Clause 22 - Limitations of emergency regulations
Civil Contingencies Bill
11:15 am
Mr Douglas Alexander (Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Cabinet Office; Paisley South, Labour)
The Government cannot support the amendment and we will resist its inclusion. I was initially heartened to hear the hon. Gentleman's enthusiasm for modernising Conservative attitudes towards industrial relations; it seemed almost to be keeping pace with his enthusiasm for modernising the British constitution, which we heard about this morning. Alas, as his argument developed, my hopes were dashed.
Let me set out the basis of our argument and, I hope, provide the assurance that the hon. Gentleman seeks. Emergency powers are not designed to restrict industrial action, and the Government consider there to be merit in making that clear in the Bill; I hope that there can be agreement across the Committee on that. That, of course, reflects the position first set out in the Emergency Powers Act 1920. The Government are confident that that will not inappropriately impede the response to an emergency.
As I shall explain, existing criminal and employment relations laws already contain appropriate provisions to ensure that industrial action does not endanger human life. In particular, I refer the Committee to the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, which states:
''A person commits an offence who wilfully and maliciously breaks a contract of service . . . knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the probable consequences of his so doing . . . will be . . . to endanger human life or cause serious bodily injury, or . . . to expose valuable property . . . to destruction or serious injury.''
In addition, there are limits on the ability of the armed forces and the police to strike. The Government consider that the provisions hold good in emergency and non-emergency situations, and that there is therefore no need for emergency powers to be used in that case.