§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will list in the Official Report the number of people currently employed in the retail furnishing trade for each of the following categories: (a) those aged 19 years and under, (b) those aged 19 to 21 years of age and (c) those aged 21 years and over; and what were the corresponding figures in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Waddington[pursuant to his reply, 14 April 1981, c. 114]: The information requested is not available.
§ Mr. Freudasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will list in the Official Report the percentage increase (a) as recommended and (b) as given to employees in the retail furnishing trade under the Retail Trade (Non Food) Wages Council (Great Britain) for each of the occasions when the council met during the last five years.
§ Mr. Waddington[pursuant to his reply, 14 April 1981, c. 114]: The statutory minimum rates of pay set by the Retail Trades (Non-Food) Wages Council and the Retail Furnishing and Allied Trades Wages Council, which covered the retail furnishing trade before the present retail councils were formed in 1979, are as follows. These increases are not shown in percentage terms because many employers pay above the minima and are therefore not obliged to increase the actual rates which they pay by the same percentage or cash increase as the increase in the wages council minima. Details of the actual increases paid by employers in the retail furnishing trade are not available.
(Retail Furnishing and Allied Trades Wages Council) Effective date of Order Weekly minimum rate 29 July 76 £27.00+1.99 cost of living supplement 6 October 76 £27.00+2.50 cost of living supplement 7 November 77 £36.00 6 November 78 £42.00 (Retail Trades (Non-Food) Wages Council) 8 October 79 £47.50 7 April 80 £52.50 6 April 81 £57.50 The rates quoted above are those for an adult full-time shop assistant working in areas graded "Provincial area A". Higher rates are set for London and lower rates for rural areas.