I beg to move amendment No. 148, in clause 37, page 16, line 40, at end add—

‘(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), “wilfully” shall be subject to the same requirement of reasonableness as is generally applied in employment law.’.

The amendment was tabled in an attempt to get the Minister to comment on the use of the word “wilfully” in clause 37. We have heard about the need for the proportionate use of the big stick. We all know that small, medium-sized and large businesses often come under intense competitive pressures, and that employers might have genuinely neglected their duties regarding pension contributions purely because of the demands of the business, rather than because they have wilfully determined not to pay the contributions that they should by law. I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify how the word “wilfully” will be interpreted and give the reassurance, which I know that many in the business community seek, that there will be a graduated response to non-compliance, that the response will be tough only when it needs to be, and that minor inadvertent errors or omissions by employers will be dealt with in a light-touch way.