Asked by: Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that suspected fraudulent activity in retail business premises can be investigated and tackled by the police.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
In March this year, the National Crime Agency coordinated a three-week crackdown (Operation MACHINIZE) against business premises such as barber shops and other cash intensive businesses across England and Wales. Operation MACHINIZE involved 19 different police forces and Regional Organised Crime Units, as well as national agencies including HM Revenue & Customs, Trading Standards and Home Office Immigration Enforcement. In total, 380 premises were visited across the three-week operation with officers securing freezing orders over bank accounts totalling in excess of one million pounds, executing 84 warrants and arresting 35 individuals.
This has been followed by a second phase of activity throughout October which involved every UK police force and Regional Organised Crime Unit. During the operation, which targeted a broader range of businesses, the operation saw: 2,734 premises visited and raided; 924 individuals arrested; over £13m of suspected criminal proceeds seized or restrained; and over £2.7m worth of illicit commodities destroyed.
At the Budget 2025, the Chancellor announced a new dedicated cross-government taskforce to design systemic interventions to disrupt money laundering and related criminality on the high street, as well as new funding for operational partners such as law enforcement and Trading Standards to tackle this threat.
Asked by: Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will implement specific measures to support people with learning disabilities into work; and if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
People with learning disabilities often face very significant challenges in being able to find work. We know that most people with learning disabilities want to have a job, and evidence shows that they bring many positive benefits to their employers.
Connect to Work is our voluntary, locally commissioned, Supported Employment programme which is rolling out this year and early 2026. This £1bn programme is for anyone who is disabled, has a health condition or is experiencing more complex barriers to work and will support around 300,000 people by the end of the decade. Participants are given a dedicated specialist employment support adviser who works alongside them to understand their career goals and help them to address any specific barriers to employment. Local Authorities are required to follow two models of Supported Employment – Individual Placement and Support and Supported Employment Quality Framework. The latter framework has been specifically designed, and has a proven track record, to support individuals with learning disabilities or who are neurodivergent to get into sustainable employment.
Asked by: Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of closures of intentional communities on people with severe learning disabilities.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
No formal national assessment has been undertaken, and the Government does not monitor the operation or closure of intentional communities.
We want to ensure that people with a learning disability and autistic people get the support they need in the community and are given a choice about where and with whom they live, including small-scale supported living, and settled accommodation.
Local authorities are best placed to understand and plan for the care needs of their populations, and to develop and build local market capacity. That is why under the Care Act 2014, local authorities are required to shape their local markets, and ensure that people have a range of high-quality, sustainable, and person-centred care and support options available to them, and that they can access the services that best meet their needs.
Any health and social care provider that carries out a regulated activity must register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England. The CQC can take action, in line with their Enforcement Policy, if the quality or safety of a service has fallen to unacceptable levels. The CQC is not closing down existing services that provide good care, including services developed as village communities. The CQC does not direct commissioning decisions, which remain the responsibility of local authorities. The CQC’s Enforcement Policy is available on the CQC website, in an online only format.
As a response to the independent review into the CQC’s regulation of Whorlton Hall, the CQC has strengthened its regulatory approach for services for autistic people and people with a learning disability. This included updating the statutory guidance, titled Right support, right care, right culture, which sets out regulatory expectations for any service that currently provides or intends to provide regulated care to autistic people and people with a learning disability.
Asked by: Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to granting businesses that employ people with learning disabilities an exemption or reduction in employer National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is committed to helping people with health conditions and disabled people, including those with learning disabilities, to start and stay in work.
The government provides support to employers to recruit and retain disabled people through the Access to Work scheme, which assists with the cost of specialist equipment, workplace adjustments or support workers.
The government has also announced the largest investment in employment support in at least a generation to help sick and disabled people, reaching £1 billion per annum by 2029-30. The government has also made significant investments in employment support for disabled people at the Spending Review, including through the rollout of Connect to Work which will help up to 100,000 individuals a year to secure work and the delivery of Work Well, a programme which aims to improve health and employment outcomes through locally led work and health services.
The Government keeps all taxes under review as part of the policy making process. The Chancellor will announce any changes to the tax system at fiscal events in the usual way.
Asked by: Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce financial incentives for businesses that employ people with learning disabilities.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Department for Business and Trade does not have any plans to introduce financial incentives for businesses that employ people with learning disabilities.
The Government's Access to Work scheme offers a grant to help employees with a physical or mental health condition or disability get or stay in work. Businesses can also apply for finance through the Government-backed British Business Bank which aims to improve access to finance to help businesses invest and grow.
Additionally, the Government commissioned Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the Keep Britain Working Review, because we recognise the vital role employers can play in helping address the challenges faced by disabled people and people with health conditions in work, which are holding back individuals, businesses and the economy, and we are determined to tackle this issue. The final report was published on 5 November.
Asked by: Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure employers are encouraged to support people with disabilities into employment.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.
Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.
Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care, WorkWell and NHS Health and Growth Accelerators.
In recognition of employer’s vital role in addressing health-related economic activity, we appointed Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead the Keep Britain Working independent review which led to a report which was published on 5 November. In partnership with DBT and DHSC colleagues we are immediately launching Vanguards to test new employer-led approaches to support individuals to stay in work and develop a Healthy Workplace Standard, putting his key recommendations into action from day one.
Additionally, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work and Health Directorate has developed a digital information service for employers, continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health.
In our March Green Paper, we set out our Pathways to Work Guarantee, backed by £1 billion a year of new additional funding by 2030. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits.
The NHS 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, stated our intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. It outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.
Asked by: Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure employers are encouraged to support people with disabilities into employment.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We are funding local authorities to open our supported employment programme, Connect to Work, throughout England and Wales. Crucially, as part of this programme, specialist employment advisers work with both participants and employers, ensuring that participants are supported and workplaces are inclusive.
It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Health and Social Care Joint Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) is facilitating “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The Independent lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield’s report has now been released - Keep Britain Working: Final report - GOV.UK
Asked by: Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of relative gross median earnings from full-time employment among (1) men aged 16 to 24 and (2) women aged 16 to 24.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.
The Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW
16 April 2025
Dear Lady Monckton,
As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking what assessment has been made of relative gross median earnings from full-time employment among (1) men aged 16 to 24 and (2) women aged 16 to 24 (HL6658).
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)[1], carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom. ASHE is based on a 1% sample of employee jobs taken from HM Revenue and Customs' Pay As You Earn (PAYE) records.
The median gross weekly earnings in April 20241, which is the latest available data from ASHE, for men aged 16-24 in full-time employment2 was £535, and for women aged 16-24 in full-time employment2 it was £512.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Sir Ian Diamond
1Estimates for 2024 are provisional.
2Employees on adult rates whose pay for the survey pay-period was not affected by absence.
Asked by: Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the implementation of the Employment Rights Bill on the success of British farming.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
On Monday 21 October, the Government published 24 Impact Assessments, providing a comprehensive analysis on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This analysis includes an assessment of impacts on sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing and construction. Our Impact Assessments provide initial analysis of the impacts that could follow, and we will continue to refine that as policy development progresses. Final impacts will depend on further policy decisions that are for secondary legislation. We have committed to full consultation on the implementation of this legislation, and expect this to begin this year, ensuring reforms work for employers and workers alike.
Asked by: Baroness Monckton of Dallington Forest (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the implementation of the Employment Rights Bill on the success of the UK manufacturing sector.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
On Monday 21 October, the Government published 24 Impact Assessments, providing a comprehensive analysis on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This analysis includes an assessment of impacts on sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing and construction. Our Impact Assessments provide initial analysis of the impacts that could follow, and we will continue to refine that as policy development progresses. Final impacts will depend on further policy decisions that are for secondary legislation. We have committed to full consultation on the implementation of this legislation, and expect this to begin this year, ensuring reforms work for employers and workers alike.