Inclusive Society

Debate between Lord Duncan of Springbank and Baroness Drake

Wednesday 14th April 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness Drake (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, advances in technology have allowed millions to work from home, and businesses to adapt to the pandemic, to a far greater extent than would have been possible 20 years ago. However, while much of the nation pivoted their work and lives online, for a large proportion this was not possible. Certain sectors and geographies suffered much more than others, the young paid a high price and the pandemic heightened disparities in well-being.

The World Bank describes inclusion as

“the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society”.

To me, that must embrace digital inclusion and a renewed social contract. In the current industrial revolution, the digital divide exacerbated by the pandemic is life-defining. Addressing it is integral to a more equitable basis for employment and economic growth. The barriers, such as acquiring digital skills, building infrastructure, securing connectivity and accessibility to services, all need to be overcome.

The Lloyds UK Consumer Digital Index reveals that two-thirds of jobs need digital skills of some kind and 52% of the UK workforce are not yet fully digitally enabled. We have a way to go. The index exposes the regional disparities that exist. As businesses recognise that resilience includes cybersecure working from home, anecdotal evidence reveals employers considering making dedicated access to home broadband a condition of employment, and not just for higher-skilled workers. The digital divide has exposed children to unequal access to virtual schooling.

We witnessed the state deploy measures unimaginable 15 months ago and saw the compelling evidence for mutual insurance, an effective welfare system and collective economic security. To make our socioeconomic system more inclusive, resilient and sustainable, a renewed social contract is needed. The pandemic is a wake-up call for purpose in business as societal inequalities and risks have been thrown into sharp relief. To quote Blueprint for Better Business,

“business will need to refresh its credentials as a genuine contributor to society in order to underpin its licence to operate and re-establish trust”.

Prior to the pandemic, household financial resilience was declining, not just among those with the lowest incomes. Each year millions of working-age people suffered an income shock because of ill-health, job loss, the death of a partner or other life events. Employment benefits, state benefits, private insurance, savings, affordable credit and fewer pre-existing debts strengthen financial resilience, but all those factors are weakening, shifting greater responsibility on to the individual, who may be ill prepared to bear it.

One in six people was self-employed, one in 12 had contracts with reduced protection, and 73% of people in regular jobs faced significant fluctuations in monthly earnings. More were in employment, yes, but there was a long-term decline, in both coverage and value, in employer provision of occupational benefits such as sick pay, redundancy pay and death benefits. Means-tested benefits had fallen in real terms; 11.5 million adults had less than £100 in savings; and 65% had no form of life or protection insurance. On home ownership, adults in their 30s and 40s are now three times more likely to rent than 20 years ago.

Declining household financial resilience, so exposed in the last year, is an unrecognised consequence of socioeconomic and public policy changes which need to be addressed. My noble friend Lady Lister argued the case most powerfully and I hope the Government will reflect, recognising what has happened in the last year, on the need for a radical change in the social contract.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Duncan of Springbank) (Con)]

I call the next speaker: the noble Lord, Lord Whitty. Are we Whittyless? You are muted, Lord Whitty—not only muted but invisible. We may return to the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, in due course. Let us move on to the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson.

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Debate between Lord Duncan of Springbank and Baroness Drake

Committee: 4th sitting (Hansard - continued): House of Lords
Monday 5th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Drake]

The Minister’s reference to enforcement is very important. Is he giving an assurance that there are no government plans to cap compensation in discrimination cases when we leave the EU?

[Lord Duncan of Springbank]

The noble Baroness will recognise that that is part of a discussion for another time. We have already touched on it on more than one occasion. If I may, I will focus primarily on the amendments before us today.

It is important that we recognise that the rights we have cannot be undone. That must be the fundamental guidance. For those who ask whether I can give a categorical assurance that there shall be no erosion of the working time directive, the answer is yes, I can give that assurance. We will not be eroding these rules as they come back or after they come back. It is critical that these rules become and remain functional as we begin to develop our own rulebook. It is right that we should be cognisant of the advances in the evolution of rights whether it be in the EU or elsewhere. We have heard this evening about a number of these rights which we have seen emanating from the UN. We should not be limited in that regard. Time and again we have found ourselves in the vanguard of particular rights. As we consider this suite of amendments, I do not think we should lose sight of the fact that in more than one area on more than one occasion we have pushed rights far further forward than had been the case of the median rights within the EU as a whole.