Royal Mail
Debate between Julian Smith and Michael Fallon(10 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Michael Fallon
The universal obligation is set out by the regulator and is not—and cannot be—affected by the change in ownership. Any change to the universal obligation would be made by this House, and as I have said, we have no plans to change that. On cherry-picking and so on, it is for the regulator to police the market and ensure there are no unfair practices.
Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)
May I congratulate the Minister on delivering a deal that many other Governments failed to deliver? Even the prince of darkness failed on this one. Instead, the Minister is giving Royal Mail hope and a vision for the future. Does he agree that for my rural constituents in north Yorkshire, innovation from the private sector, combined with the service obligation guarantee, could mean better services in the future?
Michael Fallon
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for what he has said. Today’s announcement builds on work done by the House in passing postal service legislation, and by my two Liberal Democrat predecessors in getting us to the position we are in today. Yes, there is every opportunity for Royal Mail to face its future with confidence, access to capital markets and new commercial freedoms, and every reason to expect the service to continue to improve.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Julian Smith and Michael Fallon
Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)
I thank the Government for listening on wind. Communities across north Yorkshire will be delighted by this decision. The Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon), is already popular in north Yorkshire, but I am sure that they would join me in wanting to give him a collective hug to thank him for this decision.
Michael Fallon
I am married to a girl from Yorkshire, but I think that a further hug would probably not be appropriate.
It is important that communities understand that they will now have more say against developments that are inappropriate and not properly justified. Too many communities have felt under siege from wholly inappropriate applications, and this measure will now bring them much-needed and long-awaited relief.
Growth and Infrastructure Bill
Debate between Julian Smith and Michael Fallon
Michael Fallon
I certainly can. It is not possible, under the procedures of the House, to place the guidance in the Library before I have first explained it to the House, but I will lay the draft guidance in the Library as soon as the transcript of this afternoon’s debate is available.
Let me be clear about what the draft guidance will mean. It will mean that a jobseeker cannot be compelled to apply for an employee shareholder job, nor can their jobseeker’s allowance be reduced or cut if they turn down an offer of an employee shareholder job or refuse to apply for an employee shareholder job. This explicit change to the guidance puts beyond any doubt our intention that no one should be forced into this new status.
While the benefits of the new status are considerable, it will not suit all companies or individuals—and we have never pretended that it would. It is up to companies and individuals to decide, and we have published guidance for individuals so that they fully understand the implications. That guidance sets out the employment rights associated with these jobs, the risks and rewards of being a shareholder, and other factors they may wish to consider before deciding whether to accept an employee shareholder position.
We are now, therefore, debating an employment status that is absolutely voluntary. Jobseeker’s allowance claimants will not be penalised if they do not want to apply for employee shareholder roles. Existing employees can turn down the offer of an employee shareholder contract from their current employer without fear of suffering a detriment or being dismissed if they say no.
Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)
Will the Minister confirm that there has been great excitement in many areas of the business community, especially in smaller tech companies, which is a positive reinforcement of the Government’s enterprise policies? We should pay tribute to the Minister for bringing this exciting proposal forward.
Michael Fallon
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. We have never specified the type of company that is most likely to take up this new status, but obviously younger companies at the beginning of their lives will be able to use this status at a time when they might not be able to pay their staff more than competitor companies, or those already established in the marketplace. They will therefore have an extra edge to offer to those individuals whom they wish to recruit. We have had much interest already from such companies, who see the new status as an exciting way to motivate their new work forces.
Protections for people do not end there. The Bill confirms that someone can be an employee shareholder only if they are given at least £2,000 worth of shares, and if they are not the person will not be an employee shareholder and will have all the normal employment rights that are associated with employees.
Clause 27 also stipulates that a person can be an employee shareholder only if they receive fully paid up shares. This means that the employee shareholder will not be liable for any debts should the company fold. Of course there will be circumstances where an employee shareholder leaves the business. It should be apparent from all that I have said that it is not the Government’s intention that employee shareholders are left with shares that they can sell back to the company only at prices that are unfair or where the buy-back arrangement would leave the employee shareholder at a financial disadvantage if there is no other way of disposing of the shares for value.
On Report in this House, we introduced an amendment to make a power to allow the Government to set a minimum value for the buy-back of shares if the company and employee shareholder enter into a buy-back agreement. That reserve power will be used, if it is needed, to safeguard employee shareholders in the unlikely event that employers behave unscrupulously. By including these protections we are ensuring that individuals understand the implications of employee status and are genuinely free to decide whether to accept it. No one can be pressurised, bullied or coerced into accepting this new status.
With this announcement of further explicit protection for jobseeker’s allowance claimants, I urge hon. Members to disagree with the other place and reinsert clause 27 into the Bill. The new employment status gives young companies in particular a new option that they can use to attract high-calibre individuals to help grow their business. It is important that we give companies that choice, but it is also important that we give people this opportunity to share in the growth potential of the company they work for. The clause should be part of the Bill.