The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business and Trade and Department for Science, Information and Technology (Baroness Jones of Whitchurch) (Lab)

My Lords, I thank all those who have contributed to this debate, and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, for giving me the opportunity to speak to these clauses and, I hope, to reassure her. Let me point out why they are important provisions that must stand part of the Bill. The theme these clauses all share is that they remove some of the unnecessary bureaucratic burdens placed on trade unions as a result of the Trade Union Act 2016. This includes removing powers placed on the certification officer which have never been used since their introduction. Your Lordships’ House will be aware that the Government’s manifesto committed to repealing the 2016 Act, and these clauses deliver on that. They will enable trade unions to focus more of their time and efforts on delivering in the interests of their members. Clause 76 seeks to reverse the effect of Section 7 of the Trade Union Act 2016. It will remove the additional reporting requirements imposed on trade unions for their annual returns to the certification officer concerning details of industrial action taken during the reporting period. I can assure noble Lords that trade unions will still be required to submit an annual return to the certification officer, but the amount of information they will have to include will be reduced. In addition, unions will continue to be required to provide information in those annual returns relating to their governance and finances, including the management of their political funds, as they have done for many years. Clause 78 will remove the power of the certification officer to enforce certain requirements relating to trade unions’ annual returns. However, the certification officer will still hold enforcement powers for the other remaining annual return requirements—that is, those not removed by Clauses 76 and 77, for example in relation to a union’s financial affairs and governance. Clause 79 will repeal the certification officer’s enhanced investigatory powers, which include an ability to compel trade unions to produce documents, the power for inspectors to launch investigations, and the related power of enforcement. The reason why Clause 79 is introduced is that the enhanced powers created by the 2016 Act are simply not necessary. No evidence of regulatory failure existed at the time of the 2016 Act, and the statutory obligations that existed prior to that Act regarding trade union finances, governance and reporting requirements were found to be sufficient. In addition, the Certification Officer has never used the additional powers since their introduction. Removing the Certification Officer’s enhanced investigatory powers is part of the Government’s commitment to reset industrial relations and ensure that employers, unions and the Government work together in co-operation and through negotiation. In the examples that the noble Baroness gave, the Certification Officer—as I think she admitted—acted with complete propriety and authority. I assure her that unions continue to be hugely respectful of the power and authority of the Certification Officer. I also assure her that the Certification Officer’s role is partly to ensure that the rights of workers are properly protected. I really do not recognise the noble Baroness’s analogy with Animal Farm. Our repeal does not affect the ability of a trade union member to complain to the Certification Officer about an election and have that investigated. Similarly, Clause 80 will remove certain powers of the Certification Officer to investigate trade unions proactively without first having received a complaint from a member of that trade union. Trade unions are voluntary organisations run by and for their members. We are returning the Certification Officer’s role to one where the Certification Officer adjudicates where the Certificate Officer receives members’ complaints in relation to a union. I assure the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, that members will not be shy about complaining if they feel that an injustice has been done within the conduct of their union. However, the Certification Officer will retain the power to investigate a union’s financial affairs. The Certification Officer’s powers have been in place for many years and were brought in prior to the Trade Union Act 2016. Clause 81 will reverse Section 19 of the Trade Union Act 2016 to remove the Certification Officer’s ability to impose financial penalties on trade unions. I can tell noble Lords that the Certification Officer has not imposed a single financial penalty to date. However, the Certification Officer will retain the power to issue enforcement orders following the changes made by Clause 81, and if those orders are not complied with the the union could be found in contempt of court. Clause 82 will remove the Secretary of State’s power to make regulations that require the Certification Officer to impose a levy on employers’ associations and trade unions. It was resisted by employers’ associations and unions when it was introduced. The levy impedes on the rights of voluntary association and has attracted criticism from the International Labour Organization. The ILO was concerned that the levy could negatively impact on the rights of workers to organise and bargain collectively and reduce the financial capacity of trade unions to carry out such collective bargaining on behalf of their members. The Government believe that we should interfere as little as possible in the activities of social partners, which are, as I say, voluntary associations. Clause 83 will reverse changes made by Section 21 of the Trade Union Act 2016 so that the right of appeal against decisions of the Certification Officer to the Employment Appeal Tribunal is only on a question of law, as opposed to being on questions of fact as well as law. That returns the appeal process to the position before the Trade Union Act 2016, where appeals against the Certification Officer’s decisions were on points of law only. It also aligns with many other enforcement bodies on employment law. For example, appeals against the decisions of employment tribunals are considered only on points of law, not points of fact. I hope that that explanation has been helpful and therefore that Clauses 76, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82 and 83 stand part of the Bill.