Private Equity (Transfer of Undertakings and Protection of Employment) Bill

No, I did not, but I consulted other people. I have not simply sat down with trade union colleagues and devised a Bill. We have had discussions. This is a good moment to pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs, his Department and his officials, who have been willing to listen to me and advise me about the Bill. I pay tribute to them for the chance to have that dialogue. There is a problem and, at last, people are identifying that there is a problem. I know that there are technical difficulties in the Bill. I was trying to say before that my original intention was to give the workers in question no more rights than any others. It was not a case of giving them something special; I just wanted them to have the same as everyone else. The trade unions and others have said to me, ““Why don't you use this opportunity to strengthen TUPE and give people more rights?”” My response has been, ““That is not what the Bill is about.”” I am trying to give existing rights, which are enjoyed by some workers, to other workers. If some workers enjoy rights that certain others do not, there is an anomaly. There is something wrong there, and there has to be a way of putting it right.