Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to create a Single Enforcement Body for Employment Rights.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government remains committed to workers’ rights and enforcement. We need to be realistic with what we can achieve and the limits of parliamentary time. We are reviewing what this means for the creation of the Single Enforcement Body which would be a significant organisational change . In the meantime, we continue to invest significantly in the existing labour market enforcement bodies and are working with the Director of Labour Market Enforcement to ensure that they are supported to work together as effectively as possible.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many employers were named under the National Minimum Wage Naming Scheme between 1 January and 31 December 2022.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
To date, we have named around 2,500 employers, covering around £20.8 million in arrears and £24.1 million in penalties. The Government last named 208 employers on 8 December 2021, including some of the UK’s biggest household names.
Publicly naming employers who do not comply with the rules remains an important part of our enforcement and compliance toolkit. It clearly demonstrates that it is never acceptable to underpay workers and that employers who do will be held responsible.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has (a) met or (b) corresponded with the Director of Labour Market Enforcement between 25 October 2022 and 25 January 2023 on the potential introduction of a single enforcement body for employment rights.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government remains committed to workers’ rights and enforcement. An important part of this is the ongoing sponsorship of and work with the Director of Labour Market Enforcement. The last meeting between myself and Margaret Beels, the DLME, was on the 24th November 2022. This covered a number of topics, including the proposals around the creation of the Single Enforcement Body. We are next due to meet on 7th February 2023. We have also corresponded by letter.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many times Ministers from his Department met with the Office of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement between 25 October 2022 and 25 January 2023.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government remains committed to workers’ rights and enforcement. An important part of this is the ongoing sponsorship of and work with the Director of Labour Market Enforcement. The last meeting between myself and Margaret Beels, the DLME, was on the 24th November 2022. This covered a number of topics, including the proposals around the creation of the Single Enforcement Body. We are next due to meet on 7th February 2023. We have also corresponded by letter.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish the minutes from meetings between Ministers from his Department and the Office of the Director of Labour Market Enforcement between 25 January 2022 and 25 October 2022.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This Government remains committed to workers’ rights and enforcement. An important part of this is the ongoing sponsorship of and work with the Director of Labour Market Enforcement. There is currently no intention to publish the minutes of these meetings.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what meetings, discussions or correspondence Ministers have had with the International Labour Organization (ILO) on the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill; and whether the ILO has made any formal assessment of that proposed legislation.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department has not had any meetings or correspondence with the ILO about this specific legislation. However, the ILO has been clear over many years that minimum service levels can be appropriate in public services of fundamental public importance. Accordingly many countries in Europe and around the world who are signatories to the ILO have had these in place for many years.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many hospitals are registered as a critical site or service in the Protected Sites List under the Electricity Supply Emergency Code.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is awaiting final data returns from the November 2022 review of the Protected Sites List. There are currently at least 192 assets listed as hospitals. Applications for protected site status can be received by network operators at any time of the year, so the numbers of assets on the list can fluctuate.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2022 to Question 84890 on Emergency Services: Power Failures, whether emergency services of regional significance are automatically included on the list of Approved Designated Services; and how many emergency services of regional significance were included on the list of Approved Designated Services on 29 November 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Emergency services of regional significance are automatically included on the list of Approved Designated Services as set out in section 5.2 of the Electricity Supply Emergency Code. Emergency services that want to apply for the Protected Sites List must also meet the additional criteria set out in section 5.3 of the Electricity Supply Emergency Code.
There are fourteen Approved Designated Services listed in section 5.2 of the Electricity Supply Emergency Code, one of which is titled Emergency Services of regional significance.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 24 November 2022 to Question 88892 on Care Homes and Hospitals: Power Failures, how many civil servants are employed to oversee the Electricity Emergency Supply Code as of 29 November 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Thirty-five civil servants are in the team responsible for security and resilience in the energy sector, including responsibility for the Electricity Supply Emergency Code.
Asked by: Angela Rayner (Labour - Ashton-under-Lyne)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish a full breakdown of payments made to officials to relocate from London Government offices to Government offices in Manchester in 2021.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Total Expense claims paid by the Department recorded as Relocation Costs for those relocating from London Government offices to Manchester Government offices in 2021 was £64,103.