§ Mr. Alan Howarthasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the European Community Labour and Social Affairs Council held in Luxembourg on 7 June.
§ Mr. Tom KingI represented the United Kingdom at this Council. We approved resolutions on local employment initiatives and women's unemployment, which I welcomed. Small firms play a crucial role in creating jobs and the resolution on local employment initiatives recognises the need for the right environment for them. We recognise the seriousness of women's unemployment in a number of member states and I welcome the resolution on this subject, particularly its recognition that attitudes must be changed if women are to have access to a wider range of jobs. I also welcome the conclusions on social aspects of technological change, particularly the emphasis on the important role of education and training.
The Council examined the medium term programme for social action, on which agreed conclusions may be submitted to the European Council at Fontainebleau on 393W 25–26 June, the draft recommendation on the reduction and reorganisation of working times. There was a short discussion on Vredeling during which I restated the reasons for our opposition to this proposal.
We were not able to agree the draft recommendation on working time; acting on its own initiative the French presidency is expected to place the draft recommendation on the agenda of the European Council. I made clear our view that the present proposal could pose a very real threat to competitiveness which is the only sure basis for the reduction of unemployment in the Community.