HC Deb 22 March 1979 vol 964 cc693-4W
Mr. Kenneth Clarke

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what steps he proposes to take in the case of those companies which fail to reply to his requests for information about the extent to which they are complying with the EEC code of conduct for companies with interests in South Africa.

Mr. John Smith

I am glad to say that 182 companies have now reported and others which did not report in the first round have promised to do so in the second round later this year. Since this is a voluntary code, I hope to persuade the few remaining companies to which the reportig format in Cmnd. 7233 is believed to apply that it is in their own interest, as well as in the national interest, to publish information about the policies followed by their South African affiliates for the welfare and advancement of their black African workers.