Work and Families Bill

Does my hon. Friend agree that there seems to be a dichotomy in the Government’s position? They are unwilling to accept new clause 1, but on Second Reading, at column 645 of Hansard on 5 December 2005, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry said that the Government estimated that the new provisions would affect only a small number of small businesses. One thus wonders why they are not willing to accept the reasonable measure that we are considering.