§ Mr. Soamesasked the Paymaster General what action the Government have taken with regard to the ratification of International Labour Convention No. 161 and acceptance of International Labour Recommendation No. 171, concerning occupational health services, adopted by the International Labour conference in June 1985.
§ Mr. LangThe texts of the convention and recommendation were included in a White Paper (Cmnd. No. 9727) presented to Parliament on 31 January. Be fore reaching decisions on the action to be taken on these instruments, the Government have sought the advice of the Health and Safety Commission, and the commission issued a consultative document in February inviting the comments of all interested parties as a basis for considering its advice. The Government's decision on whether to ratify the Convention and accept the Recommendation will be taken when this advice has been received, and an announcement will be made to Parliament in due course.