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Mr. Rooker
asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the preliminary findings from research into the impact of employment legislation on companies employing fewer than 50 people.
Mr. Harold Walker
The survey undertaken by the Opinion Research Centre earlier this year into the effects of employment legislation on small firms employing fewer than 50 people shows that these effects have been greatly exaggerated and that the legislation is not normally one of the small employer's major concerns. In this connection, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave to
| Wages Council | Percentage of establishments inspected | Total arrears | |
| £ | |||
| Aerated Waters (England and Wales) | … | 5·9 | 2,674 |
| Aerated Waters (Scotland) | … | 5·4 | 69 |
| Boot and Shoe Repairing (Great Britain) | … | 2·7 | 1,509 |
| Retail Bread and Flour Confectionery (England and Wales) | … | 8·0 | 44,100 |
| Retail Bread and Flour Confectionery (Scotland) | … | 9·1 | 3,747 |
| Button Manufacturing (Great Britain) | … | 7·0 | — |
| Coffin Furniture and Cerement (Great Britain) | … | 8·8 | 44 |
| Corset (Great Britain) | … | 8·6 | 487 |
| Cotton Waste Reclamation (Great Britain) | … | 13·9 | 49 |
the hon. Member for Twickenham (Mr. Jessel) on 28th November.