Trade Union Bill — House of Lords, 2016-02-25
Topic: Government Operations
Lucy Neville-Rolfe (Conservative, Centre-right): I think so. It is important that we have an up-to-date regulator. The £2 million that I mentioned is the upper end of the range in the impact assessment. Obviously, we do not know the figure for certain, and as we have said, we are going to continue to consult the Certification Office. Under a later amendment, we will come on to discuss the levy that will meet the cost Amendment 117A seeks to establish a separate independent adjudication panel whose decision will be required before the Certification Officer is able to exercise his powers under Clauses 15, 16 and 17 of this Bill. As I have already explained, it is common for regulators to make proactive investigations or to have the power to initiate investigations and then decide to take enforcement action where a breach of rules or statutory requirements is found—the point that was made about judge and jury. There are various regulatory models in the UK: many regulators—for example, the Information Commissioner, the Charities Commission and the Groceries Code Adjudicator—have internal processes for ensuring fair decision-making. They do not, however, have their decisions made by an entirely separate body that oversees their work In view of the Certification Officer’s independence—I emphasise to the noble Baroness, Lady Donaghy, that this will be an independent regulator, not a political appointment—it is only right and proper that procedures for investigations and decisions will be up to the Certification Officer. The Certification Officer has in fact recently referred to his early thinking on how best to manage his functions in the light of the requirements in the Bill. A range of different models is used by regulators, and we will have further discussions about the implementation processes with his office. The union will also of course have the opportunity to make representations to the Certification Officer before any decision is made. There will continue to be a right of appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal The noble Lords, Lord Mendelsohn and Lord Ouseley, asked whether the reforms were in breach of international obligations under the ECHR or ILO. It is important to be clear what the powers will be. The Certification Officer will be able to investigate and to determine whether there has been a breach, and then take enforcement. The decisions are then appealable, as I have said, to an independent tribunal. This is standard for regulators, and it has been established that this framework is compatible with Article 6 of the ECHR I am very grateful for the work of the noble Baroness, Lady O’Neill, on human rights, both in this House and more generally in the country. She asked whether Article 11, the freedom of association provision, might be breached. The Government do not think that effective and proportionate regulation infringes Article 11 rights, and our reforms do not interfere with the right to join trade unions. Having said that, I have listened carefully to the points about the oversight of the Certification Officer’s decisions, and I would like to reflect on them in the light of discussion The noble Lord, Lord Mendelsohn, asked about access to sensitive data. He was concerned that the Certification Officer would have quite a bit of sensitive data—a concern close to my heart. As I have said, the CO is independent from Ministers; the Government will not be able to see any sensitive data that he or she may hold. When handling data, the CO and his or her inspectors will need to comply with the provisions of the Data Protection Act. Any inspector whom the Certification Officer appoints will have a duty of confidentiality. The CO is also under a statutory duty to act consistently with rights conferred by the ECHR, as I have already said. Those are important provisions I come finally to the question that a number of noble Lords, including the noble Lord, Lord Oates, have raised about the risk of vexatious complaints using the new power. We are extending the potential to make complaints for members only to third parties. Concerns have also been raised that the Certification Officer might feel duty bound to examine all complaints, which could be very costly. I do not see it like that. Let me first reassure noble Lords that the obligations on concerns from third parties are different from those relating to union members. So while currently the Certification Officer must make inquiries following a complaint from a trade union member, he or she will be under no such obligation with concerns from third parties. He or she will be able to exercise judgment based on the evidence presented as to whether there are sufficient grounds for further investigation. The Certification Officer will remain independent, with responsibility for delivering against the statutory objectives. As I said, his or her enforcement decisions will remain subject to appeal.