§ Lord Brockwayasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their response to the code of practice submitted by the Equal Opportunities Commission with the object of eradicating sex discrimination in employment, and whether they will publish their decisions on each of the many proposals made.
The Minister of State, Department of Employment (The Earl of Gowrie)This draft code of practice has been published by the Equal Opportunities Commission in the form of a general consultative document. Copies have been circulated extensively to employers, trade unions and other organisations and it is open to all interested parties to submit observations. Section 56A of the Sex Discrimination Act provides that after considering any representations made to it, the commission may modify the draft code accordingly and formally submit it to my right honourable friend the Secretary of State, for his consideration. If he approves of it, he must lay it before both Houses of Parliament. If he does not approve of it, he must publish details of his reasons for withholding approval. No formal response or decision by the Government is therefore required at this stage.
NATIONALISED INDUSTRIES TABLE 1(a)—Current Grants £ million Current (outturn) prices 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 National Coal Board 10.8 110.1 10.3 139.3 212.0 111.5 55.4 74.4 170.0 243.5 Electricity (England and Wales) 0.7 0.8 19.9 98.0 180.7 310.6 22.3 7.8 5.3 5.5 Electricity (Scotland) — — — 11.3 14.4 23.0 57.0 13.2 6.6 10.9 British Gas Corporation 0.6 — — 33.8 41.5 23.7 5.4 — — — British National Oil Corporation — — — — — British Steel Corporation — — — — — — — — — — Post Office — — — 9.7 123.6 322.0 —5.8 — — — British Airways Board — — — — — — — — — — British Airports Authority — — — — — — — — — — British Railways Board 73.5 74.2 153.6 187.3 458.2 491.1 450.7 476.9 495.0 654.7 London Transport Board 1.8 British Transport Docks Board — — — — — — — — — — British Waterways Board 1.8 2.9 3.1 3.8 5.7 8.6 10.3 13.1 18.1 21.0 National Freight Corporation 12.4 8.0 3.7 1.6 — 8.0 30.0 30.6 7.6 6.3 National Bus Company — 0.2 7.3 0.3 — — — — — — Scottish Transport Group 0.6 0.8 1.2 1.4 1.6 4.1 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.7 British Aerospace — — — British Shipbuilders 27.2 10.6 31.2 *Including compensation for price restraint paid under the Statutory Corporations (Financial Provisions) Acts 1974 and 1975 to the Electricity and Gas industries and the Post Office. Amounts are shown in all cases against the year in which payment was made, although some payments relate to earlier years.