§ Ms. Clare Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what research his Department has carried out or studied into the relationship between the abolition of the wages councils and the creation of jobs;
(2) what research his Department has carried out or studied into the relationship between a reduction in youth wages and the creation of new jobs.
§ Mr. Peter BottomleyThere is extensive relevant literature. Of the studies which deal specifically with the possible effects of wages councils on jobs and with the link between youth pay and employment, the Department is currently considering the following in particular.
H. Neuburger. From the Dole Queue to the Sweatshop. Low Pay Pamphlet No. 30: Low Pay Unit 1984.D. Forrest and S. R. Dennison. Low Pay or No Pay. Hobart Paper No. 101: Institute of Economic Affairs 1984.C. Craig and F. Wilkinson. Pay and Employment in Four Retail Trades. DE Research Paper (forthcoming).P. Makeham. Youth Unemployment. DE Research Paper No. 10: 1980.Ashton. Maguire and Garland. Youth in the Labour Market. DE Research Paper No. 34: March 1982.W. Wells. Relative Pay and Employment of Young People. DE Research Paper No. 42: December 1983.OECD. Employment Outlook: Chapter 5. A survey of international evidence: September 1984.Continuing Departmental evaluation of the young workers' scheme.