Employment Rights Bill

Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee Excerpts

2nd reading
Thursday 27th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Berger, on her excellent maiden speech, and I wish her well. I very much look forward to the remaining maiden speeches to come.

Ever since this Government were elected in July last year, we have been told that growth is their key marker for success. The Bill that we are debating today seems completely counterintuitive to that stated desire. Employees, of course, need to have rights in the workplace, and these have developed in a sensible and proportionate manner over the years, whether that be in connection with pay or conditions of employment. However, this Bill completely unsettles the balance required for competitiveness, growth and productivity on the one side and the rights of employees on the other. That can lead only to discontent and a lack of investment, and, inevitably, to a fall in growth and productivity, not an increase.

This Bill comes after hits have already been made to businesses across the country. The recent increase in the minimum wage is, on the face of it, a good thing. However, when taken with an increase in national insurance contributions at the same time, it is not hard to understand why many small firms are struggling.

Take one sector—the retail sector. Retail NI conducted a survey, published in February of this year, which established that 86% of those surveyed expect to cancel expansion plans following the increase in employer NI contributions and the rise in the minimum wage. It found that 74% of those surveyed were planning to reduce the number of employees and other staff following those announcements. These are significant figures that cannot be ignored or brushed aside.

The Government are certainly listening to the voices of trade unions, but are they balancing that in a responsible way by listening to the voice of job creators, both big and small? Speaking of the unions, small business owners are very concerned about how the Bill allows access by unions to workplaces, almost regardless of their size. As one small business in England said to me: “Typically, small businesses are run in the spirit of good teamwork, care for staff, with a drive and vision for the business to succeed. In a difficult trading environment small businesses could easily be overwhelmed by the legislative burden imposed by this Bill including the need to proactively engage with unions to comply with the law”. I hope that His Majesty’s Government will clarify that they are not intending to burden businesses with fewer than 250 staff with these proposals.

In the time left, I want to concentrate on one aspect of the Bill which I think is highly detrimental to growth and will need to be revisited by the Government: namely, the ability to gain full employment rights on day one of employment. That is definitely going to slow down business expansion and growing the workforce. I argue that it will impact on investment in research and development and innovation, as there is little incentive to innovate when the costs of growing the workforce are prohibitive. In a survey carried out nationally by the FSB on this, the largest issue was the worry of unfairly dismissed employees from day one: 75% of small business employers listed it as the number one concern, followed quickly by the removal of the current three-day waiting period, so that statutory sick pay will be payable at 74% from the first day of absence.

I quickly say that, in Northern Ireland, we have the added problem of a poor economic inactivity rate, currently at 26.6% of the workforce. If we cut the opportunities for more jobs, how can we deal with that issue, never mind the issue of the unemployed? The Government alone do not grow the economy, but they should facilitate the private sector to grow. To be competitive at home and internationally, we must give businesses the tools and the environment to grow, and I do not see that presently in this Bill. I look forward to the detailed examination of the Bill, where I hope we can deal with some of the issues raised.

US Tariffs on EU Goods

Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee Excerpts

Tuesday 18th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

The duty reimbursement scheme is an established scheme that businesses have been using to make successful claims since 30 June 2023. As I have said, comprehensive guidance is available on GOV.UK and businesses can contact HMRC if they need more information to support their claims.

[Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I refer to my interest as chair of InterTrade UK. Paragraph 47 of Safeguarding the Union says that the United Kingdom is not just a political union but an economic union. Given that, and bearing in mind what other noble Lords have said, how can we deal with the economic problems of tariffs coming from either the European Union or the United States of America? How do we make it simpler? The Minister said that it is an established scheme, but it has been in place for less than two years and has not had to be activated until these tariffs have come to fruition. We need to find a way to make it easier for companies and to deal with it proactively.

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

This is all predicated on the Windsor Framework, which removes unnecessary checks, paperwork and duties and fixes a lot of the problems for parcels and medicines applying across the whole of the UK. It also enables important democratic scrutiny through the Stormont brake. There are those protections in place, and we are continuing to look at the operation of the Windsor Framework as we go forward.

Social Media: Catfishing

Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee Excerpts

Wednesday 30th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

My Lords, I express my deepest sympathy to the family of the victims of this appalling case. In addition to the existing criminal laws, social media companies already have a duty to keep people safe from these abhorrent crimes on their platforms. The Government obviously share the noble Baroness’s commitment to keeping children safe. When the Online Safety Act is fully implemented, it will require user-to-user services to take steps to protect children from accessing that sort of harmful content. Ofcom will have robust enforcement powers to use against companies that fail to fulfil their duties, and responsibilities to introduce age-appropriate measures via the platforms. At the moment, our priority has to be to implement that Act so that those who use social media, particularly children, can feel safe. But, as I have said before at the Dispatch Box, we are keeping this under review in case any further legislation is required.

[Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I am sure the Minister is aware of the work of Jim Gamble, the founding CEO of CEOP. He has proposed an innovative five-point plan to deal with cases such as that mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie. Will the Minister consider meeting Mr Gamble to discuss his innovative five-point plan? Can she also tell the House about the investment made in classrooms to engender digital proficiency among our young people?

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

I am of course happy to meet the gentleman the noble Baroness mentioned. We are open to all suggestions about how we can improve this legislation. None of this is 100% secure—we absolutely know that—and we know that, as technology is moving forward, we need to move forward too. It seems that the criminals are always one step ahead of us, so we need to catch up and make sure that we take all the appropriate action we can with the new technology that is being used. The noble Baroness also made an important point about education. Ofcom already has an important media literacy strategy that it is rolling out, and that includes education in schools and with young people. But we all have a responsibility—every parent has a responsibility to say to their child, “What you see on your social media platform may not be what you think you’re seeing”. We need to make sure that they are made aware of those dangers.

Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Bill

Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 24th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (Non-Afl)]

It is a great privilege and pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Patel, who has great experience and expertise in the area of neonatal care.

We have heard from Scotland, so I thought we should hear from Northern Ireland on the Bill. I am pleased to be in the House today to support its Second Reading. I recognise that, from a territorial point of view, the Bill does not apply to Northern Ireland, as such matters are devolved. However, as with other Bills that have passed, I absolutely hope that it will be replicated by the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly, once they are functioning again. The same is true of the previous debate, in which we heard about co-operatives, mutuals and friendly societies, which I was at one stage a Minister for in the Northern Ireland Executive. I listened with great interest and hope that the officials are already working with officials in Northern Ireland to make them aware of that Bill, which I hope will be replicated in due course.

Over 1,800 babies are born prematurely or sick each year in Northern Ireland and cared for in one of our seven neonatal units. Sometimes, of course, the neonatal care is planned for, because it is known that there is a difficulty in utero and it is diagnosed before the pregnancy comes to an end. In my case, when my youngest child was born, it was not planned at all.

I was about to be discharged home with my bundle of joy, all 9 pounds and 14 ounces of him, when the doctors came in to do their checks. First, the junior doctor came in, and he left without saying anything. A more senior doctor came in, and he left without saying anything, and then the consultant came in, and I knew that something was wrong. It transpired that my son had been born with a pulmonary stenosis, a congenital heart problem, and he was taken immediately to neonatal care. After just three weeks, he had surgery to deal with the issue at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, where they opened his valve. I remember, as a mother, watching him fall asleep on a huge operating-theatre table—he was just this tiny little baby boy. I want to mention his consultant, Dr Frank Casey, a wonderful paediatric cardiac consultant at the Royal Victoria Hospital. I can report to the House that my son is now a strapping 16 year-old rugby player, and absolutely doing very well.

I tell this story because having to rely on neonatal care can happen to any couple, and the Bill will allow the mother and the partner to be there to support each other and the little bundle of joy being cared for, without the additional worry about where the next pay cheque is coming from. Although my son was in neonatal care for a relatively short period, it can go on for months and years, as the noble Lord, Lord Patel, indicated. That needs recognition, which is why I strongly support the Bill today.

I pay tribute to the proposer of the Bill in the other place and the noble Baroness, Lady Wyld, for setting out the details and importance of it. I also acknowledge the wider work going on in early years, especially that of the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, led by Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, highlighting the need for intervention in early years. I also acknowledge the recent early years review, chaired by Dame Andrea Leadsom, who was asked to bring that forward on behalf of the Prime Minister. That work is fundamental and has been widely welcomed by the sector. I emphasise recognising the importance of early intervention in those critical first 1,001 days, which begin at conception—it is important to remember that—because intervening early is important not only to the child and the family but to our society as a whole. It is wonderful that Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales is taking such an active role in her campaign to highlight this. It will really bear fruit in the future, when those little babies are adults.

I see the Bill as part of cherishing our young people from day 1, by allowing both parents to be present if there is a need for neonatal care and by taking away the worry about entitlement to leave by granting it as a day 1 right for parents whose children have spent at least one week in neonatal care. I thank the charities that have worked with the proposers of the Bill: I mention Bliss and, from a Northern Ireland perspective, TinyLife, which I have supported in the past—I know it does wonderful work with premature babies and babies who need to go into neonatal care. I strongly support the Bill.