§ Mr. Donald Stewartasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what plans have been formulated to ensure payment of essential allowances such as sickness and invalidity payments and supplementary benefits in the event of long-term industrial action by employees of his Department as part of the current Civil Service dispute.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinIt is a matter of regret to me that my Department is having to consider urgently how the effects on the public of any general and prolonged industrial action taken by the staff of its local and central offices could be minimised. Should any such action take place the public will be quickly informed of what local arrangements have been made. There is no doubt, however, that widespread and prolonged industrial action by civil servants could cause inconvenience to large numbers of people and hardship to some, including the more vulnerable members of society. For this reason I sincerely hope that the Civil Service trade unions will draw back from any thoughts of such action.