Well, you make some very good points. The UK Government’s own review of the introduction of fees in employment tribunals was published in January, and that does indeed highlight a number of very concerning the areas. First is obviously the very stark and substantial fall that there has been in the volume of claims: an 80 per cent reduction in claims to tribunals since the introduction of fees. The Government’s own evidence is also that some people who are unable to resolve their disputes through conciliation nevertheless did not bring a claim to the employment tribunals because they said they could not afford the fee, despite any financial support that was available. Equally, the assessment under the public sector equality duty that has been made by the UK Government of the impact of fees is that they have had a significant impact on discrimination cases and the discrimination area. The Supreme Court reference itself—and we’re awaiting the judgment in that particular case—just highlights that there are substantial fees ranging from £390 to £1,600 to go to the employment appeal tribunal, and that following that, official statistics show a dramatic reduction in claims brought—around about 80 per cent.

The Welsh Government has made its own representations in the consultations, which basically make the point very clearly that we do not think there should be fees at all, and certainly there should not be any fees that deny access to justice, and certainly in this area there clearly is a significant denial of justice to working people within Wales.