Written Answers
Wages Councils
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will circulate in the
Official Report a full list of wages councils still in operation; and whether they will indicate in which industries or occupations earnings would be likely to be at an unduly low level if legally enforceable minimum wages were not imposed by wages councils.
A list of the 27 wages councils operating under the Wages Councils Act 1979 is given below.Councils are retained only in trades and industries where there is no other adequate machinery for settling wages and pay is low. Pay in wages councils trades and industries is low relative to the national average. While it is not possible to say how pay in any particular wages council trade might change if alternative machinery did not exist and statutory protection were removed, such action could carry the risk of unacceptable levels of pay for some workers. Where alternative machinery develops, the Government are ready to consider the removal of statutory protection and 16 councils have been abolished since 1969.
List of Wages Councils:
(Unless their title indicates otherwise, all councils cover the whole of Great Britain).
- Aerated Waters Wages Council (England and Wales),
- Aerated Waters Wages Council (Scotland),
- Boot and Shoe Repairing Wages Council,
- Button Manufacturing Wages Council,
- Clothing Manufacturing Wages Council,
- Coffin Furniture and Cerement Making Wages Council,
- Cotton Waste Reclamation Wages Council,
- Flax and Hemp Wages Council,
- Fur Wages Council,
- General Waste Material Reclamation Wages Council,
- Hairdressing Undertakings Wages Council,
- Hat, Cap and Millinery Wages Council,
- Lace Finishing Wages Council,
- Laundry Wages Council,
- Licensed Non-residential Establishment Wages Council,
- Licensed Residential Establishment and Licensed Restaurant Wages Council,
- Linen and Cotton Handkerchief and Household Goods and Linen Piece Goods Wages Council,
- Made-up Textiles Wages Council,
- Ostrich and Fancy Feather and Artificial Flower Wages Council,
- Perambulator and Invalid Carriage Wages Council,
- Retail Bespoke Tailoring Wages Council,
- Retail Food and Allied Trades Wages Council,
- Retail Trades (Non-Food) Wages Council,
- Rope, Twine and Net Wages Council,
- Sack and Bag Wages Council,
- Toy manufacturing Wages Council,
- Unlicensed Place of Refreshment Wages Council.
Inholmes Wood, Stoughton
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether it is true that Chichester District Council have agreed to allow the destruction of 43 acres of Inholmes Wood, Stoughton on the South Downs, and whether they will take action to prevent this landowner destroying this important deciduous woodland.
Two applications for consent to fell trees in parts of Inholmes Wood, and covered by a tree preservation order, have been refused by Chichester District Council. Appeals are currently before my right honourable friend, the Secretary of State for the Environment, and a public local inquiry has been provisionally arranged for 9th February 1982. If a further application were to be made, it would be for the council to consider it in the first instance, as the authority concerned.
Malaysian Government Economic Policy
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will initiate discussions with the Malaysian Government on economic co-operation in view of the latter's decision to buy British exports only as a last resort because of (i) increased fees for non-EEC students, (ii) air traffic rights, (iii) the changes in Stock Exchange rules, and (iv) British reaction to the Malaysian purchase of the Guthrie Estates.
The Government are naturally in touch with the Malaysian Government over a wide field, including economic matters, and we have already sought to dispel misunderstandings about the changes in the London Stock Exchange rules in relation to the purchase of the Guthrie Corporation by Permodalan Nasional Berhad.The Government understand and sympathise with the goals of the Malaysian Government's economic policy and will continue to take every opportunity to discuss current aspects of, and future prospects for, economic co-operation against that background.
The Gambia/Senegal Confederation
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they approve Gambia's decision to confederate with Senegal and whether this will affect its membership of the Commonwealth.
We naturally welcome any moves to promote stability in the area which the Governments of The Gambia and Senegal may have decided to undertake.A joint communiqué issued by the Presidents of Senegal and The Gambia on 14th November stated clearly that each country is to maintain its independence and sovereignty within the proposed confederation. President Jawara has also said that the confederation would not compromise any of the agreements which link The Gambia to Great Britain and the rest of the Commonwealth.
War Widows: Pension Recipients
asked Her Majesty's Government:How many widows are in receipt of a war widow's pension, and how many such widows fall within the following age groups: (a) 60–64; (b) 65–69; (c) 70–74; (d) 75–80; (e) over 80; and how many in each group receive a retirement pension.
At 25th September 1981 there were about 74,700 war widow's pensions in payment. The other information is as follows.
| Age | Approximate number of war widows | Estimated number receiving retirement pension |
| 60–64 | 9,300 | 7,000 |
| 65–69 | 14,500 | 10,900 |
| 70–74 | 13,800 | 10,400 |
| 75–80 | 12,900 | 9,400 |
| Over 80 | 15,100 | 9,800 |
Widows: Retirement Pension Recipients
asked Her Majesty's Government:How many widows over the age of 60 receive a retirement pension; how many receive the Over 80 State Pension; and how many have become entitled to the latter pension in each of the last three years.
The available information is given below:—
| 1978 | 2,360 |
| 1979 | reliable figures not available |
| 1980 | 2,180 (estimate) |
Note: Statistical analyses of retirement pensioners is based not on marital status alone, but rather on the contributory basis on which the pension is payable. Thus, the figures above do not include widows whose pensions are based solely or partly on their own contributions since figures relating to the marital status of women with some entitlement to pension on their own contributions are not separately identified for statistical purposes. Similarly the figures in 2–3 above include single and divorced women who do not have entitlement to pension on their own contributions.
War Widows And Over 80 State Pension
asked Her Majesty's Government:What would have been the approximate cost in the financial year 1981–82 of making an award at half the Over 80 State Pension rate to war widows aged between 75 and 79 who are not in receipt of a retirement pension; and what would be the annual cost of awarding the full rate to similar widows over 80.
£1¼ million and £5¼ million respectively.House adjourned at ten minutes before eight o'clock.