.
§ Mr. Rookerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if his Department is carrying out any research into the effects of prolonged unemployment on the unemployed; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GoldingThe Manpower Services Commission has commissioned "A608W follow-up survey of the unemployed" by Political and Economic Planning. In addition my Department is contributing in some way to a number of research projects which will throw further light on this issue. These include a study at the Oxford Department of Social and Administrative Studies entitled, "Long Term Unemployment and a study by the Department of Health and Social Security of a sample of those who in 1974 were both unemployed and in receipt of supplementary benefits.
§ Mr. Tierneyasked the Secretary of State for Employment, how many people were unemployed in the City of Worcester for each of the last three months.
§ Mr. GoldingIn the area covered by the Worcester and Droitwich employment offices, the numbers registered as unemployed at February, March and April 1976 were 2,146, 2,260 and 2,255, respectively.