§ Mr. Leeasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the European Community Council of Labour and Social Affairs Ministers held in Luxembourg on 2 June.
§ Mr. TebbitI represented the United Kingdom at this Council. The Council reached agreement on the review of the social fund and the Asbestos (Worker Protection) Directive — the latter being the subject of a separate reply today to my hon. Friend. Discussions also covered youth employment and safety and health at work; discussion of the Commission memorandum on working time was postponed.
It is satisfactory that the Council was able to agree on basic texts for a revised European social fund which give appropriate recognition both to the acute needs of young people and to the particular problems of areas suffering from high unemployment and industrial decline.
There was an initial exchange of views on the Commission's communication concerning the promotion of employment for young people, and the permanent representatives committee was invited to continue examination of the communication with a view to preparing for discussion at a future meeting of the Council. Subject to the views of the European Parliament, the Council agreed the resolution on the second programme of action on safety and health protection at work.
2Wincreased by £24,510,000 from £1,422,196,000 to £1,446,706,000. This is a net increase which includes an additional £25 million for extending nationwide the enterprise allowance scheme from 1 August to 31 March 1984, as announced by my right hon. and learned Friend the then Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Budget statement on 15 March. This is offset by a reduction of £490,000 in the residual winding-up costs of industrial training boards as a result of recent and more accurate estimates of costs.
There is a further offsetting saving of £261,000 in Class IV, Vote 16 (Manpower Services Commission) in respect of the 1981–82 final claim on the national insurance fund for the cost of dealing with the long-term unemployed provided for in the Vote.
The increase in the total grant in aid will require the following cash limits to be amended:
The resolution on vocational training and new technology agreed at the December 1982 Social Affairs Council, subject to the views of the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee, was formally adopted.
§ Mr. Leeasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the European Community joint council of Education and Social Affairs Ministers held in Luxembourg on 3 June.
§ Mr. TebbitMy hon. Friend the Minister of State for Employment—then the Under-Secretary —represented the United Kingdom at this Council. The Council agreed a resolution on vocational training which provides for a guarantee of training or work experience to minimum age school leavers. The United Kingdom is putting this guarantee into effect through the new youth training scheme. The Government welcomed the successful conclusion to the Council's work on this resolution which is entirely compatible with United Kingdom policy.
In considering the resolution and a report on a separate but related programme of education pilot projects on transition from school to work, the joint council concentrated on the needs of young people progressing from education to working life and on inter-relationships between the education and training systems. The joint council also noted oral statements from the Commission about future policy in youth exchanges and the progress of work on the forecasting and assessment in science and technology programme (FAST I).