§ Mr. Dykesasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement about the European Community Joint Council of Employment and Finance Ministers in Brussels on 16 November.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment and I represented the United Kingdom at this Council. The discussions covered three aspects of the employment situation: the economic background, youth employment and the reorganisation of working time. The Council had before it a communication from the Commission covering these subjects.
On the economic background, Ministers agreed that a lasting increase in employment could spring only from a strenghtening of competitiveness and profitability. This necessitates further falls in inflation and interest rates, both of which require continuing firm fiscal and monetary policies. The Council agreed that control and redistribution of public expenditure and a reduction of budget deficits was indispensable.
The Council also considered the related questions of investment, the strengthening of the internal market and industrial policy. Ministers noted the work which was being done in the Finance Council on investment; agreed that a session of the Council designed to make substantial progress towards the completion of the common market would be useful; and called for greater emphasis on new 233W technologies at both national and Community level, bearing in mind their importance in sustained industrial recovery.
On youth employment and the possible reorganisation of working time, the Council noted recent and prospective communications from the Commission, and called for them to be dealt with rapidly. The Council expressed its deep concern about the employment situation for young people and recalled the guidelines from the March European Council, which emphasised the central place of youth employment in the Community's strategy to combat unemployment. The Council reaffirmed its commitment to ensure, over the next five years, that all young people entering the labour market for the first time should be given the opportunity of taking vocational training or a first job experience. The Council also stressed that a reorganisation of working time should not impair the competitive position of firms.
The Council invited the Commission to undertake a study of long term unemployment with a view to possible remedial action.
Income Tax and NIC as a Percentage of Earnings Multiple of Average Earnings 2/3 1 5 10 Single 1981–82 29.7 (107) 32.4 (102) 46.7 (89) 53.3 (79) 1982–83 30.4 (110) 33.2 (105) 46.3 (88) 53.1 (78) Married with No Children Multiple of Average Earnings 1981–82 25.2 (114) 29.4 (105) 45.5 (89) 52.7 (79) 1982–83 25.7 (116) 30.3 (108) 45.0 (88) 52.5 (79) Married with Two Children (both under 11) Multiple of Average Earnings 1981–82 22.0 (118) 27.6 (110) 44.9 (90) 52.4 (79) 1982–83 23.3 (125) 28.1 (112) 44.4 (89) 52.2 (79) Married with Four Children (Two under 11, one 11–15, one over 16) Multiple of Average Earnings 1981–82 21.0 (143) 26.0 (117) 44.3 (92) 52.0 (80) 1982–83 21.3 (145) 26.5 (119) 43.9 (91) 51.8 (79)