With respect, I observe for the record that the hon. Gentleman has not been present for most of the debate on the Bill today, yesterday or at any time. If he had been here earlier, he would have heard me make much the same observation as he has just made—that there is a balance to be struck. We disagree with changing the current regime in relation to the compensatory award. I would not say that any system is perfect. For example, in relation to the unfair dismissal regime and the way that it interacts with the tribunals, yes, we have entertained the Government’s Underhill review because we understand that there are some issues. I am not sure that any system would be perfect, but we disagree with what is proposed in the Bill and the way in which it will change the balance. There is obviously a disagreement on that.
With regard to part 5, which relates to the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and the new clauses relating to the Equality Act 2010, the Secretary of State on Second Reading referred to the measures relating to the commission as “legislative tidying-up.” They are nothing of the sort, as I think he knows. He likes to pose as the opposition within on so many matters but waves through the more extreme impulses of his coalition partners.
To compound matters, last week the Government tabled an amendment to the Bill providing for the repeal of the provisions in the 2010 Act relating to liability for third-party harassment of employees, which was one of Adrian Beecroft’s proposals. It was a classic example of the Secretary of State trying to face both ways at once. When questioned on Second Reading about the Government’s intentions by my hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green), he assured the House that he had no intention of implementing that Beecroft proposal. Then, out of the blue and at the last minute, he presents us with a new clause seeking to do just that.
Samantha Mangwana, a senior employment lawyer at the respected law firm Russell, Jones and Walker Solicitors, asked in today’s Financial Times what signal that sends out. She said
“this is not some meaningless bureaucratic red tape, but the very protections that are in place to protect staff from predatory sexual advances by third parties.”
In conclusion, the unemployment figures released today are very welcome, but more than 2.5 million people are still out of work. In my constituency more than 11 people are chasing every Jobcentre Plus vacancy. Long-term unemployment has risen and the number of young people out of work and claiming benefits for more than a year has gone up yet again, and we are still in a double-dip recession, one of only two G20 countries in that position. That situation will not be resolved by taking away people’s fundamental rights; it will be resolved by getting demand back into the economy. That is what creates jobs, and that should have been the sole focus of an enterprise Bill. It is a shame that that is not the case with this Bill. Instead, we have seen today not the focus on kick-starting the recovery and laying a platform for long-term and sustainable growth, but the final nail in the coffin of any claim the Government could make to marrying competence with compassion. That is why we will vote against the Bill tonight.