Julian Smith
Main Page: Julian Smith (Conservative - Skipton and Ripon)
Vince Cable
The hon. Gentleman is right in the premise of his question; the automotive industry is enormously important. As he knows, some very welcome investment is taking place in the west midlands, the north-east, Luton and elsewhere. Indeed, I have been to Japan, Detroit and elsewhere to encourage that investment. He is right also that potential investors stress the need for skills. A great deal of investment is now taking place; specifically, there are the 10,000 places for advanced apprenticeships, which will be directed specifically to small and medium-sized enterprises in the supply chain of industries such as the vehicle industry.
Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)
12. What progress his Department has made on its employment law review.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Mr Edward Davey)
As part of the review, we have consulted on employment tribunals and unfair dismissal, launched the employer’s charter, commissioned reviews of sickness absence and of compliance and enforcement regimes, repealed the default retirement age, introduced a moratorium for micro-businesses and start-ups, and announced that we will not proceed with the dual discrimination provision in the Equality Act 2010. We have announced future work priorities for the review, and the red tape challenge will also consider cross-Government employment-related regulations.
Julian Smith
I thank the Minister for that answer. I am really worried about the lack of engagement with the review by other Departments. Does he agree that the Department for Work and Pensions and the Home Office also impose significant burdens on employers? May I encourage the Minister to throw his weight around with those other Departments? We have an urgent need for jobs.
Mr Davey
I assure my hon. Friend that all Departments with responsibility for employment-related legislation are contributing to the review; it is important that they should, if the review is to have a real impact on burdens on business. I will talk to colleagues in other Departments to ensure that they are taking a clear role in it, as I am sure that they will.