§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement about the current responsibility of the Central Arbitration Committee and his plans for extending it. [68628]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyThe Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) currently hears complaints under section 181 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 that an employer has failed to disclose information to a recognised trade union for the purposes of collective bargaining. Under section 212 of that Act, it may also arbitrate in trade disputes referred to it by ACAS, though it has not done so for several years.
The Employment Relations Bill introduced on 27 January contains the Government's proposals both to extend the role of the CAC to deal with applications for trade union recognition and to revise the statutory administrative provisions governing the CAC.