§ Mr. George Rodgersasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the findings of the recent report by the Policy Studies Institute entitled "The Impact of Employment Protection Laws", particularly in the light of its failure to cover firms employing fewer than 50 people.
§ Mr. Harold WalkerI believe that the report is valid for firms of the size and type covered—establishments employing between 50 and 5,000 employees in manufacturing industry. Establishments in the size range account for over 80 per cent. of all employees in manufacturing industry. I have commissioned some further research into the effects of the legislation in small firms employing less than 50 people.
It should be noted that the response from those smaller independent firms employing between 50 and 199 people in the PSI sample did not differ from that of the sample as a whole.