§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether child labour is now widespread in this country and how the latest figures compare with those of a decade ago.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Baroness Cumberlege)There is a long tradition in the United Kingdom for school children to take part in appropriate temporary and part-time employment. Information is not collected centrally on the numbers employed.
The Employment Department collects statistics on the employment of persons aged 16 and above in Great Britain. The numbers of young persons in employment in 1981 and 1991, estimated from survey data, were as follows:
88WA
Age 1981 1991 (millions) (millions) 16–19 inclusive 1.77 1.75 161 not available 0.3 17 not available 0.43 1 May include a small number who had not yet reached the minimum school leaving age. SourceLabour Force Survey.
§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether other EC countries regard Britain's use of child labour at pocket-money wages as unfair competition.
§ Baroness CumberlegeThe Government are aware of no complaints from other member states of unfair competition arising from employment of children below the minimum school leaving age in the United Kingdom. My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Employment is responsible for policy on employment of young persons above the minimum school leaving age and is aware of no complaints from other member states in this area. She is also responsible for co-ordinating the Government's response to the European Commission's draft directive on protection of young people at work, which the Commission have put forward on the stated grounds of protecting young people's health and safety. The draft directive contains no provisions on pay.