Covid-19: Economic Recovery

Baroness Gardner of Parkes Excerpts

Tuesday 20th April 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con) [V]]

My Lords, the Covid pandemic has had a devastating impact on many aspects of our lives, and government schemes such as furlough, on the basis of which 5 million people are still employed, have helped so many during the past year.

I want to open by talking about how the pandemic has disproportionately affected women and what we can do as we emerge from lockdown and furlough to help them. Over the past year, statistics have shown that more women than men have been placed on furlough. They tend to work in industries with some of the highest job losses, such as retail, food services and accommodation. As furlough comes to an end, it is particularly worrying for them as to whether they will even have a job to return to, or whether there will be many new opportunities. These figures are even worse for women from a black, Asian or ethnic minority.

My daughter has mentioned that in her local row of 12 shops in London only the eateries have kept going, with the other nine closing down permanently. We need to provide business rates relief to shops such as those so that they can re-establish themselves and rebuild as part of the local community to provide local shopping and job opportunities.

Many women have borne the brunt of the impact of Covid, supporting their families, whether old or young, home-schooling and being the fabric that holds the family together financially and socially. For some women, working from home has enabled them to balance family commitments and manage work while allowing their partner to take more of a hands-on role. It is important that the right to work from home, or flexibly, is retained in legislation to help women to continue to work, and for men too. The Government’s employment Bill, as promised in the Queen’s Speech, cannot come soon enough.

It is important that we also focus training, money and effort to help increase the employment and employability of women, not just on building infrastructure, which tends to employ men, but for other industries. I know that the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee called on the Government to fund training schemes specifically aimed at women using Kickstart and Restart and to increase the number of women in science, technology, engineering and maths careers and apprenticeships so that women will not lose out in the recovery. These steps are key to ensure that women are part of the future.

However, job losses are more likely for some as furlough comes to an end. I ask the Government to look at how those made redundant or who are already unemployed can be helped to avoid racking up debt by avoiding any hiatus between their final salary or furlough payment and moving on to benefits. Too often, we have seen people fall into debt due to the gap between them applying for and receiving universal credit. It is a debt that often starts small yet soon balloons to being out of control. Recovering is helping everyone as best we can.