§ Mr. Teddy Taylorasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the dispute involving prison officers in Scotland.
§ Mr. Harry EwingOn 17th November, representatives of the SPOA executive committee informed my Department that, in view of the meeting with me arranged for yesterday, a recommendation had been made to the local branches that industrial action planned for the week commencing 20th November should not take place. I regret that unofficial action by staff in certain penal establishments is causing disturbance to their regimes and delay and inconvenience to the courts and the police.
At yesterday's meeting we discussed a number of issues raised by the association at a delegate conference on 15th November. I hope that, in the light of the discussions at the meeting, the association will be able to reinforce its advice to members to defer any question of industrial action.