Women and Men: Pay Gap

Debate between Lord Woodley and Baroness Scott of Bybrook

Wednesday 8th March 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

Measures have been put in place to improve the state pension outcomes for most women. More than 3 million women stand to receive an average of £550 more per year by 2030 as a result of the recent reforms. Under the new state pension, outcomes are projected to equalise for men and women by the early 2040s, more than a decade earlier than they would have under the old system, so I think we are on top of that issue.

[Lord Woodley (Lab)]

My Lords, the gender pay gap has reached 15% and is getting worse, not better. That is a disgrace, is it not, especially as more than half the women say they would use any additional money just to put more heating and lighting on in their homes, according to the Fawcett Society? It is unbelievable. How sad is that in Britain today? The ETUC and my own union, Unite, are clear that the most effective way to tackle the gender pay gap is through collective bargaining. Does the Minister therefore agree that negotiating a legally enforceable right to know what a male colleague is being paid for equal work would be a step in the right direction?

Devolved Administrations: Intergovernmental Relations

Debate between Lord Woodley and Baroness Scott of Bybrook

Tuesday 8th November 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

I thank the noble Lord. I cannot give the dates for what happened but it is possible, at any time, to go on to the government website and see what those meetings were about. However, I can tell the noble Lord that if those are the issues which the devolved Governments want to speak to the Prime Minister about, I am sure he will be listening at this coming meeting.

[Lord Woodley (Lab)]

My Lords—

[The Earl of Kinnoull (CB)]

My Lords, I do not think the Cross Bench has had a go yet. The first inter- governmental relations quarterly report came from the Cabinet Office. The latest one comes from the Department for Levelling Up. Can the Minister explain why that has moved and explain how the machinery of government works so that if a ministry is found not to be pulling its weight in this important aspect, it is encouraged to do so?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

The area of inter- governmental relations was with the Department for Levelling Up prior to the last reshuffle. It then went to the Cabinet Office and it is now back with the Department for Levelling Up. That is the place—the communities area—where it should be.

[Lord Woodley (Lab)]

My Lords, I hope the Minister appreciates that the people of Liverpool can feel as alienated from the UK Government as those in Wales and Scotland. Does the Minister accept that Liverpool and other regions should be represented in these discussions, alongside the devolved Administrations?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

I do not agree with that. There is a completely separate area of discussion with the devolved Administrations and another, which I think is important, with the rest of local government and the regions of the whole of the United Kingdom. Those two separate things go alongside each other and work well.

Inflation: Families

Debate between Lord Woodley and Baroness Scott of Bybrook

Wednesday 16th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My noble friend is absolutely correct. As I said, we are providing support of around £20 billion this financial year to help families with the cost of living. The most important thing must be to get people into work. Our expanded multimillion-pound Plan for Jobs is continuing to target tailored support so that universal credit claimants, including those already in work, can access the support they need. As my noble friend says, this includes skills development. It is really important to get people into work in the first place but also for them to progress in those jobs and earn more for their families.

[Lord Woodley (Lab)]

My Lords, this below-inflation increase to social security is, in real terms, a disaster for the poorest and most desperate people in our society; there is no doubt at all about that. Can the Minister explain why the Government are once again attacking the poor, making them even poorer while the rich are getting richer in our country and society today?

[Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)]

My Lords, as I have said before, we are looking after the poor. We are investing in increasing benefits and, as we heard on 3 February, giving an energy bills rebate. We are giving £144 million of discretionary funding to local authorities and giving a council tax rebate to people in bands A to D, which is 80% of households in this country. The Government are doing everything they can and will continue to monitor the situation for people who need our help.