I am sure the people of Wales are delighted. Among the three main parties, whether or not SNP Members are present, there is representation of Scotland, England and Wales, and it is important that they were represented in the Committee, but my point was about Northern Ireland.
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I look forward to contributing on the second tranche of amendments, which I hope we will have the chance to discuss with the Northern Ireland Minister in advance. For now, however, I shall turn to amendments 18 to 20. I have discussed this matter with the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East (Stuart C. McDonald) many times before, and although I do
not agree with his final conclusion—he cannot support the overall thrust of the Bill—I found many of his arguments about the amendments persuasive and powerful, and I hope they were listened to by Members in the Chamber and outwith. I believe that some of the amendments are worthy of support, but we see considerable benefit in the overall thrust of the Bill, which therefore has our support.
On amendment 18, I think there is a persuasive argument for putting in legislation guidance to the Director of Labour Market Enforcement. I know we are not considering a gargantuan directorate or the creation of a large body, but it will have a large body of work to deal with. The issue of immigration in the UK is so big that I think it would be a mistake for Parliament not to insert in the Bill a provision outlining some guidance and the core functions we expect the directorate to perform. The amendment is therefore well made.
The hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras rightly referred to the anti-slavery commissioner and the Modern Slavery Act 2015 as an example of where such direction has been given in legislation. Another example is the Children and Families Act 2014 and the children’s commissioner. There are many examples of where the House has deemed it appropriate to impart to an individual what functions we expect them to perform, to direct them in that work and to wish them well in their endeavours, once they have received the House’s approval. We therefore support amendment 18.
We cannot, however, readily lend our support to amendment 19, which would remove the illegal working offence. I recognise the thrust of the amendment, but it is important that the Government take the necessary powers and tools to ensure that those working in the country do so legally and properly and recognise that there are penalties and consequences for not adhering to the law of the land.
That naturally brings us to amendment 20, for which I think there is an incredibly strong argument. It is hugely important that we insert a defence for somebody who finds themselves, through no fault of their own, coerced, exploited and enslaved to provide labour. I said on Second Reading that we should insert such a defence. When we talk of slavery, many in the Chamber will hark back to the good old days of William Wilberforce. As a country, we have a considerable heritage and a proud tradition of standing against slavery, but when Wilberforce got involved in anti-slavery movements in 1787, he was preceded by a Belfast man called Thomas McCabe, who in 1786, in response to the creation of a company with slave ships in Belfast, disrupted the meeting at which the agreements were to be signed and declared: “May God wither the hand of any man who signs this declaration to create this company.” He started an anti-slavery revolution in Belfast that spread to the rest of the UK and started a tradition we proudly remember today.