Visas

Debate between Lord Fox and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Monday 21st October 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I shall do that with gusto. Every time the noble Lord asks me a question, I am educated.

[Lord Fox (LD)]

Turning from the high seas to our green and pleasant land, the Minister will be aware that there is already a recruitment problem for workers coming to harvest the crops in this country. The upcoming Immigration Rules will exacerbate this problem massively. It is not only tier 1 academics and people like that, but also people who work on the land, in our care homes and across our economy. That economy is going to be damaged by these rules. Can the Minister undertake to reassess the thresholds that are being used?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

We are trying to achieve a fair immigration system for those who are visiting, those who are staying for a short time and those who are coming to work, from EU and non-EU countries. Looking forward, we are going to create a points-based system so that we can attract the brightest and the best to this country.

Gender Pay Gaps

Debate between Lord Fox and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 8th May 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I thank the noble Lord very much for raising that. I do not disagree with him that BAME representation, not only in organisations but also on things such as FTSE 100 boards and FTSE 250 boards, is diabolical. We always saw gender pay gap reporting as a start on this journey—which is absolutely not to dismiss the noble Lord’s point that we have an awful lot further to go.

[Lord Fox (LD)]

My Lords, in her initial Answer, the Minister talked about holding businesses to account. Can she set out what sanctions the Government have to hold businesses to account and what thresholds they will use when they apply those sanctions?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

As I said to the noble Baroness, Lady Burt, the EHRC has enforcement powers if people are misreporting or not reporting at all. Although the story so far has been very good, with almost 100% compliance, sanctions are within the EHRC’s powers.