Employment Bill [Lords]

My hon. Friend is over-interpreting what I am saying; I am saying that we have received representations about this matter, but I am not indicating what he suggested. He says that the employer should assist the trade unions because the obligations on them are too onerous and small slips by a union can result in legal action against it, the granting of injunctions and so on. The new duty on the employer that he proposes would relieve what he sees as an excessive burden on the union. Again, I hope that he would acknowledge that we took steps in the 1999 and 2004 Acts to clarify industrial action law. About a dozen measures were taken to unravel some of the complexity in that area. For example, new section 232B of the 1992 Act permits the court to disregard small accidental failures by the trade union to comply with key aspects of the law on industrial action ballots—so some flexibility has been provided.