Contributions
2,132 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting)We have had various discussions within the Department. Information has gone over to the Home Office, and we are waiting for a response. Obviously, I cannot speak for the Home…16 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting)Let me start by reaffirming our strong view that every worker has the full right to protection under the laws of this country. That includes migrant workers, as is clear from our…16 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting)Let us start where we can all agree: volunteering is a very important part of our society and we want to do everything we can to encourage it. It is a central part of civic life…16 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting)I will be brief. The clauses are simple and standard, and they appear in most legislation. Clause 113 will allow the Secretary of State to make consequential amendments—that is,…16 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting)I hope the Committee will agree that, like other clauses we have debated in part 6, clause 115 is a straightforward and customary provision. It sets out various procedural aspects…16 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting)I thank the hon. Member for Torbay for tabling the new clause. I think its origins are in written evidence to the Committee from the edu-legal organisation Edapt, which has been…16 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting)It seems the coalition era love-in has started again in earnest. As the shadow Minister outlined, new clause 42 would require the Certification Officer to lay before both Houses,…16 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting)Clause 116 simply sets out that expenditure incurred under the terms of the Bill is to be met by supplies from Parliament. Clause 117 sets out the territorial extent of the Bill…16 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting)The shadow Minister’s amendment 164, as he said, would require the Secretary of State to have regard to the UK’s growth and international competitiveness when making any…16 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twenty First sitting)I wish to thank you, Sir Christopher, and the other Chairs who have presided over this lengthy Bill Committee. I also thank the Clerks, Doorkeepers and Hansard reporters. I thank…16 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Nineteeth sitting)I think both Opposition Members who spoke were supportive of the amendments, although they raised legitimate questions about why they were necessary. As the shadow Minister…14 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twentieth sitting)As the shadow Minister has identified, his new clause 31 seeks to require the Government to publish an assessment of the impact on specific sectors of the economy of the Bill’s…14 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twentieth sitting)I am genuinely grateful to the hon. Member for West Suffolk for raising this matter, because I take it extremely seriously. I am pleased to see that he and the shadow Minister do…14 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Nineteeth sitting)The shadow Minister asked whether it is our intention to have the Bill shipshape before we send it to the other place. That is absolutely our intention, and the amendments that…14 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twentieth sitting)The shadow Minister seeks through the new clause and amendment to relitigate a number of the issues we debated last week, and he will not be surprised to hear that I will pick up…14 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Twentieth sitting)Let me start by explaining once again why we believe the fair work agency is so important. As we know, the current landscape for employment rights is, as was actually recognised…14 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Nineteeth sitting)I beg to move amendment 185, in schedule 6, page 141, line 33, leave out from “2025)” to end of line 2 on page 142 and insert “acting in the exercise of functions conferred on…14 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Nineteeth sitting)The shadow Minister and the hon. Member for Bridgwater asked me the “how long is a piece of string?” question—that is, how often the powers will be used. The best thing I can do…14 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Nineteeth sitting)Hopefully, I can put Opposition Members’ minds at rest about the need for the amendment. It is about simplifying the legislative framework. Section 19A(10A) of the 1996 Act is…14 Jan 2025HANSARDEmployment Rights Bill (Nineteeth sitting)I beg to move amendment 193, schedule 7, page 147, line 2, at end insert— “( ) an officer acting for the purposes of Part 2A of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996;” The effect of…14 Jan 2025