HC Deb 18 December 1981 vol 15 cc252-3W
Mr. Alexander

asked the Secretary of State for Employment how many strikes the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service succeeded in averting in the year ended March 1981.

Mr. Waddington

Many of ACAS's activities are informal or advisory and it is not possible to quantify their important contribution to industrial peace. In the year ended 31 March 1981 ACAS conciliated in 1,766 cases; in about 90 per cent of these it was involved before any industrial action had taken place. In 77 per cent of the above cases ACAS achieved a settlement or progress towards a settlement.

Mr. Alexander

asked the Secretary of State for Employment what was the total cost of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service in the financial year ended 1981.

Mr. Waddington

The accounts of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service for the financial year 1980–81 were published on 28 October 1981—Cmnd. 497. The total cost, including certification officer and central arbitration committee, was £12,206,002.