§ Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Attorney-General what consultations he has had with interested organisations about the points raised by the Joint Committee on Consolidation Bills about clauses 62 and 226 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Bill[Lords]; when these took place; and if he will list the organisations.
The Attorney-GeneralI have had no such consultations.
In its Report to Parliament on the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Bill, the Joint Committee of Consolidation Bills recommended that the attention of interested organisations should be drawn to the provisions of clauses 62 and 226 of the Bill and to the Committee's decision that the more concise wording and revised arrangement of the Bill was justifiable in order to improve the form of the legislation and did accurately reproduce the existing law.
In response to the Committee's recommendation, the secretary of the Law Commission wrote on 14 February 1992 to the CBI, the Engineering Employers Federation, the TUC and the Law Society drawing their attention to the provisions and to the Committee's decision. The TUC on 27 February and the Law Society on 4 March have written to confirm that they are satisfied that the revised wording does not alter the meaning of the legislation. No response has been received from the other two organisations.
In addition, the Law Commission draftsman wrote to leading practitioners in the field who agreed that the proposed text accurately reproduced the existing law.
The Joint Committee, under the chairmanship of Lord Browne-Wilkinson, reported to this House that it was of the opinion that the Bill as amended is pure consolidation and accurately reproduces the existing law.