§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the number of wages council inspectors per 1,000 workers for each year from 1974 to 1989.
§ Mr. NichollsStatistical returns of the numbers of workers employed in establishments within scope of wages councils are not collected but periodic estimates are made. The information in the following table uses those estimates.
Average number of wages inspectors Year per 1,000 workers 1974 0.04 1975 0.04 1976 0.04 1977 0.05 1978 0.05 1979 0.06 1980 0.06 1981 0.04 1982 0.04 1983 0.04 1984 0.04 1985 0.04 1986 0.03 1987 0.03 1988 0.03 Figures for 1989 are not yet available.
The reduction in the inspector/worker ratio for the last three years reflects the simpler and quicker task of checking compliance with wages orders following the reform of the wages council system in 1986.