Trade Union Bill

Debate between Lord Monks and Earl of Courtown

Thursday 25th February 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Monks]

I remind the Minister about workplace pensions. They are a very recent auto-enrolment initiative. They do not go back to the 1990s; they go back about two years. They are based on payroll deductions. They are not old-fashioned; they are efficient. They are the way to do things. They are much cheaper than direct debit and much easier for people to handle. That is why, on a consensus basis, auto-enrolment is based on payroll deductions.

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, I do not wish to be discourteous to the Committee in any way, but there have been five or six interruptions so far and the Minister has been on her feet for four minutes. If she is allowed to make just a little bit of progress, perhaps during the course of that progress she will be able to respond to some of the questions being put.

United Kingdom and the European Union

Debate between Lord Monks and Earl of Courtown

Tuesday 8th September 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Monks]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish the changes they are seeking to the United Kingdom’s relationship with the European Union.

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, as the Prime Minister set out in another place on 29 June, the Government are seeking substantive reforms in four areas: sovereignty, economic governance, welfare and immigration, and competitiveness. Following the June European Council, talks have begun on these issues in Brussels. The European Council will return to the issue at its December meeting. The Government are committed to holding a referendum on EU membership before the end of 2017.

[Lord Monks (Lab)]

I thank the noble Earl for that reply, but is it not the case that in many areas the Government’s intentions are as clear as mud? Take, for example, employment law and social Europe: there are rumours about the Government seeking an opt-out from social Europe, and about ditching the working time directive and the agency worker directive. By the way, the working time directive gives four weeks’ paid holiday entitlement a year to workers. Is it not right that the British people should be given full details of what the Government are trying to achieve? At the moment we simply do not know what is true and what is innuendo. When can we learn that?

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, the first phase of the work requires just these technical discussions. This is the start of the process. These discussions should be led by substance, not schedule. I quite understand the points made by the noble Lord, with all his experience of the trade union movement, but we are not going to show our hand and give our position away to other members.