Statutory Redundancy Pay (Amendment) Bill
John Bercow supports a Private Members Bill aimed at redressing the declining value of statutory redundancy pay. The amount of a week's pay used in calculating redundancy pay is 'capped', this Bill would link the value of that 'cap' to average earnings.
John Bercow (Buckingham) (Con): I am pleased to support the hon. Gentleman’s private Member’s Bill, as he knows. Although I do not wish to intrude on private Labour party grief, may I put it to him that Ministers should not seek to prevent the Bill from going into Committee because of any concern about costs? Precisely because the hon. Gentleman is simply suggesting that a link should be made, without being overly prescriptive about it, the Government still have the matter in their own hands. To prevent the Bill from making progress, when an important principle is being established, seems to me to be perverse.
Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) (Lab): The hon. Gentleman should Chair the Committee for the Bill.
Mr. Hoyle: I thank my hon. Friend for that suggestion, and hope that the hon. Member for Buckingham (John Bercow) will chair the Committee considering the Bill or at least serve on it.
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John Bercow: The hon. Member for Hendon (Mr. Dismore) has just referred to the modesty of the Bill. If I understand clause 1(2) correctly, that modesty is underlined in triplicate there, because the responsibility will be to put together regulations within 12 months of the Bill becoming an Act, so there is no question of excessive haste. Instead, there is plenty of time for due consideration of what those regulations should contain, and therefore also of their cost. That is perfectly reasonable.
Mr. Hoyle: I thank the hon. Gentleman for that clarification. As ever, he is absolutely spot on and he explains his point most eloquently. I am sure that there are no closed ears on our Labour Front Bench—I am sure that everybody is listening to what the hon. Gentleman has said, and I hope they take that good advice on board.
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John Bercow: I understand, although I do not agree with, my hon. Friend’s argument that statutory redundancy pay should not be increased in line with earnings because we are in economic bad times. As a demonstration of good faith on the issues, can he identify an occasion of economic good times in which he did support such an increase?
Mr. Djanogly: One does not have to support such an increase, because it is in legislation that it happens. My hon. Friend just mentioned good faith. He has also discussed how clause 1(2) provides for the Government, in good faith, to bring in regulations over 12 months, and I must say to him that it is the looseness of the Bill’s wording that causes me great concern. Rather the opposite of what he maintains is the case, he should realise that the looseness of the Bill’s drafting will mean that business does not really know what is going to happen, and that problem causes much concern.