Work and Families Bill

I shall not do that in the short time available, although I would happily discuss it with the hon. Lady over a drink later. When the Government are imposing new burdens in a heavily regulated area they should adopt the principle of one in, one out. We have reached the point when that principle should be respected. The CBI was asking for that. The hon. Lady looks disbelieving, or disapproving, but that is what I believe. Britain faces huge competitive challenges in the world economy, yet in this Chamber we often behave as though they do not exist. Under the Government, we have already slipped from fourth to 13th place in the world competitive table compiled by the World Economic Forum, and it is no laughing matter. We face huge competitive challenges and we cannot afford to be complacent in the face of them. We cannot afford to behave as though the world owes us a living: it does not. We owe ourselves a living and it is only by our own hard work that we shall actually get things right. My concern is that there will come a moment when some legislation will be introduced to give new rights to employees that is the straw that breaks the camel’s back. I do not know when that point will come. I have cried wolf before about this—I plead guilty—but the moment will come. I am fond of cricket, Mr. Deputy Speaker, like one of your colleagues. It is odd that when one watches a game of cricket one thinks that one side is winning, but in retrospect one realises that the other side has started to win. One cannot quite pin down the moment, but it happens. There will come a moment when Britain’s competitive advantage has eroded so much that we shall start to lose in the world economy. These questions are important and I do not deride the Bill. I respect what it seeks to do. I am a passionate believer in the family, and as has been said I do not believe that we can do everything through the fiscal system. There is a need for rights in this field, but the issues are complex and I am perturbed about the short timetable for the Committee, especially if the draft regulations are not available. Often, I respect the reason for drawing up Bills that leave so much to secondary legislation, but in such an important field it would be much better for the Committee to have access to the regulations. The Bill will be out of Committee before Christmas and that is too short a time. The Bill is literally motherhood and apple pie—perhaps fatherhood and apple pie. Apple pie is a good thing, especially if made with fine Worcestershire apples, but if the meal that comes before it is too large, there may not be room for it. We need to eat a little less of the other courses to make room for something else that is desirable. That is the fundamental point. Bad legislation and bad regulations are always unwelcome, but sometimes good regulations are unwelcome, too. This may be one of those occasions. There is too little time for the Committee to consider such important questions, and the Bill would have been much better if it had been accompanied by a clear statement from the Government of which other regulations they were removing from the shoulders of British business.