§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on the Green Paper, "Resolving Employment Rights Disputes: Options for Reform." [21080]
Mr. John M. TaylorThe Government intend to publish, for consultation, a draft Bill on industrial tribunals. The draft Bill will contain important reforms to streamline the industrial tribunals system. It will also aim to increase the proportion of employment rights disputes 671W resolved by employees and employers themselves, or through conciliation by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service or by other third party means. These proposals were widely welcomed in our consultation on the Green Paper, "Resolving Employment Rights Disputes: Options for Reform".
We intend to publish and consult on the Bill in the summer. Consultation on an advance draft of the Bill will help give tribunal users a better opportunity to comment on legislation of direct interest to them; identify any remaining areas of contention so that they can be considered before the Bill is introduced and so aid implementation of changes to the tribunal system. This will help us to produce better legislation and ensure that the changes we are proposing to make are of benefit and are workable.