Written question asked by Sally Keeble (Labour) on Monday, 23 February 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 1 March 2004. It was answered by Gerry Sutcliffe (Labour) on Monday, 1 March 2004 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what assessment her Department has made of the use by advice agencies of its leaflets on employment rights.

Answer: Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the use by advice agencies of its leaflets on employment rights. [156289] Mr. Sutcliffe: Last year the Department consulted leading customers to find out how our information on employment rights could be better focussed on users' needs. As part of this review, an assessment was made on the impact of withdrawing employment rights booklets, using information provided by the Department's distribution service. Although advice agencies appeared they were not among the most regular users of the service. End users generally told us that they did not need the detailed explanations of the law given in DTI's existing publications. Users want practical advice and guidance on what they should actually do in respect of employment issues. Acas who provide advice and guidance to employers and employees are usually better placed to provide user focussed advice based on factual information supplied by the Department. Acas recently produced a series of booklets summarising individual rights. These can be obtained free-of-charge from the Acas distribution centre on 08702 429090. I understand that feedback on the publications has been generally very positive.

Secondary information