To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether political donations from trade unions will be subject to the profit test.

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether political donations from trade unions will be subject to the profit test.

My Lords, I will make two points. The first relates to Motion B and the removal of the arbitrary statutory limit on compensation. My noble friend the Minister mentioned the tribunal statistics for 2023-24, published by the Government, and the fact that the median award for unfair dismissal was £6,746....

My Lords, I will make two points. The first relates to Motion B and the removal of the arbitrary statutory limit on compensation. My noble friend the Minister mentioned the tribunal statistics for 2023-24, published by the Government, and the fact that the median award for unfair dismissal was £6,746....

Oh!

Oh!

Thanks for bearing with me. In December 1909, all this changed. The Judicial Committee of this House held, in the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants v Osborne, that the statutory definition was exhaustive and it was therefore unlawful for a union to spend money on any object other than the...

Thanks for bearing with me. In December 1909, all this changed. The Judicial Committee of this House held, in the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants v Osborne, that the statutory definition was exhaustive and it was therefore unlawful for a union to spend money on any object other than the...

Oh!

Oh!

I am coming to the end.

I am coming to the end.

I am coming to the conclusion. The Trade Union Act 1913 changed the definition of a trade union to allow it legitimately to spend funds on other objects beyond industrial relations and, if approved

by a ballot of the members, a union could have a political fund to be used...

I am coming to the conclusion. The Trade Union Act 1913 changed the definition of a trade union to allow it legitimately to spend funds on other objects beyond industrial relations and, if approved

by a ballot of the members, a union could have a political fund to be used...

My Lords, I am going to speak, in mercifully brief terms, about SMEs, but I will spare noble Lords the history of SMEs in the UK from 1910 to 2026.

My point, in relation to Motions B and B1, is that lifting the cap on unfair dismissal without warning and at...

My Lords, I am going to speak, in mercifully brief terms, about SMEs, but I will spare noble Lords the history of SMEs in the UK from 1910 to 2026.

My point, in relation to Motions B and B1, is that lifting the cap on unfair dismissal without warning and at...

My Lords, there is one short point that the House should bear in mind in relation to Motion B1. There is already no cap on the award of compensation in employment tribunals for race discrimination, sex discrimination and disability discrimination cases. The House may therefore think that the concerns that...

My Lords, there is one short point that the House should bear in mind in relation to Motion B1. There is already no cap on the award of compensation in employment tribunals for race discrimination, sex discrimination and disability discrimination cases. The House may therefore think that the concerns that...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions today. This continues the robust discussion that we have had throughout the passage of the Bill.

I come first to some of the constitutional points, or those that go to the way that we do business. As I outlined in my...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions today. This continues the robust discussion that we have had throughout the passage of the Bill.

I come first to some of the constitutional points, or those that go to the way that we do business. As I outlined in my...

My Lords, I move that the Question be now put.

My Lords, I move that the Question be now put.

I emphasise again that the Government’s convening of recent discussions and our willingness to compromise on the issue of unfair dismissal should signal to parliamentarians and stakeholders that we want to get this right. I emphasise that the Government’s work on this agenda is far from over. There will be...

I emphasise again that the Government’s convening of recent discussions and our willingness to compromise on the issue of unfair dismissal should signal to parliamentarians and stakeholders that we want to get this right. I emphasise that the Government’s work on this agenda is far from over. There will be...

My Lords, there was a moment when I was engulfed in shame that I had misunderstood the difference between median and average. Fortunately, the noble Lord, Lord Hendy, distracted your Lordships quite quickly, so I have recovered.

Nobody in this House is pretending that this is perfect. We are at a...

My Lords, there was a moment when I was engulfed in shame that I had misunderstood the difference between median and average. Fortunately, the noble Lord, Lord Hendy, distracted your Lordships quite quickly, so I have recovered.

Nobody in this House is pretending that this is perfect. We are at a...

Moved by

Baroness Lloyd of Effra

Moved by

Baroness Lloyd of Effra

My Lords, I have already spoken to Motion B. I beg to move.

Motion B1 (as an amendment to Motion B)

My Lords, I have already spoken to Motion B. I beg to move.

Motion B1 (as an amendment to Motion B)

Moved by

Lord Sharpe of Epsom

Moved by

Lord Sharpe of Epsom

My Lords, in view of the manifest constitutional impropriety on display, I do not think we have a choice. I beg to move Motion B1.

My Lords, in view of the manifest constitutional impropriety on display, I do not think we have a choice. I beg to move Motion B1.

Moved by

Baroness Lloyd of Effra

Moved by

Baroness Lloyd of Effra

Moved by

Baroness Lloyd of Effra

Moved by

Baroness Lloyd of Effra