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

I wish. The Government think that pre-legislative scrutiny is a good idea. I was not so sure to begin with, but I now think that it has merit, and that applies to private Members' Bills, too. It is important that we consult all the organisations that would be affected by any Bill proposed in the House. We should know the view of the Institute of Directors, the CBI, the Federation of Small Businesses and the trade unions. Of course, we should get in the trade unions and find out what they have to say about such legislation, too. The right hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill spoke with passion about some of the abuses that have taken place in firms that he is familiar with. Those abuses should be driven out of the system. We must protect the rights of workers who feel that they are powerless against people who exploit them for no merit other than simple profit and who have no interest in employees who help to the company's profits. I believe 100 per cent. in all that and endorse it. We must be enlightened. Companies that recognise the value of the people who work for them—the people who create the wealth from which employers derive their profits—are the very ones that invest in their workers, recognise the people who help them and consult them as a matter of course, not because they must do so under legislation but because it is the right thing to do. Therefore, I very much believe that, where abuses exist, they should be exposed, and if it takes legislation to get rid of them, that is exactly what should happen.