New Clause 4A - Information and consultation: Northern Ireland
Employment Relations Bill
2:35 pm
Mr Gerry Sutcliffe (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Employment Relations, Competition and Consumers), Department of Trade and Industry; Bradford South, Labour)
Mr. Forth, welcome to the Chair this afternoon for our debate, which I hope we will address swiftly, but we shall see.
This group of amendments concerns the implementation of the European directive on information and consultation in Northern Ireland. It was tabled by the Government on 10 February 2003. The European directive on information and consultation was adopted in March 2002 and must be implemented by March 2005. The directive establishes new minimum standards for work force communication and involvement in large firms. The directive will be given effect in the UK through separate Great Britain and Northern Ireland regulations. We in Great Britain propose to take the necessary power through clause 31. As employment is a devolved matter, Northern Ireland should make its own separate regulations to give effect to the directive.
Consultations on the directive's implementation have been undertaken in Northern Ireland, in 2002 and 2003 respectively. The responses have been similar to those received in the equivalent consultations here in Great Britain and have contributed to the overall UK approach to implementing the directive.
The Department for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland proposes to bring forward legislation, which in the main will mirror the Bill. During the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly, it will be in the form of an Order in Council, which will be made by negative resolution on this occasion. However, Northern Ireland requires a separate power to make the regulations on information and consultation, similar to the power provided in clause 31. That is because if devolution is restored before the Order in Council implementing the provisions of the Employment Relations Bill is made, the legislation would revert to an Assembly Bill, making it extremely unlikely that Northern Ireland would have the information and consultation power in time to make regulations by the March 2005 deadline.
Northern Ireland, like Great Britain, must make its regulations in good time. Failure to do so could have serious consequences: the UK as a whole would be considered to be in breach of its obligations and would be open to infraction proceedings by the Commission. To eliminate that risk, the Minister for Employment and Learning in Northern Ireland has requested a separate clause in the Bill to give the power to the Department for Employment and Learning also.
I shall speak briefly to the consequential amendments grouped with the new clause. Amendment No. 55 removes the requirement for corresponding provision for Northern Ireland to extend to information and consultation. Northern Ireland will take power directly from the Employment Relations Bill when it is enacted. Amendment No. 56 ensures that Northern Ireland will have the power to
make regulations on information and consultation on the day the Bill receives Royal Assent, enabling the regulations to be made as soon as possible. Amendment No. 57 extends territorial extent on information and consultation to Northern Ireland. I commend the new clause and the consequential amendments for inclusion in the Bill.