Carer's Leave Bill

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Committee stage
Wednesday 9th November 2022 Public Bill Committees

[Wendy Chamberlain]

I absolutely agree. There are so many different iterations of carers and who they are providing care to. I have certainly seen that myself. It is really important that the Government support the Bill, because that provides better recognition. We know that one of the UK’s productivity challenges is the number of people who are economically inactive, which has increased post covid. We also know that it tends to be older women, and if the Bill is an opportunity to help them to get them back into the workplace, that can only be positive.

The text of the Bill sets out in detail the legal framework for the entitlement. Large parts of it are very similar to other leave entitlements that are already in operation. That avoids adding complexity, both for employers and employees who will make use of carer’s leave. The main aspects of the entitlement are as follows: the Bill requires the Secretary of State to make regulations to entitle an employee to be absent from work in order to provide or arrange care for a dependant with a long-term care need. There will be no qualifying period, meaning that eligible employees will be able to make a request to take carer’s leave from the first day of their employment. A broad approach has been taken to defining the key terms of eligibility, a dependant and a long-term care need in order to ensure that eligibility is as open as possible, and can encompass the many different circumstances in which a dependant might need care.

I will pause on that element to highlight its importance, because a significant issue is simply getting carers to recognise themselves as such and, therefore, as entitled to support. As I said on Second Reading, my husband is a carer to his mother but would not recognise himself as a carer. Over half of carers take more than a year, and 36% take three years, to recognise themselves as such. As those are the proportions of carers who now see themselves as such, there is potentially an unsurveyed cohort that we do not know about. Making the definition as broad as possible is vital to start conversations, and to show people the different forms that care can take and, vitally, that support is available.

The Bill’s overall objective is to ensure that carer’s leave is available to those caring for someone with a significant and long-term care need, but flexibility and a light-touch administrative burden are fundamental features of the new entitlement. It will allow for a proportionate process to be put in place through regulations to enable employers to plan and manage absences arising from carer’s leave.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

I commend the hon. Lady on her work, and the Government on their support for this important Bill. She will not be surprised to learn that more than one in 10 residents in my constituency are a carer for a loved one or near neighbour. My understanding from my constituents and the business community is that they are supportive of the Bill, and that employers may fear nothing from it. Those with caring responsibilities do not even tend to take the allowance given to them, but the flexibility and recognition is what makes it so incredibly valuable.

[Wendy Chamberlain]

I thank the hon. Member for her intervention. When we engage with employers on such things, they recognise the importance of retaining and motivating their staff. They invest in their training and development and want them to stay with them. I think the Bill will really help employers on that front, and as a result will help their employees as well.

No amendments have been tabled to the Bill, so I will now discuss the clauses and schedule in greater detail. Clause 1 is uncontroversial and is simply the route to provide for the substance of the Bill through the schedule. For the legislation to achieve its policy aims, it may be necessary to amend existing legislation, and clause 2 allows for that to happen. Clause 3 addresses a procedural point, setting out the extent of the Bill, making provision for commencement and providing the short title. I commend the clauses to the Committee.

The substance of the Bill is contained in the schedule. This is the most important part of the Bill. Part 1 of the schedule creates carer’s leave as a concept by inserting proposed new sections into the Employment Rights Act 1996. First, this part of the schedule covers who is entitled to carer’s leave. The key definitions of a dependant and a long-term care need are set out in the Bill. The schedule then goes on to address the length of the entitlement, which shall be a minimum of one week.

A cap on the length of leave that employers will be required to offer is not set out in the Bill but will be included in regulations. As set out in the Government’s response to the consultation on carer’s leave, I understand that it will be one week. Of course, there is no cap on the amount of leave that employers can offer if they wish. I am sure that we all know from speaking to employers and others in our constituencies that there are employers who go far above what is set out in the Bill. Regulations may also provide for how the leave can be taken, which includes providing that the leave is available to be taken non-continuously. Regulations can provide that particular activities are, or are not, to be treated as providing or arranging care, but I understand that the Government’s intention is not to further define those activities.

Part 1 goes on to set out the protections offered to employees while they are on carer’s leave. In particular, it provides that regulations must create an entitlement for employees to return from carer’s leave to a type of work prescribed by those regulations. That sounds technical, but basically it covers remuneration, bonuses, redundancies and when the leave is taken immediately after other types of leave, such as maternity. This part of the schedule also allows for regulations to be made to address notice, evidence and procedural requirements. A framework will be created through regulations that will be clear and simple for employers and employees to follow. Importantly, the Bill makes it particularly clear that the regulations can provide that an employer cannot require an employee to supply evidence in relation to their request for leave. Finally, part 1 of the schedule sets out when an employee may make a complaint to an employment tribunal. I commend it to the Committee.

Part 2 of the schedule contains further amendments to primary legislation affected by carer’s leave. It sets out the consequential amendments that will be required to ensure that the measure is effective and does not have an adverse impact on existing legislation. I do not propose to explain each in turn; I will simply commend part 2 as a whole. I thank Members for their time, interest and presence this morning.

Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Tuesday 9th February 2021 Commons Chamber

[Paul Scully]

We always keep the guidance under review. There are twice-weekly meetings with BEIS, the HSE and Public Health England to tackle those issues, and we will certainly take away that specific point.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con) [V]]

The Government have provided life support to the hospitality sector, but my hoteliers are flagging that we are moving into a potential perfect storm of deferred payments coming into focus and the support scheme set to close. The weekend’s announcement on bounce-back loans has been met with huge relief in my constituency for the 1,800 businesses that are in that place. I ask the Minister to look also at extending the 5% VAT rate, furlough and the business rates holiday, so that the hospitality sector in my constituency of Eastbourne, and across the country, can come back all the stronger.

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

My hon. Friend is right, and I fully appreciate how key the hospitality sector is to her constituency of Eastbourne, which I have visited many times, even before I was elected to this place. The Government have introduced pay as you go measures, as I am sure she is aware, which give borrowers flexibility when repaying their bounce-back loans. In terms of the other measures that she mentions, I am in constant dialogue with the Chancellor. We are looking at the economy and the situation as it evolves daily—minute by minute, almost—and we hope that we can provide the flexible support that we have in the last year.

Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Tuesday 15th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Amanda Solloway]

The 10-point plan is crucial to a part of the Prime Minister’s mission to level up the country and to revitalise the towns and regions of places such as the east midlands, from where my hon. Friend and I hail, and which is also the birthplace of the first industrial revolution. I can tell him that green recovery will support highly skilled jobs in towns such as Mansfield across a range of green industries from electric vehicle technicians to those installing low-carbon heating to make our homes warmer and fitter for the future.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to increase the capacity of renewable energy in the UK.

[Mick Whitley (Birkenhead) (Lab)]

What steps he is taking to develop the renewable energy sector in the UK.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Amanda Solloway)]

The UK is a world leader in offshore wind and proud to be the home of the world’s largest offshore wind farm. That is why we have increased our target to deliver 40 GW of offshore wind, quadrupling capacity by 2030, and announced £160 million to support ports and infrastructure enabling the sector to support up to 60,000 jobs.

[Caroline Ansell]

Off the Sussex coast, the Rampion wind farm has plans to triple its output. It is already powering local homes, but it could also be key to developing green hydrogen to power heavy transport, including buses. Does my hon. Friend agree that this technology needs to be scaled up and at pace, and what support is being given by her Department to bring partners together to deliver this green hydrogen fuel across the network so that places such as my home town of Eastbourne can see an improvement in its air quality and meet its 2030 carbon neutral ambition?

[Amanda Solloway]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Green hydrogen, coupled with our abundant offshore wind resources, could play a vital role in decarbonising crucial parts of the economy, including heavy transport. The energy White Paper sets out our ambition for 5 GW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030. The £23 million hydrogen for transport programme has already helped grow the number of publicly accessible hydrogen refuelling stations across the UK.

Oral Answers to Questions

Caroline Ansell Excerpts

Tuesday 13th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Kelly Tolhurst (Rochester and Strood) (Con)]

10. What steps his Department has taken to engage with British businesses since the EU referendum.

[Caroline Ansell (Eastbourne) (Con)]

13. What steps his Department has taken to engage with British businesses since the EU referendum.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Greg Clark)]

Since I was appointed on 14 July, my colleagues and I have during the summer met businesses, investors, workers and local leaders in all four home nations, as well as travelling to India and Japan. Furthermore, and for the first time, each local enterprise partnership area and each of the devolved Administrations will have a specific Minister in my Department assigned to them. Personal relationships matter in business, and that should start with the Business Department.

--- Later in debate ---

[Greg Clark]

I will, indeed. I know many of the small businesses in my hon. Friend’s constituency. Of course, through the British Business Bank, we have made over £3 billion available to smaller businesses. She will know that, from next April, small business rate relief will double permanently, which will benefit 60,000 small businesses. This is part of our continuing commitment to small business, which is the motor of the bigger businesses that, together with small businesses, generate so many jobs in our economy.

[Caroline Ansell]

My home constituency of Eastbourne and Willingdon is a long-established, beautiful seaside destination, with big future ambitions, including for a new hot air balloon festival in 2017. Tourism is the lifeblood of my town, and I am delighted to be welcoming the Eastbourne Hospitality Association to Parliament today. Will the Secretary of State tell me whether he has had discussions with the tourism industry about reducing the level of VAT on tourism services, to bring us into line with competitor destinations in the EU, and to give our industry a competitive platform from which it can stimulate investment, create jobs, deliver growth and take full advantage of the opportunities in life after Brexit?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend is a big campaigner for the tourism industry. I welcome her visitors today, as I am sure the whole House does. We have the highest VAT threshold in the European Union, so many small businesses do not need to charge VAT. But I will continue discussions with her—the hot air balloon festival sounds a very tempting excursion, perhaps for many Members. I look forward to continuing these discussions with her and her colleagues.