Sir Julian Lewis: Given that the Minister no doubt sincerely believes that the offer on the table is a good one, why does he think the unions are not accepting it?

[The Minister for Local Government and English Devolution (Jim McMahon): It is clear from the negotiations that there are a number of moving parts. I should declare that we are not replicating those negotiations in this Chamber; they should be between the employer, the employees and the trade unions, and we should not try to circumvent that here. Our belief is that the agreement strikes the right balance between giving support to the workers affected – those in the WRCO [Waste Recycling and Collection Officer] roles – and not undermining the equal pay work that has been done. For far too long, we have seen women being underpaid for the work that they do.]