§ Mr. Litherlandasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the sudden price increase of Health and Safety Executive guidance notes and the effect on the ability of safety representatives and trade unions to purchase sufficient copies for their use; and why the price increase of the threshold limit values guidance note was 400 per cent.
§ Mr. MayhewI am informed by the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that the increase in the price of material printed and sold on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by Her Majesty's Stationery Office results from a recent recommendation by Her Majesty's Stationery Office to move towards charging an economic price, bearing in mind the considerable increases in the costs of printing and distribution which have taken place during the past four years.
BACKGROUND NOTE 1. Wages councils determine statutory minimum rates of pay in certain trades and industries where there is no adequate machinery for the effective regulation of remuneration. Wages councils are established under the Wages Councils Act 1979. This consolidated earlier legislation last amended under the Employment Protection Act 1975. 2. The councils usually determine a number of different rates covering different skills, ages and grades of worker. The rates shown in the reply are those for a typical grade of adult worker in main provincial areas. In some cases there are lower rates for other areas and in most cases there are lower rates for young persons and all councils set age related pay scales. It would be impracticable to show every rate which the councils determine. 116W
LICENSED NON-RESIDENTIAL ESTABLISHMENT WAGES COUNCIL Effective date of Wages Council's Order Barman Barmaid £ £ 22 August 1971 … … 12.65 10.60 20 January 1974 … … 14.50 12.85 5 November 1974 … … 14.50+ 12.85+ 3.20 cost of living supplement 3.20 cost of living supplement 22 December 1974 … … 22.10 20.95 22 December 1975 … … 28.10 22 December 1976 … … 30.60 22 December 1977 … … 34.45 15 January 1979 … … 43.70 15 January 1980 … … 55.00 Guidance notes have been sold at 30p per copy irrespective of size since 1976. In order to reduce the current loses, it has been agreed that in future the price guidance notes will be increased to 50p for 4 pages and up to a maximum of £1.50 for larger guidance notes. The majority of guidance notes fall into the lowest price category. The guidance notes on threshold limit values with 24 pages will cost £1.50. Discounts are available for large quantities.
To date, the executive has not received any formal representations from trade unions or their representatives about these price increases.