Employment Rights

Debate between Lord Touhig and Lord Callanan

Tuesday 19th July 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My noble friend did a good job of working with the trade unions, and of course we are willing to talk to and work with all those who are willing and prepared to work with us.

[Lord Touhig (Lab)]

My noble friend Lord Woodley made an important point about workers’ rights, but if you are disabled, the chances are you are not in work at all. That is why we need to close the disability employment gap. In a Written Answer to a Question asked on 7 March, the noble Baroness, Lady Stedman-Scott, told me that the Government have a £151 million Access to Work budget encouraging employers to take on people who have disabilities. Can the Minister say how many disabled people have secured jobs through this scheme?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

I am afraid that those figures are not available to me, but I am very happy to write to the noble Lord.

Employment Bill

Debate between Lord Touhig and Lord Callanan

Wednesday 6th April 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

I certainly know the problems that my noble friend is identifying with IR35 and will communicate them to HMRC and the Treasury.

[Lord Touhig (Lab)]

My Lords, if you are disabled you are 30% less likely to have a job than if you are able bodied. In London alone, there are 400,000 unemployed disabled people. In some London boroughs, just one in four disabled people has a job. What will the Government be doing, if they have no Bill, to address this crisis among people with disabilities?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

We have an excellent record for job creation in this country, and our unemployment rates are much lower than many others on the European mainland, but I totally accept the point the noble Lord is making. We must all redouble our efforts to make sure that those who are disabled get the same opportunities to work as the rest of us do.