Leaving the EU: Workers’ Rights

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Lord Vaizey of Didcot

Tuesday 29th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that, in leaving the European Union with the withdrawal agreement negotiated by the Prime Minister, if the European Union makes any changes to workers’ rights and employment legislation, the Government will have the facility to consult businesses and trade unions, and this House will be able to express its view on whether any changes could or should be considered for implementation in the UK. It is really important that it is this House and the United Kingdom’s courts that should judge and measure whether this or any future Government stick to their commitment to maintain the highest standards of workers’ rights.

[Mr Edward Vaizey (Wantage) (Ind)]

One way in which the Government could show that they are not only committed to workers’ rights but innovative in the field of workers’ rights is to look carefully at what rights we might extend to workers in the so-called gig economy, which has emerged from the success of tech in the UK. Will the Secretary of State update the House on the progress in looking at the Taylor report and on her thoughts on this important area of the economy?

[Andrea Leadsom]

My right hon. Friend raises a really important point. In terms of zero-hours contracts and the gig economy, the number of people on zero-hours contracts is falling, and less than 3% of the people in work are employed on them. He mentions the Taylor report. Matthew Taylor said that banning zero-hours contracts would be like using

“a sledgehammer to crack a nut”.

However, it is important that we do everything we can to ensure that workers have the flexibility they need, so we have consulted on one-sided flexibility. That consultation closed on 11 October and we will bring forward our response soon.

International Climate Action

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Lord Vaizey of Didcot

Thursday 26th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Drew Hendry) for his raft of points, and I will try to tackle them all.

First, I congratulate the Scottish Government on their work in also legislating to achieve net zero by 2045. Of course they, like the UK Government, are following the advice and recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change, and we will need to work together to ensure that we all meet those targets.

The hon. Gentleman asks whether there will be a clear plan and pathway for net zero, and there will be. My Department is working flat out to provide particular pathways for us to consult on.

The Committee on Climate Change is clear that our clean growth and industrial strategies provide the right frameworks for delivering net zero, so we will continue to deliver through those strategies, including, for example, recent record low prices for offshore wind, the new future homes standard, the CCUS action plan, the £400 million investment in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and the £390 million investment in hydrogen and low-carbon technology to reduce emissions from industry.

Finally, on Hinkley Point C, I am sure the hon. Gentleman will be aware that there is no cost to the taxpayer.

[Mr Edward Vaizey (Wantage) (Ind)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend to her post and, through her, I thank her excellent officials for their brilliant work in replicating the Euratom treaty provisions and for her Department’s continued support for nuclear fusion, which is such an important industry in my constituency. Can she assure me that, in her no doubt long tenure in her new post, she will continue to support investment and research in nuclear fusion, where Britain helps to lead the world?

[Andrea Leadsom]

My right hon. Friend raises an important point. I assure him that my Department is looking carefully at many different innovations, including nuclear fusion, which is important to his constituency.

Protecting Children Online

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Lord Vaizey of Didcot

Wednesday 12th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vaizey]

This issue was debated fully in the House yesterday and there are two Education Ministers present—the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mr Timpson) and my right hon. Friend the Education Secretary. As the hon. Lady knows, sex and relationships education is compulsory in secondary schools. We trust teachers, who are best placed to provide the appropriate advice, guidance and support to children in their schools. Teachers who teach sex education follow the statutory guidance laid out by the Education Secretary, but we do not believe it is right to remove the ability of parents to withdraw their children from sex education at any key stage, as the Opposition advocate.

[Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend recognise that in sex and relationships education, particularly in primary schools, more guidance needs to be given on the age-appropriateness of the material? I know that he has already taken some steps to improve that, but what more can he do to make sure that children receive age-appropriate information?

[Mr Vaizey]

My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue, which she has campaigned on in this House. I pay tribute to her for the work she has done. We are introducing classification not just for music videos, but for DVDs used in schools for sex education. I will continue to have a dialogue with my hon. Friend on other appropriate measures. [Interruption.] The sneezing of the hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart) is appropriate, because she was a member of the panel for the independent parliamentary inquiry into online child protection—as was the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland—to which I now turn.

I praise my hon. Friend the Member for Devizes (Claire Perry). My involvement in these important issues started with an Adjournment debate that she had secured, during which I said that I wanted to hold discussions and work with her to make progress. She decided that it was appropriate to set up an inquiry, which had my full support and which, I am pleased to say, was a cross-party inquiry, with Members from all the main parties on its panel. Since my hon. Friend set up that parliamentary inquiry, not only has it come up with some sensible recommendations, which I will turn to in a moment, but I am also delighted that she has been appointed as the Prime Minister’s adviser. Although I pay tribute to many hon. Members, I am sure that most would agree that my hon. Friend has taken a fantastically prominent role in this debate, that she has moved it forward in leaps and bounds and that she is a fantastic advocate for more action in this area.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Lord Vaizey of Didcot

Thursday 14th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

T4. Many parents across the country are very concerned about the content of sex and relationships educational videos that are being shown to children as young as six and which have had no external rating whatever—in fact, they are being sold for profit by organisations. Will the Minister consider requiring the rating of such videos by the British Board of Film Classification?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

I certainly share my hon. Friend’s concerns. As a result of the point she has made, I will arrange to meet the British Board of Film Classification to discuss the issue, and she would be welcome to attend.

Amendment of the Law

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Lord Vaizey of Didcot

Monday 26th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

Your instructions have been noted, Mr Deputy Speaker.

May I begin by apologising to the House for the absence of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State? As I am sure the House will know by now, his wife gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last week—appropriately enough, during Department for Culture, Media and Sport questions—and so he is enjoying his paternity leave. I am sure that the whole House will want to join me in passing on our good wishes to the whole family. I, for one, wish that the Secretary of State was here, because this is, I believe, the first time that DCMS, as a Department, has opened a Budget debate, and it is a testament to his skill and vision that he has put the Department at the heart of the Government’s strategy for growth. DCMS is now an important economic Department that is responsible for broadband and digital infrastructure, internet and media policy, and our world-beating creative industries. Policies pursued by this Department will contribute significantly to the growth of the UK economy.

I want to use today’s debate to remind the House of how well placed this country is to take advantage of the technology revolution. The Chancellor has set out our ambition to turn Britain into Europe’s leading technology hub, and we are well on course to achieving that. According to a Boston Consulting Group report published this month, the UK is the top internet economy in the G20; we purchase more online than Germany, the United States and South Korea. We have a huge range of successful technology companies in this country. It is worth reminding the House that BT, for example, is a global technology company with a presence in 170 countries. ARM supplies the chips for smartphones and tablets. Imagination Technology provides the graphics for Apple products. Ubiquisys in Swindon sells femtocells to the French and the Japanese. Neul, based in Cambridge, is developing new wireless network technology. In Tech City, we have a rapidly growing technology hub in the heart of London’s east end, which in just three years has grown from about 15 companies to more than 300.

My personal favourite is the motor sport industry, which is worth £5 billion a year and exports 70% of its products. I was particularly tickled by an anecdote—[Interruption.] I cannot believe that Opposition Members are groaning at an anecdote. I feel rather deflated. When a German Formula 1 company launched its German engine, branded by Mercedes-Benz, with Michael Schumacher, a German driver, I was told that it was designed and manufactured in the UK. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] I thank Government Members for approving of my anecdote.

[Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

I am delighted about that, because it was made in my constituency.

[Mr Vaizey]

Is it not a wonderful coincidence that I also get to suck up to one of the most important Back Benchers in the House?

Next week, a BDO report will say that telecoms, media and technology industries will be the success stories of 2012 in the UK, with software investment growing and investment last year at an all-time high. Innovations such as cloud computing are set to create more than 200,000 jobs in the UK in the next three years.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrea Leadsom and Lord Vaizey of Didcot

Thursday 3rd November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

T3. Has the Minister seen a demonstration of TalkTalk’s HomeSafe system, which enables families to keep their children safe not only from internet porn, but from sites on suicide and on bomb-making, and all sorts of unsuitable sites? Does he agree that unless internet service providers do more to enable family-friendly systems to protect children, the Government will have to legislate?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (Mr Edward Vaizey)]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. I have seen the TalkTalk system. I have said to ISPs again and again that I prefer self-regulation to legislation, but the mood of the House is for action and legislation. This is not about censorship, but about giving families the tools to protect their children from inappropriate content, and we rely on ISPs to come up with solutions.