§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he is satisfied with the system of payment of benefits to Ford workers employed at Halewood during the recent industrial dispute; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NewtonI regret that misunderstandings between officials in the Department of Employment and this Department resulted in delays for claimants who had been adjudged to be "laid off" rather than directly involved in the dispute. Urgent action was taken at the time to put matters right, but I am asking officials to examine the system to ensure that similar problems are avoided in future.
§ Mr. Parryasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what representations he has received from Ford 306W workers employed at Halewood concerning problems of payment of benefits to workers laid off during a dispute in November 1982; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NewtonRepresentations have been received from an official of the Transport and General Workers Union at Halewood about the treatment of advances of pay made by employers to workers laid off as a result of the strike. Regrettably, conflicting information issued to local offices led to some misunderstanding, but the decision to take such payments into account for benefit purposes was upheld by an independent appeal tribunal.