HC Deb 22 May 1992 vol 208 cc336-46W
Mr. Tony Lloyd

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will provide a breakdown(a) by wages inspectorate division and (b) by wages councils, of establishments checked, and those found to be contravening wages council legislation in 1991, in the same format as the replies given on 14 March 1990, Official Report, columns 252–58, and 24 April 1990, Official Report, columns 177–82.

Mr. McLoughlin

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Mr. Burden) today. The additional information is provided in the tables:

Wages councils London South East East South West Mids North West Yorkshire and Humberside North Scotland Great Britain
Cotton waste reclamation 0
Flax and Hemp 0
Fur 0
General waste materials reclamation 1 5 2 2 10
Hairdressing 101 56 38 59 75 86 54 78 79 626
Hat, cap and millinery 1 1 2
Lace finishing 0
Laundry 3 3 1 1 9 1 6 9 33
Linen and cotton handkerchief and household goods and linen piece goods 4 4
Made-up textiles 0
Ostrich and fancy feather and artificial flower 1
Perambulator and invalid carriage 1 1 2
Retail bespoke tailoring 1 1 2 4
Rope, twine and net 1 1
Sack and bag 0
Toy manufacturing 2 2
Retail trades (non-food) 111 119 93 346 336 411 185 156 227 1,984
Retail food and allied trades 168 180 144 334 422 788 415 368 324 3,143
Licensed non-residential establishments 83 123 79 161 229 161 112 153 180 1,281
Licensed residential establishments and licensed restaurants 82 94 65 152 123 135 87 119 149 1,006
Unlicensed place of refreshment 83 53 47 112 89 87 65 46 76 658
Total 672 629 474 1,185 1,350 1,710 934 932 1,052 8,938

Table 2—Establishments found failing to keep adequate records of wages paid—1991
Wages councils London South East East South West Mids North West Yorkshire and Humberside North Scotland Great Britain
Aerated waters 0
Clothing manufacturing 3 1 9 13
Boot and shoe repairing 1 1 2 4
Button manufacturing 0
Coffin furniture and Cerement making 0
Cotton waste reclamation 0
Flax and Hemp 0
Fur 0
General waste materials reclamation 1 1
Hairdressing 10 17 9 11 17 13 18 9 104
Hat, cap and millinery 0
Lace finishing 0
Laundry 2 3 1 6
Linen and cotton handkerchief and household goods and linen piece goods 0
Made-up textiles 0
Ostrich and fancy feather and artificial flower 0
Perambulator and invalid carriage 0
Retail bespoke tailoring 0
Rope, twine and net 0
Sack and bag 0
Toy manufacturing 0
Retail trades (non-food) 6 50 13 65 38 62 33 22 35 324
Retail food and allied trades 22 104 27 87 96 239 148 120 87 930
Licensed non-residential establishments 9 50 9 50 49 39 35 38 20 299
Licensed residential establishments and licensed restaurants 7 29 5 25 17 17 16 19 16 151
Unlicensed places of refreshment 14 22 4 28 14 22 14 9 14 141
Total 73 273 58 266 235 399 259 228 182 1,973

Table 3—Establishments found failing to keep adequate records of hours worked—1991
Wages councils London South East East South West Mids North West Yorkshire and Humberside North Scotland Great Britain
Aerated waters 0
Clothing manufacturing 12 3 2 42 11 2 1 6 79
Boot and shoe repairing 2 1 2 2 2 1 8 2 1 21
Button manufacturing 0
Coffin furniture and Cerement making 0
Cotton waste reclamation 0
Flax and Hemp 0
Fur 0
General waste materials reclamation 1 1 1 2 5
Hairdressing 48 113 50 57 100 57 84 102 178 789
Hat, cap and millinery 0
Lace finishing 0
Laundry 2 5 1 4 3 15
Linen and cotton handkerchief and household goods and linen piece goods 0
Made-up textiles 1 1
Ostrich and fancy feather and artificial flower 0
Perambulator and invalid carriage 0
Retail bespoke tailoring 1 1 2
Rope, twine and net 1 1
Sack and bag 0
Toy manufacturing 1 2 3
Retail trades (non-food) 31 221 82 213 225 243 158 142 212 1,527
Retail food and allied trades 72 248 138 206 309 564 356 339 309 2,541
Licensed non-residential establishments 58 201 80 130 180 116 100 141 158 1,164
Licensed residential establishments and licensed restaurants 49 115 65 104 84 102 70 92 125 806
Unlicensed places of refreshment 36 60 40 57 52 60 45 33 54 437
Total 310 963 460 771 995 1,162 825 857 1,048 7,391

Mr. Burden

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if she will update the answer to the former hon. Member for Coventry, South-East,Official Report, 22 April 1991, column 366, concerning wages councils.

Table 1—Establishments covered by wages councils on register at December 1991
Wages councils London South East East South West Mids North West Yorkshire and Humberside North Scotland Great Britain
Aerated waters 16 16 28 18 33 51 19 21 60 262
Clothing manufacturing 2,495 174 283 340 1,152 1,018 460 209 268 6,399
Boot and shoe repairing 513 238 258 297 389 434 616 89 159 2,993
Button manufacturing 16 4 4 4 12 4 3 47
Coffin furniture and Cerement making 2 3 6 4 5 1 21
Cotton waste reclamation 1 1 21 23
Flax and Hemp 1 1 8 10
Fur 113 6 5 5 7 23 4 1 23 187
General waste materials reclamation 118 83 97 165 213 291 231 97 124 1,419
Hairdressing 3,992 3,220 3,384 4,451 5,117 5,375 3,381 2,038 2,814 33,772
Hat, cap and millinery 17 3 44 8 9 19 11 11 2 124
Lace finishing 60 1 1 62
Laundry 193 274 85 131 220 74 51 32 135 1,195
Linen and cotton handkerchief and household goods and linen piece goods 3 1 3 4 10 100 9 3 133
Made-up textiles 30 11 33 33 36 39 47 21 31 281
Ostrich and fancy feather and artificial flower 15 2 7 4 1 4 3 36
Perambulator and invalid carriage 3 2 3 2 9 4 6 1 30
Retail bespoke tailoring 170 44 53 44 34 54 36 12 32 479
Rope, twine and net 1 1 5 14 5 23 20 4 18 91
Sack and bag 6 6 6 13 16 9 3 4 63
Toy manufacturing 10 14 35 27 23 54 32 14 7 216
Retail trades (non-food) 18,093 12,671 11,254 14,575 22,123 14,481 9,393 4,974 8,934 116,498

Mr. McLoughlin

The information requested is given in the tables.

Wages councils London South East East South West Mids North West Yorkshire and Humberside North Scotland Great Britain
Retail food and allied trades 11,786 13,172 11,609 14,658 15,759 16,631 10,443 7,413 10,608 112,079
Licensed non-residential establishments 5,662 6,204 6,592 10,273 13,634 9,451 6,618 4,205 5,584 68,223
Licensed residential establishments and licensed restaurants 4,679 4,213 3,755 7,397 3,480 3,502 2,159 1,499 3,905 34,589
Unlicensed place of refreshment 3,103 2,623 1,738 3,383 1,827 2,109 1,443 878 1,780 18,884
Total 51,037 42,976 39,281 55,844 64,171 53,780 34,996 21,527 34,504 398,116

Table 2
Establishments Checked and Underpayments Found in Wages Council Trades—1991
Wages Councils Establishments checked by all methods Percentage of register checked Establishments checked by visit Percentage of register checked by visit Establishments found underpaying Percentage of all establishments checked underpaying Percentage of establishments visited underpaying
Aerated Waters 7 2.7 6 2.3 0
Clothing Manufacturing 402 63 367 5.7 97 24.1 26.4
Boot and Shoe Repairing 335 11. 65 2.2 9 2.7 13.8
Button Manufacturing 2 4.3 2 4.3 1 50.0 50.0
Coffin Furniture and Cerement Making 1 4.8 1 4.8 0
Cotton Waste Reclamation 3 13.0 3 13. 0
Flax and Hemp 0 0 0
Fur 6 3.2 6 3.2 1 16.7 16.7
General Waste Materials Reclamation 70 4.9 41 2.9 3 4.3 7.3
Hairdressing 2,730 81 1,889 5.6 368 13.5 19.5
Hat, Cap and Millinery 3 2.4 3 2.4 1 33.3 33.3
Lace Finishing 0 0 0
Laundry 74 6.2 66 5.5 19 25.7 28.8
Linen and Cotton Handkerchief and Household Goods and Linen Piece Goods 10 5.3 7 5.3 2 28.6 28.6
Made-up Textiles 8 2.8 8 2.8 1 12.5 12.5
Ostrich and Fancy Feather and Artificial Flower 3 8.3 3 8.3 1 33.3 33.3
Perambulator and Invalid Carriage 3 10.0 3 10.0 1 33.3 33.3
Retail Bespoke Tailoring 14 2.9 11 2.3 0
Rope, Twine and Net 4 4.4 4 4.4 1 25.0 25.0
Sack and Bag 2 3.2 2 3.2 0
Toy Manufacturing 15 6.9 15 6.9 6 40.0 40.0
Retail Trades (Non-Food) 9,542 8.2 4,129 3.5 1,336 14.0 32.4
Retail Food and Allied Trades 8,278 7.4 5,532 4.9 2,240 27.1 40.5
Licensed Non-Residential Establishments 5,819 8.5 3,114 4.6 916 15.7 29.4
Licensed Residential Establishments and Licensed Restaurants 3,084 9.4 2,045 6.4 578 17.8 26.2
Unlicensed Places of Refreshment 2,171 11.5 1,104 5.8 390 18.0 35.3
Total 32,586 8.2 18,426 4.7 5,971 18.3 32.4

Workers covered by wages councils and results of checks—1991
Wages councils Number of workers (Est. 1988) Total workers checked Workers checked by visit Workers found under-paid Percent-age under-paid of all workers checked Arrears paid Arrears not pur-sued at workers request Arrears not pur-sued —other reasons Total arrears assessed as due
Aerated Waters 5,500 161 153 0
Clothing Manufacturing 147,000 10,902 9,465 427 3.9 28,992 1,344 6,868 37,204
Boot and Shoe Repairing 5,000 663 146 12 1.8 913 0 0 913
Button Manufacturing 1,000 176 176 11 6.3 171 0 0 171
Coffin Furniture and Cerement Making 200 6 6 0
Cotton Waste Reclamation 300 26 26 0
Flax and Hemp 500 0 0 0
Fur 1,500 21 21 1 4.8 72 0 0 72
General Waste Materials Reclamation 13,000 725 404 11 1.5 4,060 0 0 4,060
Hairdressing 64,000 9,120 6,332 452 5.0 74,217 14,048 3,715 91,980
Hat, Cap and Millinery 4,000 58 58 2 3.4 238 0 0 238
Lace Finishing 900 0 0 0
Laundry 26,000 1,272 921 60 4.7 10,238 1,428 0 11,666
Linen and Cotton Handkerchief and Household Goods and Linen Piece Goods 2,500 144 137 6 4.2 108 0 0 108
Made-up Textiles 3,000 80 80 5 6.3 294 0 0 294
Ostrich and Fancy Feather and Artificial Flower 500 66 66 8 12.1 907 0 0 907
Perambulator and Invalid Carriage 2,000 116 116 5 4.3 355 0 0 355
Retail Bespoke Tailoring 4,000 36 28 0
Rope, Twine and Net 2,500 55 55 2 3.6 1,163 0 0 1,163
Sack and Bag 1,000 9 9 0
Toy Manufacturing 11,000 418 418 8 1.9 318 0 0 318
Retail Trades (Non-Food) 745,000 69,046 16,065 2,472 3.6 204,979 65,110 10,489 280,578
Retail Food and Allied Trades 465,000 80,828 21,187 4,699 5.8 416,788 163,269 19,698 599,755
Licensed Non-Residential Establishments 492,000 45,522 23,010 2,329 5.1 153,473 17,123 19,225 189,821
Licensed Residential Establishments and Licensed Restaurants 379,000 44,578 25,762 1,464 3.3 150,658 25,044 10,063 185,765
Unlicensed Place of Refreshment 96,000 22,282 6,523 838 3.8 67,547 12,690 3,831 84,068
Total 2,472,400 286,310 111,164 12,812 4.5 1115,491 300,056 73,889 1489,436

Table 4
Checks carried out and underpayments found in wages inspectorate divisions—1991
Divisions Establishments checked by all methods Percentage of register checked Establishments checked by visit Percentage of register checked by visit Establishments found under.paying Percentage of all establishments checked underpaying Percentage of establishments visited underpaying
London 5,299 10.4 1,518 3.0 294 5.5 19.4
South East 3,333 7.8 1,369 3.2 413 12.4 30.2
Eastern 1,852 4.7 1,334 3.4 213 115 160
South West 5,193 9.3 2,519 4.5 893 17.2 35.5
Midlands 5,467 8.5 2,598 40 835 15.3 321
North West 3,129 5.8 2,602 4.8 1,083 34.6 41.6
Yorkshire and Humberside 2,708 7.7 1,777 51 792 29.2 44.6
Northern 2,543 118 2,133 9.9 711 280 33.3
Scotland 3,062 8.9 2,576 7.5 737 241 28.6
Great Britain 32,586 8.2 18,426 4.7 5,971 18 3 32.4

Note: From November 1991 the London, South East and Eastern Divisions have been merged to form the new Southern Division.

Table 5
Workers whose pay was checked in wages inspectorate divisions—1991
Divisions Total workers checked Workers whose pay was checked by visit Workers found underpaid Per cent, underpaid of all workers checked Per cent, underpaid of workers checked by visit Arrears paid Arrears not pursued at workers request Arrears not pursued for other reasons Total arrears assessed as due
London 51,234 7,280 512 10 7.0 72,912 12,224 12,114 97,250
South East 35,343 7,994 765 2.2 9.6 60,201 19,256 4,400 83,857
Eastern 11,457 8,194 421 3.7 5.1 35,924 19,737 239 55,900

Divisions Total workers checked Workers whose pay was checked by visit Workers found underpaid Per cent, underpaid of all workers checked Per cent, underpaid of workers checked by visit Arrears paid Arrears not pursued at workers request Arrears not pursued for other reasons Total arrears assessed as due
South West 78,144 14,483 1,752 2.2 12.1 152,021 54,577 20,737 227,335
Midlands 39,790 18,550 1,784 4.5 9.6 122,638 47,322 9,518 179,478
North West 14,536 12,803 2,303 15.8 18.0 257,641 54,685 10,030 322,356
Yorkshire and Humberside 18,223 9,788 1,639 9.0 16.7 133,872 35,156 5,161 174,189
Northern 14,808 12,907 1,790 12.1 13.9 134,311 26,124 4,635 165,070
Scotland 22,775 19,165 1,846 8.1 9.6 145,971 30,975 7,055 184,001
Great Britain 286,310 111,164 12,812 4.5 11.5 1,115,491 300,056 73,889 1,489,436

Note: From November 1991 the London, South East and Eastern divisions have been merged to from the new Southern division.

Table 6
Prosecutions for Underpayment
Divisions 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991
London 3 1 1 1
South East 1 2 1 4 3
Eastern 1 1 2 1 1 1 2
South West 4 2 3 1 1 2 2 1 2
Midlands 1 1 1 1
North West 1 1 1 2 1
Yorkshire and Humberside 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 7
Northern 1 3 1 1 1 1 2
Scotland 2
Great Britain 9 8 8 4 2 2 2 2 4 10 9 7 15

Note: From November 1991 the London, South East and Eastern Divisions have been merged to form the new Southern Division.

Table 7
Establishments found Underpaying 1979–85
Divisions 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985
London (East) 431 495 440 391 441 324 298
London (West) 249 259 270 294 339 354 357
South East 521 769 749 764 871 703 670
Southern 585 576 450 441 494 475 556
Eastern 685 941 848 726 727 914 688
South West 1,010 1,201 1,070 954 1,078 1,033 929
Midlands (East) 634 111 623 532 573 534 430
Midlands (West) 605 674 598 666 543 552 712
North West (East) 946 879 613 648 704 560 529
North West (West) 1,115 1,060 688 652 865 886 804
Yorkshire and Humberside 1,156 1,119 871 964 941 1,026 818
Northern 893 902 736 552 630 721 815
Scotland (East) 710 687 529 515 525 480 488
Scotland (West) 597 750 556 349 389 365 361
Wales 832 1,071 1,033 891 722 534 609
Totals 10,969 12,154 10,074 9,269 9,842 9,461 9,064

Table 8
Establishments found to be underpaying 1986 to 1991
Divisions 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991
London 608 270 317 229 172 294
South East 646 503 537 478 313 413
Eastern 974 405 462 432 271 213
South West 832 961 1,156 960 909 893
Midlands 943 525 747 822 749 835
North West 1,397 541 869 1,104 1,124 1,083
Yorkshire and Humberside 805 511 631 569 593 792
Northern 844 404 369 387 455 711
Scotland 656 323 509 547 619 737
Wales 500
Great Britain 8,205 4,443 5,597 5,528 5,205 5,971

Notes:

1. The statistics of underpayment have been separated into two tables because the divisional boundaries were changed in 1986.

2. From November 1991 the London, South East and Eastern Divisions have merged to form the new Southern Division.