§ Mr. Maurice Macmillanasked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the settlements reached by each nationalised industry for which his is the sponsoring Department, the size of each settlement, and the date upon which it came into operation, and, if any settlements were over 10 per cent., the criteria he adopted for judging whether they were acceptable and within the Government's guidelines as defined in the White Paper "The Attack upon Inflation after 31st 496W July 1977", the size of any productivity element within each agreement, and the size of any increase in productivity achieved so far by groups of workers covered by such productivity elements.
§ Mr. BennSettlements reached within the energy nationalised industries since 1st August 1977 are as follows:
Date of Settlement National Coal Board Miners 1st March Clericals 1st March Deputies 1st March Managerial Grades 1st March Electricity Supply Industry—England and Wales Manuals 17th March Clericals 1st May Technicians and Engineers 1st February Managerial Grades 1st April British Gas Corporation Manuals mid-January Maintenance Craftsmen mid-January Higher Management 1st July British National Oil Corporation Staff 1st January All these settlements were within the Government's guidelines.
In addition, productivity schemes have been negotiated covering all employees in the electricity supply industry (England and Wales) and the British Gas Corporation, and the miners, clericals and deputies groups in the National Coal Board. The level of payment depends, in each case, on the level of increased productivity and is fully self-financing. Whilst it is too early to give detailed figures, the NCB scheme has resulted in a significant increase in productivity.