Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to strengthen the right of employees to request flexible working, and (2) to ensure that employers prioritise arrangements for staff to work from home rather than in offices, from 1 August.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is clear about the benefits of flexible working for employers and their employees. All employees with 26 weeks’ continuous service with their employer have the right to request Flexible Working.
In our manifesto we said that, subject to consultation, we would introduce measures to make flexible working the default.
From 1 August, we are giving employers more discretion to make decisions about how their staff can work safely.
This could mean continuing to work from home or it could mean working in a covid-secure workplace. We encourage employers to discuss this with their employees.
The Government has clearly set out how to make workplaces covid-secure in its Safer Workplaces guidance. As we reopen our economy, it’s right that we give employers more discretion while continuing to ensure employees are kept safe.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide guidance about (1) employment rights, and (2) COVID-19-related health and safety issues, to all employees and employers in the UK from 1 August.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s guidance on work and financial support in relation to coronavirus includes information about employment rights as well as other key issues such as how to access financial support, safe working and childcare. This can be found on the GOV.UK website.
Acas also offers guidance and advice for employers and employees. This can be accessed through the Acas website or by calling the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100.
The Government has also provided clear and comprehensive safer workplaces guidance for employers and employees. This guidance has and will integrate, where appropriate, the Department for Health and Social Care’s guidance on protecting people who are clinically extremely vulnerable from COVID-19. The safer workplaces guidance is non-statutory but does not change existing obligations relating to health and safety, employment, or equalities. Employers have a duty under UK law to protect the health and safety of their workers and other people who might be affected by their business. This includes considering the risks that COVID-19 represents.
The Health and Safety Executive website also has specific guidance on the risk assessment process and the steps businesses should take.
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
Her Majesty's Government what is the budget of the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate for 2017–18; how many staff it expects to employ in 2017–18; and how many staff it employed in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Employment Agency Standards (EAS) Inspectorate currently employs thirteen members of staff and has a budget of £750,000 for the financial year 2017/18.
The table below details the number of staff employed by EAS in the last five years:
Year | Number of Full Time Equivalent Staff as of the 1st April for each year |
2012/13 | 16 |
2013/14 | 12 |
2014/15 | 2 (supported by an Administrative Officer) |
2015/16 | 11 |
2016/17 | 11 |
2017/18 | 13 |
Asked by: Baroness Jolly (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they have taken to promote modern foreign language learning amongst people of all ages.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Department for Education has made study of a modern foreign or ancient language compulsory for pupils at KS2 (ages 7-11) in maintained schools in England. By introducing the English Baccalaureate, we have stopped the decline in modern foreign languages seen in the last decade. The proportion of the cohort in state funded schools entered for a modern foreign language GCSE has risen from 40 per cent in 2010 to 49 per cent in 2015.
The Government’s ambition is that 90 per cent of pupils in mainstream secondary schools will enter GCSEs in the EBacc subjects, including a language. The government’s response to the consultation on implementing the English Baccalaureate will be published in due course, and will set out how this ambition will be achieved.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has also invested £10million over 10 years, in to the Routes into Languages programme that aims to boost recruitment to language degrees in higher education. It is working with the University Council for Modern Languages (UCML) and the Routes into Language Steering Group to support a sustainable programme for the encouragement of language study at university.
Additionally, under Erasmus+ and its predecessor EU education programmes, over 200,000 British students have been able to study abroad, improving their skills and employability.