European Union (Accessions) Bill

All those working under the worker registration scheme have full employment protection and full access to the national minimum wage. There is no difference between a British worker and another EU national in that respect. As these workers are filling gaps in the labour market, I am not sure that I agree with the hon. Gentleman’s analysis. He probably speaks to the CBI often, and I expect he is aware that it strongly supports these measures. I suspect that it will continue to do so. I believe that amendment No. 9 is premature. It asks us to include a requirement for a report on the effect of the free movement of workers from the acceding states. Actually, it assumes that we have taken the decision to allow that. However, as I have explained, that decision has not yet been taken, so building such a commitment into the Bill is premature. I hope to offer the hon. Gentleman some assurances that we can meet the effect of the amendment, so that it will not be necessary for him to press it. For example, as I have already mentioned, we undertake to carry out research into the potential effects of opening access to the UK labour market before a decision is taken to do so, and we would of course share that information with the House. We will continue to monitor the position and, should the decision be taken to open access to our labour markets, he will know that regulations would create the basis for any transitional arrangements. He will also know that those regulations would be subject to the affirmative procedure, so there would be an opportunity to give them full parliamentary scrutiny. That also meets the point raised by the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham: parliamentary scrutiny is guaranteed under clause 2. I can also give a commitment to laying as much research as possible before the House in order to have a fully informed debate on the effect of the regulations. The amendment, which would place a rigid requirement directly in the Bill, is therefore unnecessary.