Employment Bill [HL]

I support the amendment. My noble friends and I have something of a track record on whistleblowing. Many will remember the appalling casualties in the Piper Alpha disaster some years ago. My noble friend Lord Wedderburn drafted a Bill, which I introduced as a Private Member’s Bill; we got the Government to support it and the Bill became law, protecting whistleblowers who blew the whistle on unsafe practices in very dangerous circumstances. The Bill became part of a much wider health and safety Bill but the cover for whistleblowers still exists. My noble friend Lord Borrie has taken the matter further, beyond simply health and safety. However, in view of our interests in health and safety, I am particularly concerned that there appears to be no provision now for any information to be available. The object of the amendment, rightly, is to ensure that information becomes available, because unless it is available how will people know what happens as a result of whistleblowing, particularly in a health and safety situation? That is very important. I express my appreciation to my noble friend for introducing it. I support the amendment.