§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will make a statement on the results of his Department, after 13 months of the present Government, in achieving the policy programme which he set it on assuming office.
§ Mr. PriorI have set no formal policy programme since assuming office other 703W than the one laid down in the manifesto, but I am able to report the results of action in some key areas of my Department's activities.
The Employment Bill fulfils our commitments on industrial relations legislation; it deals with the provision of funds for secret ballots; provides protection for individuals threatened by closed shops and coercive union recruitment tactics; gives people remedies against secondary picketing and other secondary industrial action such as "blacking" and sympathetic strikes; and introduced reforms to employment protection legislation which experience has shown to be necessary. The Government's review of union immunities is continuing and later this year my Department will publish a Green Paper as the basis for informed public discussion on the subject. In addition, I shall continue to give every encouragement to closer involvement of people in the decisions which affect them at their place of work.
The programme of special employment measures has been pursued in line with the Government's policy of helping those groups hardest hit by unemployment and easing the necessary process of change. I am endeavouring to see that the provision of training concentrates on those skills in demand and the new skills needed as a result of rapid technological change. My noble Friend the Minister of State is discussing with companies and others how manpower policies can contribute to the more rapid spread of new technology following the report "The Manpower Implications of Micro-electronic Technology" published in December. This is also among the issues on which my Department has contributed to discussions in the National Economic Development Council.
A review of training is currently underway and I expect to receive a report on the subject from the Manpower Services Commission in July.
My Department has also made an important contribution to the Government's efforts to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the public sector. The Royal Commission on the distribution of incomes and wealth has been abolished. On expenditure, within the Department of Employment group, Cmnd. 7841 showed that budget cuts and cash limits 704W restrictions saved some £200 million in 1979–80 and that the indicative plans for later years would increase these savings progressively.
In general terms I am content with the progress so far made by my Department in contributing to the Government's central objective of establishing a better framework for economic prosperity and social harmony.