Employment Rights Bill

Lord Watson of Wyre Forest Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 24th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Wirral (Con)]

My noble friend is quite right. I was going to make a rejoinder by demonstrating that, with Margaret Thatcher assessing, when you proposed a piece of legislation, you had to make sure that you had done your homework and carried out every possible impact assessment, as you would be closely cross-examined on each and every piece of legislation. I worry that this Bill has been rushed through in the first 100 days and no one has carried out the sort of test that Margaret Thatcher would have imposed. Therefore, I am so grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Monks, for reminding us of that criterion, which we ought to bear in mind.

[Lord Watson of Wyre Forest (Lab)]

The noble Lord has lured me into asking a question about impact assessments and the historic impact of the Thatcher Government. Which impact assessment said that there was a legislative decision made incorrectly during that period?

[Lord Hunt of Wirral (Con)]

We were subject to parliamentary scrutiny each and every day of the 18 years that we were in power. It was good that this accountability to Parliament was treasured by those in Parliament. However, I worry, certainly so far as secondary legislation. The noble Lord served with me on the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee and joined with me in saying, “Please let us make sure that every piece of legislation that we pass has a proper impact assessment”. Perhaps we learn from history that it is vitally important to have that impact assessment always ready there to prove, as my noble friend Lord Deben put it, whether we have got it right or wrong.

I worry that this Government have not done their homework. The fact that they resist these amendments suggests that the cut in regulatory burdens is not going to be pursued with any real determination. That 25% target is destined to remain a headline-grabbing announcement that quietly disappears when submerged under the reality of real-life policy choices. I hope that the Government reconsider, because these issues will come up over the next few years of this Government. For now, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.