§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of man-hours that(a) small and medium 446W enterprises and (b) larger companies will require to implement the Working Time Directive in (i) its first year and (ii) subsequent years. [76929]
§ Mr. Byers[holding answer 16 March 1999]: A Regulatory Impact Assessment on the costs and benefits resulting from the implementation of the Regulations was made, a copy of which is held in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the state of negotiations on organising the working time of the sectors excluded from the scope of the Working Time Directive; for which sectors the United Kingdom has indicated its(a) agreement and (b) opposition to inclusion; and if a clear qualified majority already exists for these sectors. [78398]
§ Mr. ByersThe Government have carefully considered the European Commission's 18 November proposals on the extension of the Working Time Directive to the excluded sectors. We wish to provide all workers with fair minimum standards, but recognise that this should not adversely affect the competitiveness of the industries concerned, or the efficient operability of the NHS. We will obviously seek to secure support for our policy aims from other Member States.