Employment Bill [HL]

I assure the noble Lord, Lord Campbell of Alloway, that I will make those inquiries. I will ask for information to get a fair picture and a fair balance. I recognise that Clause 17 has raised concerns. Of course it has. I guess it has raised concerns in people who do not know the whole picture; it certainly has raised concerns on all sides of the Committee. I will address those concerns in more detail during the stand part debate that follows. I accept, however, that the noble Lord has raised some important points about the convention and the case for some form of extra statutory safeguard. The Government will reflect on those arguments and those of other noble Lords. I make it clear that we understand the spirit behind the amendment. While we now invite the noble Lord to withdraw his amendment, we do not diminish it in any way and we hope that further consideration can take place. We would listen to more counter-arguments. Hopefully, we can achieve a satisfactory resolution before Report.