HOUSE OF LORDS STAFF

HC Deb 28 July 1998 vol 317 cc276-7

Lords amendment: No. 24, in page 25, line 17, leave out ("contract of employment") and insert ("worker's contract")

Mr. Ian McCartney

I beg to move, That this House does agree with the Lords in the said amendment.

Amendment No. 24 relates to clause 38, which applies the Bill to staff of the House. Before the amendment, clause 38 applied only to such staff who are employees—staff with a contract of employment with the Corporate Officer of the House.

I should say at the outset that the amendment has the same effect as a similar amendment tabled by the Opposition in another place, but then withdrawn. Both amendments reflect concern raised by some Opposition Members during consideration of the clause in Committee. I have no hesitation in acknowledging that fact—it is nice to welcome, and act on, constructive comments when we receive them.

The clause was originally drafted to reflect the current reality, confirmed by the House authorities, that all staff in the other place have employment contracts. However, partly in the light of the views expressed in another place, the Government have reflected further on the clause. In particular, it was considered preferable to treat staff of both Houses equally. It was also considered wiser to ensure that the law not only reflects the current reality, but is capable of being applied to any reasonably likely future arrangements.

I ask the House to support the amendment. I hope that Conservative Members will agree that this is a classic case of great minds thinking alike.

Mr. Boswell

I am always a consensus person, so we are happy to agree with the Minister. We are glad that the point was spotted and we believe that the outcome is good.

I have only one concern, which I am sure has arisen simply because of a slip of the tongue by the Minister. As I understand the matter, the amendment relates solely to clause 38, which concerns the staff in another place. Clause 39 applies the same provisions to staff in the House of Commons. We do not like the Bill, but it is clearly important that the provisions should apply fairly.

Lords amendment agreed to.

Lords amendment No. 25 and Government amendment (a) thereto agreed to.

Lords amendments Nos. 26 to 28 agreed to.