§ Mr. Millanasked the Paymaster General if he will list the bodies to which his Department's consultative document, "The Sex Discrimination Act and European Community Legislation", issued in September, was distributed for comment; why the Association of Professional, Executive, Clerical and Computer Staff was not included in the distribution; why the closing date for submission of views was fixed at 30 November; and if he will extend the date for submission of views in such a way as to allow interested trade unions a greater opportunity to make their views known.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThe document was published on 19 September and was sent to the CBI, TUC, Equal Opportunities Commission and 30 other interested organisations. It was not sent to individual employers' associations or trade unions since it is our normal practice to look to the CBI and TUC to represent the interests of these bodies in the first instance. The Department issued a press release announcing the document's publication and we have since then responded to some 100 requests for copies, including one from APEX. The closing date for responses to the document was fixed at 30 November to enable us to prepare a Bill for introduction as soon as possible in the current Session of Parliament. I am willing to consider representations from APEX or other interested trade unions at any time before the legislation is passed, but I do not think it would be generally welcomed to hold up preparation of the Bill.