Oral Answers to Questions — Employment – in the House of Commons am 12:00 am ar 8 Gorffennaf 1963.
asked the Minister of Labour when he proposes to publish the 1961 Annual Report of his Department.
The hon. Member and the House will recall that in December, 1961, I announced that the publication of the Ministry's Annual Report was to cease.
I must confess that I do not remember that statement having been made. Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the feeling I had when I looked for this document was that the Ministry was too ashamed to publish this Report? Since we are all anxious for this kind of information to be supplied, particularly hon. Members who represent Scottish constituencies—so that we may know something about what the right hon. Gentleman's Department is doing, how it is behaving and what it is achieving—will the Minister consider this matter afresh and, perhaps, publish these Reports again?
When I made my announcement I think it was agreed that it was a sensible thing to do. The main topics previously covered in the Ministry's Annual Report have been dealt with in the Ministry of Labour Gazette. The hon. Member may also like to know that I am intending to make a report on the major trends in industrial relations at reasonable intervals. I am thinking of my responsibilities under the Conciliation Act and Section 13 of the Industrial Courts Act. I am considering making these major trends available from time to time, and it so happens that I think that the end of this year would be an appropriate time to publish these details. It will be seen, therefore, that the House will not be losing any information.