Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with Royal Mail Group on six-day letter deliveries.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Department has regular discussions with Royal Mail on a wide range of issues.
The Government’s objective continues to be ensuring the provision of a sustainable, accessible, and affordable universal postal service. The Government has no current plans to change the statutory minimum requirements of the universal postal service which are set out in the Postal Services Act 2011.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions his Department has had with Royal Mail Group on the Universal Service Obligation.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Department has regular discussions with Royal Mail on a wide range of issues.
The Government has no current plan to change the minimum requirements of the universal postal service that are set out in the Postal Services Act 2011.
Ofcom has been given the powers and tools to protect the universal service and it has in place an effective monitoring regime that is able to identify any threats to it.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of work stations available for people employed by his Department on departmental premises.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The number of workstations estimated to be available for people employed by the Department within its office locations is 3419.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many work stations were available for civil servants to use within his Department on 11 October 2022.
Answered by Dean Russell
The number of workstations available for civil servants to use on 11 October 2022 at the Department’s main London building at 1 Victoria Street was 2492.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reasons the National Living Wage is set at a lower rate for under-25s than for older workers.
Answered by Margot James
The Government sets age-related minimum wages in order to protect younger workers, who may otherwise be more vulnerable to being unemployed than older workers. Our aim is to set National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates for all workers under 25 at a level that maximises their earnings without damaging employment prospects by setting it too high
The 2017 Low Pay Commission report shows the unemployment rates for young people not in full-time education in the UK is 31.3 per cent for 16-18 year olds, 15.5 per cent for 18-20 year olds and 8.4 per cent for those aged 21 to 24 in the second quarter of 2017. This compares to 4.6 per cent for those aged 25 to 30.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the evidence by the Federation of Small Businesses to the National Minimum Wage Low Pay Commission Report Spring 2016, page 244, on age discrimination in recruitment.
Answered by Nick Boles
There have been age-related rates in the minimum wage structure since its introduction in 1999. Setting different minimum wage rates according to the age of the worker helps to protect the employment prospects of younger workers.
The provisions in the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 mean that employers are able to pay different rates to workers of different ages in line with the NMW Regulations 2015. The Equality Act 2010 has a specific exemption which ensures that employers are not vulnerable to age discrimination claims where they have paid their workers the NMW age-related rates.
Leaving aside the NMW rates, any decisions on pay more generally, employment or other terms and conditions taken on the basis of age will need to be objectively justified by the employer.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his Department's policies of the TUC's oral evidence to the National Minimum Wage Low Pay Commission Report Spring 2016, page 242, on the rate of labour market improvement for those aged between 21 and 24.
Answered by Nick Boles
Setting different minimum wage rates according to the age of the worker helps to protect the employment prospects of younger workers.
While this has improved recently, those aged 21 to 24 have a marked difference in labour market dynamics when compared to older workers. This is evident through differences in their median earnings, employment rates and unemployment rates.
The Low Pay Commission (LPC) recommends National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates to Government based on detailed consideration of the evidence on the economy, labour market and pay, as well as wide ranging consultation evidence. Earlier this year the Government accepted all of the LPC’s recommendations for NMW rates for workers aged under 25; this means the 21-24 year old NMW rate will increase by 25p (3.7 per cent) to £6.95 per hour in October. This is the largest single increase in the main rate of the NMW since 2008 in cash terms.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how his Department assesses differences in productivity levels between workers aged under and over 25.
Answered by Anna Soubry
There are no official statistics estimating the productivity of workers by their age. Labour productivity as provided by the Office for National Statistics is only separately estimated by sector.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what comparative assessment he has made of productivity levels of workers aged under and over 25 in the (a) hospitality and (b) retail sectors; and what account is taken of such productivity data in determining the level of the National Minimum Wage.
Answered by Nick Boles
While labour productivity statistics are estimated by sector, there are no official statistics estimating the productivity of workers by their age.
The Low Pay Commission (LPC) recommends National Minimum Wage (NMW) rates to Government based on detailed consideration of the evidence on the economy (including productivity statistics), labour market and pay, as well as wide ranging consultation evidence. Earlier this year the Government accepted all of the LPC’s recommendations for the NMW rates that should come in to force in October this year for workers aged under 25.
Asked by: Holly Lynch (Labour - Halifax)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what equality assessment the Government has made of its policy to provide the national living wage only for people aged 25 and over.
Answered by Nick Boles
The Government published its Impact Assessment of the National Living Wage (NLW) on 7 December 2015 which included equality analysis of the policy.
The NLW has provided a higher wage floor for those aged 25 and over because of the need to protect the employment prospects of younger workers. The priority for younger workers is to secure work and gain experience so they can compete in the labour market. Additionally, those aged 21 to 24 have a marked difference in labour market dynamics when compared to older workers, evident through their median earnings, employment rates and unemployment rates.
The design of the NLW reflects provisions in the National Minimum Wage Act allowing rates to vary up to the age of 25, under clause 3.