HC Deb 25 May 1993 vol 225 cc522-3W
Ms Quin

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans her Department has to commission records into compliance with regulations and legislation governing the conditions of employment of(a) persons under 16 years of age and (b) persons between 16 and 18 years.

Mr. McLoughlin

Policy on the employment of young people above the minimum school leaving age falls within the responsibility of the Department of Employment. Legislation governing conditions of employment for this age group, where it differs from that applying to adults in the same occupations, is concerned primarily with health and safety matters.

The Government are advised on health and safety at work by the Health and Safety Commission. Relevant statutory provisions, which also include some restrictions on the employment of children below the minimum school leaving age, are enforced by the Health and Safety Executive and local authority inspectors under the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974.

The Health and Safety Commission reports annually to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment on enforcement activities under the 1974 Act. Its report for 1991–92 was published in December 1992. The Department has no plans at present to commission further information on compliance with health and safety legislation governing employment of children and young people.

Further provisions on the employment of children below the minimum school leaving age in England and Wales are contained in the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 and the Education Act 1944, which are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Health and for Education. Enforcement of these provisions, and relevant local authority bye-laws, is primarily the responsibility of local education authorities.

All local authorities with responsibility for enforcement of legislation on children's employment were consulted recently by the Government in connection with the European Commission's proposals for a directive on protection of young people at work. The Government at present have no plans to commission further information on these matters.