asked the Minister of Labour how many persons were unemployed in the North-East Region at the latest available date; and how many were unemployed one year ago.

28,252 on 10th May compared with 39,501 on 11th May, 1964.

Now that large-scale unemployment is rapidly declining in the area, will my hon. Friend give consideration to the reverse side of this problem, namely, the dire shortage of skilled labour? Is he aware, for example, that Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson is having to turn down orders on the Tyne because it cannot fulfil its completion dates? Will he give attention to this problem and bring both sides of industry together, particularly on the question of industrial training and the length of apprenticeships?

Yes, I agree entirely with my hon. Friend about the size of this reduction. In fact, we have achieved a reduction of 28·4 per cent. in the last year, which is a pretty good figure. On my hon. Friend's second point of providing increased training facilities in the North-East, the three Government training centres at Billingham, Felling and Tursdale are providing over 600 training places in a wide range of trades, many in the engineering and building industries. My right hon. Friend is also considering a further expansion of Government training centres.

Will the Parliamentary Secretary take seriously his hon. Friend's point about lack of skill in the developing North-East? Does he realise that we welcome the new training centres in the North-East and the great steps forward taken in the trade union attitude to retraining? Whatever reasons there may have been for restrictive practices in the past, will the Minister use every effort to overcome this stumbling block?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. There has been a real change in the trade union attitude to adult retraining in the last two years, and this is something which we want to improve still further. The short answer is that it is essential for this country and for trade unionists themselves that men should be willing to accept adult retraining not only in the national interest but in their own individual interest as well.

asked the Minister of Labour what evidence he has now collected on the need for an occupational hygiene service; and what conclusions he has reached on the provision of such a service.

A sample survey of all factories to establish the size of the problem, planned with the advice of a panel of my right hon. Friend's Industrial Health Advisory Committee, has now started. We expect the results to be available in the spring of 1966. Meanwhile my right hon. Friend will be discussing the matter further with his Industrial Health Advisory Committee at its next meeting.

May I thank my hon. Friend for that reply and express my appreciation that this survey is progressing? Meantime, in view of the toxic hazards, of which his Department is already aware and about which it is collecting material, such as byssinosis, mercury poisoning and cancer from asbestos exposure, can he not now initiate action to provide facilities, personnel and instrumentation for a limited service in this sphere pending the general survey?

The very important matters that my hon. Friend raises are receiving the closest possible attention and we shall certainly move forward with all possible speed.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will give details of the membership of the committee established to consider the social and economic issues of the implementation of the pledge to grant by right equal pay for equal work.

The committee is one of officials. The Departments concerned are the Ministry of Labour, the Department of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance, Home Office, Treasury and Ministry of Defence.

I thank my hon. Friend for that Answer. Has the Department consulted outside bodies such as employers and trade unions who are vitally interested? When will the report be completed and will it be published?

It is not customary to publish reports of official committees. Representations have been received from interested bodies and they are having the closest consideration.

What are the complex economic and social issues which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour has already told the Council of the T.U.C. are preventing the Government from implementing straight away their election pledge on equal pay?

Money.

We shall certainly implement all the pledges that we have made, but we have another four years to go. We must ascertain all that is involved in this, including cost, and then it will have to take its place in the order of priorities.

Has the Ministry been able to make an estimate yet of the cost of equal pay? I asked this question three months ago.

No, Sir. We have not yet had an estimate made of the cost. This is one of the matters which are being considered by the official committee which my right hon. Friend expects will report to him in the course of the next two or three weeks.

asked the Minister of Labour what were the unemployment statistics in the Isle of Wight for each year of the three years ended April, 1965; and if he will give an estimate of the redundancies expected in the shipbuilding department of J. Samuel White at Cowes in the period 1st April to 30th September, 1965.

I will, with permission, circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the monthly average numbers unemployed in the Isle of Wight during the years ended April, 1963, 1964 and 1965. J. Samuel White and Co. Ltd. has declared 71 shipyard workers redundant (luring the period 1st April to 11th June, but it has re-engaged 16 of these for work in its engineering department. I understand from the firm that about 400 more workers in the shipyard will become redundant between now and 30th September, but provided that the firm obtains additional work for its engineering department it hopes to offer alternative employment to at least some of these.

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply. Is he aware that 500 unemployed in the Isle of Wight represent approximately 1½ per cent. of our total employed population and that therefore the position is extremely serious

asked the Minister of Labour if he will introduce legislation similar to that which defines the legal requirements for safety, health and welfare in the Factories Act, 1961, to cover all laboratories where activities of a scientific or technical nature are conducted.

My right hon. Friend received a delegation from the Trades Union Congress about this matter on 27th November. 1964. As he told them, a great many laboratories are already covered by the Factories Act, but sympathetic consideration will be given to the case for an extension of the provision for laboratory workers in industry when the Act is amended.

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Will he bear in mind the concern felt among laboratory workers who today have to contend with improved techniques which involve the use of far although the figures appear to be small? I am encouraged by the second part of the hon. Gentleman's reply. Will he consult his colleagues in other Ministries, particularly the Ministry of Defence, with a view to placing sub-contract work with J. Samuel White, possibly from Admiralty yards, to keep the men in heavy engineering industries busy? They are the people for whom we have the greatest concern.

I will certainly look at that last point, and also at unemployment in the island. There is a problem there which one would not seek to minimize, but it is considerably less this year than it was last year, or the year before.

We will certainly give the most sympathetic consideration to an extension, as I indicated in my Reply, but I cannot undertake that legislation will be introduced very soon.

My hon. Friend said that consideration will be given to these matters when amending legislation is introduced. Even if he is unable to say that legislation will be introduced immediately, can my hon. Friend give any indication when this will be done? It is very badly needed.

A number of considerations have to be taken into account. There are complications with regard to laboratory workers who come under education authorities. We will certainly give the matter close consideration, but, having regard to the Parliamentary programme, I cannot give any undertaking.

asked the Minister of Labour if he will seek to amend the Factory Acts, and any other necessary legislation, to allow pupils in their last year at school to gain personal experience of work along the lines recommended in the Newsom Report.

The Newsom Report only recommends that experiments enabling pupils over the age of 15 to participate to a limited extent, under the auspices of the school, in the world of work in industry, commerce, or in other fields should be carefully studied. No amendment of the Factories Act is needed to allow pupils over school-leaving age to work in factories. A number of schools and local education authorities are conducting experiments in work experience and the Schools Council are considering further experiments. My right hon. Friend also intends to consult his National Youth Employment Council on the vocational guidance aspects of work experience schemes.

Is my hon. Friend aware that his assurance that no infringement of the Factories Acts is involved in this experiment will be generally welcomed? In the case which I passed to his Department, there seems to have been some misapprehension on the part of one of his inspectors.

Is the Minister aware that difficulties have arisen in respect of factory legislation and the visits of school parties and individual scholars to these establishments? The hon. Gentleman will remember that I wrote a letter to him about a school in my constituency where this difficulty arose. Is not it a great pity that those who seek to organise these visits should be discouraged by factory inspectors, however properly? Will he look at the matter aeain?

Where pupils are conducted on tours of a factory and given talks about the operations there and demonstrations of the processes, that is quite all right. If any young people participate in any work of a factory, however, whether for wages or not, which is part of a process or which is incidental to or connected with a factory process, they come under the Factories Act 1961. They are deemed to be employed in a factory and the factory inspectors have to do their job. We will certainly bear in mind the point made, but before we could envisage any amendment of the Factories Act in this respect we should have to have further experience of current and future experiments.

Will the hon. Gentleman ask his right hon. Friend to approach the unions to see whether they will co-operate in such a scheme?

I will certainly convey that request to my right hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will introduce legislation to prevent trade unions bringing recruitment vans near to places where workers are on strike.

No, Sir.

If the hon. Gentleman will not seek legislation to deal with this matter, will he at least make representations to ensure that in future there is not a repetition of what happened during the Foyle's strike, where the union brought in a recruitment van? Is not it deplorable that strike action should be used for recruitment to unions in this way? Will not the hon. Gentleman further agree that if the Labour Party had a recruitment van there it would not have done as well as the union did?

I should have thought that the hon. Member would have recognised this as good sales technique in the best private enterprise tradition: "Maximise your advertising when your potential customers are most susceptible."

asked the Minister of Labour what instructions he has issued to youth employment officers about the new problems of immigrant school leavers, especially those seeking clerical posts.

The Central Youth Employment Executive has issued a memorandum to all youth employment officers which draws their attention to the recommendations in the Third Report of the Commonwealth Immigrants Advisory Council affecting the work of the Youth Employment Service and seeks their help in carrying them out. Youth employment officers are asked, amongst other things, to use every opportunity of impressing on employers that immigrant young people of above average ability may be suitable for a wide variety of jobs in industry and commerce, including many types of clerical work.

Would not the hon. Gentleman agree that, since this is the kind of problem which, even if all immigration were stopped forthwith, would increase in scale inevitably in the next few years, it is very important that we should take extra steps to get a really efficient way of giving these young people a good start in life, having regard to the difficulties with which they are faced?

I accept the point made by the right hon. Gentleman. The Ministry is very much aware of the problem. Two factors are involved. Very frequently immigrant young people have different standards of education or possess language difficulties which lead to situations which they sometimes subsequently mistake for discrimination. However, earlier this month a spot check of four youth employment offices in areas with a high proportion of coloured immigrants showed that of 19 immigrant boys and 21 immigrant girls known to have left school at Easter only four boys and three girls were unemployed by the beginning of June. One of these had only left school on 28th May and one was known to be ill. The other five failed to respond to invitations to call at the youth employment office. Of the 33 young people placed by the four offices concerned, all except three had been placed in jobs which offered training or prospects of advancement.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will initiate consultations to secure relaxation of age limits for apprenticeships for young immigrants whose schooling may have started later than usual.

We are continually urging industries to abolish rigid age limits for entry to apprenticeship and I am glad to see that a number have amended their schemes to make better provision for boys who have stayed on at school. Changes in this direction will apply to all young people whose schooling may have been delayed.

asked the Minister of Labour what is to be his future policy with regard to the application of conditions to vouchers restricting entry to areas already overcrowded with immigrants.

Under the Commonwealth Immigrants Act, 1962, voucher holders may not be subjected to conditions on admission.

Does not the hon. Gentleman realise that every voucher issued means aggravation of the problem in already overcrowded immigrant areas? Does not he agree that it would be better if these immigrants could be dispersed? Is it true that no more category C vouchers are to be issued?

No category C vouchers have been issued for some months now. The issue of vouchers according to areas where there are low concentrations of immigrants would, of course, raise difficulties. Whilst I have some sympathy with the point raised by the hon. Gentleman, we cannot attach conditions to the issue of these vouchers and there is nothing to prevent a person with a voucher going to a low concentration area and then moving away to his friends in high concentration areas.

Could not the hon. Gentleman at least note this problem when considering any revising legislation?

We have certainly noted the problem, but I will draw the attention of my right hon. Friend to what the right hon. Gentleman has said.

Is my hon. Friend aware that if the ability to travel to Birmingham, Selly Oak or Sutton Coldfield were to depend on the colour of one's skin, the ability of the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd) to return there would be in some danger?

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that, while this Question is couched in a form which enables him to refer to legislative difficulty, it is easy to cut down drastically on the issue of A and B vouchers? Is not that the simple remedy to the problem? Can we have a statement on this matter at a fairly early date?

That raises another question. I believe that the right hon. Gentleman has a Question on the Order Paper later which is more applicable to that supplementary question.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will now make a statement on his policy with regard to the issue of A and B vouchers for immigrants.

I have nothing to add to the reply given to the right hon. Member on 20th May by my right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary.

Does the hon. Gentleman realise that there is growing anxiety at the dilatory way in which the Government are handling this matter and that we are awaiting a statement from them as to their policy about the issue of A and B vouchers? All that we have had so far are statements by the Economic Secretary complaining of the shortage of immigrants. Will the hon. Gentleman state when he will be in a position to say whether there will be a drastic reduction in the issue of A and B vouchers?

On 20th May, in reply to a Question by the right hon. Member, my right hon. and learned Friend stated that the Government had postponed further consideration of the voucher scheme until after they had had the report of the mission, under the leadership of Lord Mountbatten, which was discussing with a number of Commonwealth Governments means of regulating the flow of Commonwealth immigrants to this country. As Lord Mountbatten's mission returned to this country only two days ago, it is certainly not reasonable to expect any declaration of policy from me today.

May we have an indication of when a statement will be made? There have been widespread reports in the Press of Cabinet discussions and a great deal has been leaked out about the views of various Ministers. When will the House of Commons be informed on the matter?

The report will be made as soon as possible.

asked the Minister of Labour what progress he has made, in discussions with the trade unions and employers, towards securing a reduction in the number of years of training required to complete apprenticeship training.

asked the Minister of Labour what progress he is making in modernising apprenticeship schemes to ensure that an adequate training is given in the shortest possible time.

Industries which have already reduced their apprenticeship period include building and other sections of the construction industry, hotel and catering, hospital catering and retail meat. The engineering industry has reduced the period for boys who remain at school beyond their 16th birthday. Other industries are known to have the matter under active consideration. My right hon. Friend hopes that all industries will adopt an apprenticeship period appropriate to the content of the course and the qualifications of entrants. He will expect industrial training boards to adopt this approach.

Will the hon. Gentleman have discussions with the T.U.C. on this matter to try to get a speed-up in uniform practice?

One does not want to aggravate these difficulties. There have been very real changes in attitude to the problem, which is absolutely crucial to the economy. Nonetheless, it would be a mistake to believe that the only people who are conservative in their approach to the length of apprenticeships are the trade unions. We hope to get a realisation throughout the country that what matters in the training of craftsmen is not how long they are trained but what they learn under training.

Is my hon. Friend aware that the progress he is making in this will be warmly welcomed? Is he further aware that these are steps which should have been taken years ago by the previous Administration? Will he also accept that one of the reasons why we are not getting more apprentices is because of the length of time spent on apprenticeships and the small amount of pay? How soon will it be before more industries accept shorter apprenticeship training? Which are they likely to be?

My hon. Friend should not expect too much of right hon. and hon. Gentlemen opposite. They only had 13 years in office. Basically, the problem will be solved by the industrial training boards which will have the task of laying down the training which is necessary to qualify for grant. This process will enable both sides of industry to look again at the length of existing apprenticeships.

Would not the hon. Gentleman agree the age of entry into a apprenticeships and their duration offer scope for one of the most important advances in industrial productivity? Does rot he agree also that the key to any progress in both these matters is the use of the industrial training boards which were set up by my right hon. Friend the Member for Grantham (Mr. Godber) by legislation in the last Parliament?

I appreciate that the right hon. Member for Grantham (Mr. Godber) was responsible for this non-party legislation and that he appointed four chairmen. Since then, however, we have been dealing with the recommendations of the boards and they are moving in a direction acceptable to both sides of industry.

asked the Minister of Labour how many males were registered at employment exchanges covering the Easington Parliamentary constituency at the latest available date; and what arrangements are made to enable unemployed persons to take employment where many vacancies exist in the South-East and elsewhere.

788 on 10th May; vacancies which cannot be filled locally are circulated to areas where workers are likely to be available and are brought to the notice of unemployed workers in those areas. Financial assistance is available under the Ministry's Resettlement Transfer Scheme to help workers to move if they have no early prospect of obtaining regular work in their home areas and satisfy certain conditions.

Does not my hon. Friend recognise that this is still a very high figure, despite the reduction in unemployment? Is it possible for the Ministry to prepare an analysis of those who are willing to go elsewhere in view of the difficulty of obtaining employment locally?

With your permission, Mr. Speaker, I should like to take this opportunity of congratulating my right hon. Friend the Member for Easington (Mr. Shinwell) on his award. [HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."] I think this is probably one of the few things that have happened to him which has given unalloyed pleasure to both sides of the House.

asked the Minister of Labour what action he is taking to prevent cancer being caused by possible carcinogens used in industry.

There are a variety of cancer risks in industry, each of which presents special problems. The main lines of action by our Department are: to prohibit the use of carcinogenic substances, where that is necessary; to require control of their use and the medical screening of the workers concerned, where that provides adequate safeguards; to ensure that arrangements are made in the appropriate cases for the continued medical supervision of former employees; and to co-operate with the qualified research agencies, particularly by carrying out investigations and surveys.

Would my hon. Friend not agree that frequent medical examination of workers at risk serves only to diagnose cancer and not to prevent it occurring? While I welcome the measures he is taking, will he concentrate his researches into the cause of cancer, into the potential hazards of carcinogenic substances used in industry, particularly in the newer industries?

We shall certainly do that with all possible expedition. I know that my hon. Friend takes a deep interest in and has a deep knowledge of this problem. She may rest assured that my right hon. Friend and I have it very much in mind. In my own long industrial experience I have had personal knowledge of cancer resulting from these hazards.

Does the hon. Gentleman recall that on 5th February the Minister told me representations had been received from interested parties on the Carcinogenic Substances Prohibition Regulations, particulars of which had been circulated at that time? Has he yet come to any conclusion about whether it would be desirable to add alpha naphthalene to the list of prohibited substances in those regulations? Would he also say whether his right hon. Friend will now agree to add primary neoplasms of the epithelial linings of the urinary tracts to the list of notifiable industrial diseases, as he promised to give consideration to this?

I am afraid that the hon. Member is in front of me with the names of these substances. We will certainly give consideration to them, and I will draw my right hon. Friend's attention to them. As a result of the expert comments made on the first circulation of the preliminary draft, there has been substantial tidying up in the draft regulations.

asked the Minister of Labour under what regulations United States singers and bands are now permitted to perform in the United Kingdom.

Foreign entertainers are permitted to perform in this country if they have a labour permit issued by our Ministry under Article 4(1)(b) of the Aliens Order, 1953, and in accordance with arrangements made in agreement with the entertainments industry.

In view of the fact that several British "pop" stars of merit have been refused permits to perform in the United States, will my hon. Friend tighten up the regulations here so that we are no longer inflicted with second-raters from over there while the British "pop" stars are being denied the right to work in America? Has not the time come for a spot of retaliation both for aesthetic and currency reasons?

I do not think that this is the type of legislation to be used for retaliation. In the case of variety artistes of the kind to which my hon. Friend is referring, permits are issued under a longstanding control agreement with the Variety Artistes Federation. There are problems which arise sometimes because the agreement makes no reference to artistic merit or ability. The American regulations do. On the whole, the system seems to work well and, so far as I know, there is no pressure from the Variety Artistes Federation.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is satisfied with the work being done by the Youth Employment Service; and what steps he has in mind for improvements in the Service.

A Working Party of my right hon. Friend's National Youth Employment Council is at present examining the main issues facing the Youth Employment Service. In the light of its Report, which he hopes to receive this autumn, he will decide what steps should be taken to promote the further development of the Service.

Does my right hon. Friend recognise that this Service has been subject to quite a good deal of criticism in recent months? It is used predominantly by youngsters who have no qualifications and who leave school at 15 or 16. This particular section of the community has long been neglected and is most in need of help. Will my hon. Friend bring it to the notice of his right hon. Friend so that there is some sense of urgency m the matter?

Yes. My right hon. Friend accepts entirely the point about the sense of urgency and will give the Report very close attention indeed.

asked the Minister of Labour how many workers became redundant in Wolverhampton as a result of the cancellation of TSR2; and how many of those still remain to be placed in suitable employment.

Notices have been issued by the firm concerned to 255 workers, but none is due to expire before 18th June. 124 workers have registered at our local offices and of these 46 have been placed, whilst 25 are known to have obtained jobs. I have no information about those who have not registered.

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply and ask him if he is aware that there has been redundancy among draughtsmen in many of the firms engaged on sub-contracting work at B.A.C. and that there is considerable concern among those workers who are likely to be redundant in a month or two about their getting less redundancy payment than another firm engaged on TSR2 sub-contracting. Will he and his right hon. Friend look at this and see that there is no discrimination against those workers employed on subcontracting work?

The question of redundancy payments for workers of this type is primarily a question of trade union negotiation until such time as my right hon. Friend's Redundancy Payments Bill becomes law.

asked the Minister of Labour how many employees were made redundant by the cancellation of the TSR2; what proportion of them have been placed in new jobs; and how many are undergoing retraining.

2,802 employees have so far been made redundant and 1,781 have registered with us. 582 have been placed by the Ministry's local offices in new jobs; a further 402 workers are known to have found work. None of the workers is yet undergoing retraining but three applications are under consideration.

May I thank my hon. Friend for that Answer and point out that the rapidity with which workers have been reabsorbed from the TSR2 indicates how much it was a political motive which was behind the scare caused by hon. Members on the opposite side of the House?

Further to that, with which I agree entirely, it has been very interesting to see the way in which these workers who have been displaced have been redeployed. The bulk of the placings have been of workers displaced at Preston and Weybridge. There were 303 placings at Preston and 82 at Weybridge. Placings and those known to have found work total 984. Of these 160 have remained in the aircraft industry; 500 have gone into associated, metal using, industries; 324 have gone into other industries. 653 of them have remained in their own occupation. All the evidence is that this closure has had very valuable economic side effects.

Has the hon. Gentleman asked his right hon. Friend's officers to collect any comments by the workers concerned on this redeployment he has mentioned?

Government by popularity poll may have an appeal for hon. and right hon. Members opposite, but it does not influence this Government.

asked the Minister of Labour what progress is being made in extending industrial training and retraining facilities in the East Kent area; and whether he will make a statement.

Difficulty is being experienced in finding a site for the new Government training centre planned for the area of the Medway Towns. It is, however, still hoped to find one, and if so the new centre should be within daily travelling distance of a substantial proportion of the population of East Kent.

Would my hon. Friend confirm that the Isle of Sheppey might be considered as a possible site for this centre? This is a special area. It has had a recurrent high unemployment problem ever since the closure of the Sheerness dockyard. Quite a lot of dock workers still work in the Medway Towns but live in Sheppey. There is, therefore, a real need for training facilities on the Isle of Sheppey.

I will certainly look at the proposals which my hon. Friend has made. The Ministry accepts entirely the need for a centre in the Medway Towns areas. At the moment it is purely a question of finding a site.

asked the Minister of Labour what increase has taken place in the numbers in full-time employment from October to the latest available date; and what has been the decrease in the numbers unemployed.

In the employment estimates it is not possible to distinguish full-time from other workers. According to the provisional estimates, which are subject to revision in due course, there has been, between October, 1964 and April, 1965, a drop of 250,000 in the numbers employed. During the same period the numbers registered as wholly unemployed have fallen by 14,000.

If I heard aright, my hon. Friend said that there had been a drop of a quarter of a million in the number of people employed. If this is so, is this a reflection of a severe shortage of skilled men and technicians and, if it is, is not this a serious handicap to the expansion of our industry and the overcoming of our balance of payment problem?

There is undoubtedly a serious shortage of skilled men and, even more widely, there is a serious shortage of manpower in general. The reason is that there has been a relatively small inflow of school leavers and a reduction in the number of immigrants entering the country. These two have combined together to make the manpower situation rather tighter than it has been.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this figure is a drop which is continuing month by month? What is he going to do about this progressive contraction of civil employment under a Labour Government, and what is he going to do to stop his hon. Friends asking him such embarrassing questions?

I am sure that no question on this side could be as embarrassing to my hon. Friends as the hon. Gentleman's question must be embarrassing to some of his hon. Friends behind him.

Is the hon. Gentleman quite right in saying that there has been a reduction in the number of immigrants? The Home Secretary has told us that in the first four months of this year there was a net increase of immigrants from the new countries and the Commonwealth as compared with the first four months of last year.

I do not want to get too closely involved with this question of immigrants. I am sorry to disappoint the racist instincts of hon. Gentlemen opposite, but this was primarily a question about the manpower position. One of the reasons for this reduction in the number of people in employment is the relatively small number of school leavers entering employment during that period, and the other reason is the reduction in the number of immigrants.

asked the Minister of Labour how many strikes occurred in the last year for which figures are available, how many workers were involved, and how many work days were lost; and what information he has, through international bodies, as to how these figures compared with those of other leading industrial countries.

The number of stoppages of work due to industrial disputes which began in the United Kingdom in 1964 was 2,524. The number of workers involved in all stoppages in progress in 1964 was about 883,000 and the number of working days lost in 1964 in all stoppages in progress was about 2,277,000.

Would not my hon. Friend agree that the number of working days lost through strikes in this country is far less than 10 per cent. of those lost through industrial accidents and far less than 1 per cent. of those lost through sickness? Do not these figures put into perspective the sort of attack on the trade unions which we so often get from the Opposition benches?

I have not worked out the figures as precisely as my hon. Friend has done, but I think that they are approximately correct. Whilst we all regret the industrial disputes, strikes and lockouts that do occur, it is important from time to time to put the problem into perspective.

Is the Joint Parliamentary Secretary aware that the number of working days lost through strikes in the first four months of this year was 11 per cent. more than in the same period of last year and four times as much as in the same period of 1963? In view of this, what has the hon. Gentleman to say about fin words of his noble Friend the Lord Chancellor last October, "If you want more strikes, vote Conservative"?

Had the hon. Gentleman gone back one year further and taken the last three years, he would know that the number of days lost in the first four months of this year was just about the average of the three preceding years.

Do the figures which my hon. Friend has given work out at a little over half an hour per year per employed person lost through industrial disputes? Does not this figure make the amount of publicity given to strikes by the Opposition Press seem a little ridiculous?

Yes, the actual figure is certainly less than one hour per worker per year. I hope that responsible persons and some of the Press will cease giving the impression, which is accepted abroad, that Britain is a strike-torn country, because it just is not true. The incidence of strikes in the United States of America, Japan, France and many other countries is far greater than in this country.

asked the Minister of Labour how many women workers, and in which industries, are affected by orders permitting nightwork or shiftwork outside hours normally permitted by the Factories Act, 1961.

As the reply consists of a table of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Would not my hon. Friend agree that it is most desirable that orders of this sort should be made as little as possible?

About 34,000 women are affected by these orders. One-third of them are in the textile industries and about one-fifth in the food, drink and tobacco industries. We have, however, to face the fact that if we are to modernise, keep up-to-date and introduce the new machinery, the incidence of shift working is bound to increase. In so far as it can be minimised for women, that would be all to the good.

asked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that Foyle's, the booksellers, have contracted to employ an adult man at a weekly rate less than that laid down by the relevant wages council, particulars of which have been sent to him; and what action he proposes to take.

The particulars sent to me by my hon. Friend do not necessarily show that any workers are actually being paid less than the statutory minimum wages council rates. My right hon. Friend will, however, arrange for inquiries to be made.

In thanking my hon. Friend for the second part of that Answer, may I ask whether he does not agree that a contract offering £9 10s. per week for an adult man is ludicrous as against a wages council rate of £10 2s. per week? Is he not aware that the wages council procedure is being used as a excuse by employers, as in this case, for denying negotiating rights to unions, and that it is, therefore, all the more important that this procedure should be properly enforced?

I note the last point of my hon. Friend's supplementary question. In regard to the first part, it is not an offence under the Wages Council Act, 1959, for a contract between a worker covered by a Wages Regulation Order and his employer to provide for less than the statutory minimum remuneration. Section 12(1) of the Act provides, however, that in such a case the contract shall have effect as if the statutory minimum remuneration were substituted for that lesser remuneration. The employer is, therefore, bound to pay not less than the statutory minimum, otherwise he commits an offence.

asked the Minister of Labour how often shop premises are inspected in the London area; and when was the last inspection made of the premises of Foyle's in Charing Cross Road.

The enforcement of the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act, 1963, in shop premises is generally a matter for local authorities, who in- elude statistics of inspections in their annual reports. The appropriate local authority is responsible for particular questions relating to the inspection of individual premises.

Cannot my hon. Friend be more specific? Has not he taken the trouble to find out when these premises were last inspected? Is he aware that all the evidence that we have on this side of the House shows that this particular firm is contravening the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act, the Contracts of Employment Act, and a Wages Council Order? Is it not time that something was done to get rid of these disgraceful working conditions for these people?

The information which my hon. Friend requests in his main Question is not available to my Department.

asked the Minister of Labour how many engineering workers are seeking work in Stevenage, and how many vacancies there are in the engineering industry in Stevenage.

Thirteen workers last employed in the engineering and allied group of industries were registered as wholly unemployed at Stevenage Employment Exchange on 10th May. There were 893 notified unfilled vacancies on 5th May in the same group of industries.

In thanking my hon. Friend for that Answer, may I ask whether, as the employment situation is extremely tight and a great many firms in the area work largely for export, his right hon. Friend will consider advising the main contractor for the Baldock bypass to recruit labour from outside the area?

Without knowing offhand exactly how much of that is within my right hon. Friend's province, I will certainly look at the position and write to my hon. Friend.

asked the Minister of Labour how many employees have wage agreements tied to the cost-of-living index; and what estimate he has made of the cost per week in increased wages to meet the recent two point increase in the cost of living.

About 2 million employees have wages agreements which include cost-of-living sliding scale clauses. These agreements, however, vary a great deal. For example, some specify changes in wage-rates whenever the retail prices index moves at all. Others specify changes in rates only when the index moves a prescribed number of points. Still others specify changes relating to the movements in the prices index over a particular period in time, e.g. 3 months, 6 months or a year. It is therefore impossible to calculate the change in wages attributable to any particular movement in the index of retail prices.

Does not this show a great fault in the collection of statistics by the Ministry of Labour? For instance, in which industries are these employees? Are these employees going to benefit by a 9 per cent. wage increase, or do they come within the 3½ per cent. norm set by the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs?

As I said in my Answer, it is not possible to relate it to particular movements of the index of retail prices, but the information available, which I will give to the hon. Gentleman, is that we cannot relate the changes to a particular movement in the index. What we can do is to estimate the changes in wages which have been due to sliding-scale arrangements as a whole over a period in time. For example, during 1964, the basic weekly wage rate increased by about £5 million, of which changes in the cost-of-living sliding-scale arrangements amounted to approximately £⅓ million or about 7 per cent. During 1961, 1962 and 1963 the proportion of wage increases directly attributable to the cost-of-living sliding-scale adjustments varied between 5 per cent. and 9 per cent.

In view of the unsatisfactory nature of that reply, I beg to give notice that I shall raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Minister of Labour when he expects the Royal Com- mission on Trade Unions to complete its work.

It is impossible to say at this stage. I am sure that the Commission will report as quickly as it can, but it must have the time to carry out its work properly.

As this is going to take such a long time, what are the Government going to do in view of strikes such as the wild-cat strike at London Airport? Surely the time has come to introduce legislation at once to make contracts legally binding on employers and employees?

The strike was to be deplored, I agree, but again I must ask hon. Members opposite to keep these problems in perspective. They do not do our country any good by exaggerating the incidence of these strikes or the effect they have upon our economy.

asked the Minister of Labour what estimate he has made of the demand for and the availability of Great Britain's manpower resources to 1970; and what steps he is taking to meet a possible shortfall.

Estimates are currently being prepared for the Economic Plan. The preliminary work indicates that labour is likely to be short over the next few years if the growth rates anticipated by industry are to be achieved. On the action being taken, I would refer my hon. Friend to the note circulated in connection with my right hon. Friend the First Secretary's reply of 3rd June to the hon. Member for Louth (Sir C. Osborne) and, in particular, to paragraph 7.

Can the Minister tell us what attempt was made to estimate these requirements by his predecessors and what difficulties of a shortfall have been presented to the country by the apparent failure to make such an estimate earlier?

Although hon. Members opposite were responsible for one manpower report—I think a general one—there are very serious problems which arise from the fact that they did not tackle forecasting of manpower shortages sufficiently early. There is no doubt at all that this constitutes a problem which the Government are taking very urgent measures to deal with.

If the Government are disturbed about this shortage of manpower why do they not have a General Election, when most of the benches opposite would be emptied and the redundancies would be available elsewhere?

asked the Minister of Labour if he will state the number of Government training centres in 1963 and 1964, their capacity in those years, and the estimated numbers and capacity for training of such centres during the years 1965 and 1966.

In January 1963, there were 13 Government training centres with less than 2,500 training places. In January 1964, there were 19 with over 3,000 places. In January 1965, there were 26 with over 4,500 places. By January 1966, there should be 30 centres able to provide about 12,000 trained workers each year. Plans for a further two centres have already been announced and a further expansion is being urgently considered.

Is the Minister aware that, on these benches at least, the record of the Government's activities in this sphere will be welcomed? Can he say to what extent, if any researches in this matter have been made, the previous Government's failure to meet this need for retraining has hindered the proper use of our manpower now in Britain?

There is very real need for an increase in retraining facilities to take people from the declining industries and to redeploy them in expanding industries. I think my Answer shows the extent to which the Government have faced up to this problem of shortage of manpower and are pursuing policies which will enable us to stay ahead of other technologically advanced nations.

In considering the activities referred to in this and preceding Questions, what account does my hon. Friend take of the unequal distribution of working power throughout the country, and, in particular, of the drift to the South from the north-east of Scotland, and in view of the differences of incomes, what steps is he taking to stop the drift?

I think the regional planning policies of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Economic Affairs take this matter very much in hand.

Is the hon. Gentleman aware that the major expansion of Government training centres from which he and his Minister are profiting was undertaken by the last Administration?

With respect, I think the hon. Gentleman is in this as in other cases a little out of date. Since that time there have been two further expansions by this Government.

asked the Minister of Labour how many aliens are employed in Bournemouth; and if he will give comparative figures in the last 10 years of male and female employees.

I regret that information about the number of aliens employed in Bournemouth is not available.

Surely the information should be available? May I ask the hon. Gentleman if he will tell us whether or not there is a breakdown in the numbers of aliens in the country? Surely we must have this information available? Are not aliens required to register? Are not certain permits given them under the Aliens Act? Perhaps we could hear what he has to tell us.

Yes, of course, there are national figures, and for the numbers of aliens, but to discover the number of aliens in a particular employment in a specific area would involve an enormous amount of work. It would mean working out the figures of those with a Bournemouth postal address. It would not be an economic proposition.

Would my hon. Friend not agree that if it were not for the aliens the hotels in Bournemouth could not carry on?

Mr. Cousins.

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. In view of the extremely important and serious new developments which have taken place in Vietnam during the Recess, may I ask whether we are to have a statement from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in answer to my Question on the Order Paper?

I have called the Minister to make the only statement of which I have knowledge.

Further to that point of order. In view of the fact that presumably I shall be receiving a Written Answer to my Question No. 53, may I have your assurance that if the Answer is unsatisfactory and I seek to move the Adjournment of the House under Standing Order No. 9, I shall be in time if I do so tomorrow?

I will consider the hon. Member's application if and when he makes it. I cannot make a hypothetical pronouncement now.