asked the Secretary of State for Employment what discussions he has had with the trade union movement about safeguarding the rights of individuals where closed shops have been established.

My right hon. Friend and I had extensive discussions with the TUC, both during the preparation and passage of the Trade Union and Labour Relations Act and subsequently on its Amendment Bill, about the question of statutory and other safeguards for individuals in a closed shop situation and about trade union practice in this matter. In particular, we discussed the question of machinery for safeguarding an individual who is expelled or excluded from a union in a closed shop. A number of individual unions have made their views about these questions known to us, in meetings and correspondence. There have also been discussions with representatives of other non-TUC trade union organisations.