§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will set out(a) the failures and (b) the successes of his Department's policies since May 1979.
§ Mr. Eggar[holding answer 4 May 1990]: Since May 1979 my Department's policies have met with considerable success. This can be illustrated by taking for example the fields of employment, training and industrial relations law.
712WIn the field of employment, policies to remove unnecessary restrictions and barriers from the labour market and to stimulate enterprise have helped create conditions under which employment can flourish. At over 27 million, the work force in employment now stands at its highest level ever and the number of self-employed has risen by 1.4 million since June 1979, after little change in the 1970s.
In the training field, we have established ET, the largest adult training programme ever launched in this country, and YTS, which has provided high quality training to thousands of young people and will be further enhanced as the new youth training programme. We have built imaginative and effective links between the worlds of education and work through the technical and vocational education initiative (TVEI), compacts and the enterprise in higher education initiative. Our programme to give local employers responsibility for the design and delivery of training through a national network of training and enterprise councils (TECs) is some two years ahead of schedule.
A further example of success is our step-by-step reform of industrial relations and trade union law. We have redressed the balance between management and unions, and helped make union leaders properly answerable to their members. It can be no coincidence that these reforms have coincided with a dramatic reduction in the number of working days lost because of industrial action. In the 1970s nearly 13 million working days were lost every year; in the 12 months to February 1990 only 5 million working days were lost, and the number of stoppages in February was the lowest since 1933.
I am satisfied that my Department's policies and programmes have generally proved sucessful. We keep them under review and are always looking for ways to improve their effectiveness.