§ Mr. Bob Dunnasked the Secretary of State for Employment if, in order to assist industry, he will designate Friday 31 December 1982 as opposed to Monday 3 January 1983 as a public holiday in place of Saturday 1 January 1983.
§ Mr. AlisonNo. Friday 31 December 1982 would make difficulties for the financial institutions, which are the organisations primarily bound by bank holiday arrangements. The majority of other employers are free to make other arrangements with their employees if they find the official dates inconvenient.