COUNCIL OF EUROPE

COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

________

RESOLUTION CSS (98) 15

(Period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997)

The Committee of Ministers,

In exercise of the functions conferred upon it by Article 75 of the European Code of Social Security (hereinafter referred to as the « Code »), and with a view to supervising the application of these two instruments by the Contracting Parties ;

Whereas the Code, signed on 16 April 1964, entered into force on 17 March 1968 and since 13 January 1969 has been binding on the United Kingdom, which ratified it on 12 January 1968;

Whereas, when ratifying the Code, the United Kingdom Government stated that it accepted, in addition to the parts which must be applied by every Contracting Party (Parts I, XI, XII, XIII and XIV), the following parts of the Code:

- Part II on «medical care»,

- Part III on «sickness benefit»,

- Part IV on «unemployment benefit»,

- Part V on «old-age benefit»;

Whereas the United Kingdom Government has subsequently, on 19 July 1982, accepted Part VII on "family benefit";

Whereas, in pursuance of paragraph 1 of Article 74 of the Code, the United Kingdom Government submitted, on 30 July 1997, its 29^th annual report and the additional information on the application of the Code, for the period from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1997;

Whereas, in accordance with paragraph 4 of Article 74, that report was examined by the ILO Committee of Experts for the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, at its 68^th session in November-December 1997;

Whereas, in accordance with paragraph 5 of Article 74, these reports and the conclusions adopted thereon by the above-mentioned Committee were examined by the Committee of Experts on Standard-Setting instruments in the Social Security Field, at its first meeting on 29 May 1998;

Having considered the conclusions reached by the above-mentioned Committee after examination of the aforesaid documents;

Recalling Resolution CSS (97) 15 on the 28^th report submitted by the United Kingdom Government in pursuance of paragraph 1 of Article 74 of the Code;

Notes:

a) concerning Part IV (Unemployment benefit) of the Code, in reply to the Committee of Ministers’ previous resolution, that the Government indicates, in its reports on the Code and on Convention No. 102, that the introduction in October 1996 of the Jobseeker’s Allowance was followed by a transitional period up until April 1997 and that the key priority for the Government in 1997-98 consists in stabilising the Jobseeker’s Allowance. It adds that, at this stage, it is difficult to reflect accurately the true situation of recipients of unemployment protection, which is being closely monitored by the Government; in line with its general commitment to welfare reform, a number of research are currently under way with a view to evaluating the effects of new policies on the labour market outcomes and benefit receipt in the medium term, and that further legislative changes are planned to make the beneficiaries more responsible for providing evidence in support of their claims and improve efficiency in service delivery. Finally, in its report on Convention No. 102, the Government states that, while at this stage it is not yet in a position to respond in detail to the supervisory bodies’ comments, it will provide a full and detailed response on all the issues raised following a review of its position in the light of these comments.

The Committee of Ministers takes good note of this information. It further notes, from the report on Convention No. 102, new regulations, legislative amendements and transitional provisions with respect to the Jobseeker’s Allowance adopted during the reporting period, the text of which was supplied by the Government. In these conditions, it decides to postpone the examination of the Jobseekers Act and its implementing regulations until its next session when it will have received full information and statistics;

b) concerning Part III (Sickness benefit) of the Code, referring to the employers’ obligation to pay Statutory Sick Pay to their employees for a period of sickness lasting up to 28 weeks, that the Government indicates in its report that, from 6 April 1997, employers who pay wages or occupational sick pay to their employees at or above the Statutory Sick Pay rate, are free to decide whether or not to operate the Statutory Sick Pay scheme. This arrangement simplifies employers’ administration by eliminating the need to keep two sets of sickness records. At the same time employees’ rights to sick pay are protected because the employer has to pay Statutory Sick Pay if his own arrangements are not sufficient. The Committee of Ministers notes this information;

Finds that the United Kingdom continues to give effect to the provisions of the Parts of the Code which have been accepted, subject to receiving certain information on the following points;

Decides to invite the Government of the United Kingdom :

a) with regard to point a) above, to supply full information and statistics, in conformity with the report form, as requested in previous resolutions, on their impact on the application of each article of Part IV and of other relevant Parts of the Code, including information on the definition of the contingency and suitable employment, disqualification and suspension from unemployment benefit under the new legislation, as well as on the measures taken or contemplated to ensure that, in all cases covered by Article 20 of the Code (in relation to Article 68), the period for which unemployment benefit is provided is at least 13 weeks within a period of 12 months or in each case of suspension of earnings, in accordance with Article 24 of the Code,

b) with regard to point b) above, to provide information on the practical implementation of these measures, including statistics on the number of employers who have thus ceased to operate the Statutory Sick Pay scheme;

c) to supply a copy of the National Health Service (Primary Care) Act 1997, to which it refers in the addendum to its report.