Lord Goddard of Stockport (LD)

My Lords, I have to say that this is probably the most difficult summing up from our group of all the amendments throughout Committee and Report, because I can see the merits of both sides of this argument. On the one hand, the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, is quite right. We are naturally suspicious of any new amendments on Report, as they have not had consultation or examination. Having said that, as a group, we have to be consistent, and our approach is that SMEs need the most support. They are the people who are the most insecure and who email me more than anyone else, and so you might think that I would be minded to support these amendments. However, on the other hand, these amendments, in our view, would create the two-tier employment situation which we have consistently opposed throughout the legislation. I have stood here night after night saying that I cannot agree with amendments because we want one set of legislation for the entire SME sector. A two-tier arrangement would throw more upheaval and uncertainty on small SME businesses, leading them to wonder whether or not they qualify and whether they are in or out. On balance, and probably for the first and only time in this Chamber, if this issue is pushed to a vote, our group will, unusually, abstain. That does not mean that I am not supportive of the thought behind the amendments, but we feel very strongly that there could be unintended consequences. The legislation should be clear, concise and uniform. This would cloud it a little, as it is looking for a two-tier arrangement. On balance, we are unable to give this group of amendments our full support tonight.