Stella Creasy

The Government has published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill including an impact assessment of the Bill’s measure to end the unscrupulous use of fire and rehire. The evidence on the prevalence of the practice of fire and rehire is limited, however. Department for Business and Trade analysis suggests that <1% of employers might engage in the practice each year.

We are strengthening the law in this area to make it clear that the unscrupulous use of fire and rehire and fire and replace are not acceptable and will be an automatically unfair dismissal.

The UK’s product safety and metrology framework is derived from EU law and has developed over the past four decades, while the UK was a Member of the EU. While there have been some product standard developments since 31 January 2020, the regulations in the EU and UK currently remain broadly similar.

No estimate has been made on the number of product standard regulations that will be issued by the EU in the next five years. Some expected changes to EU regulations have been identified, with outdoor noise regulations due to be implemented in May 2025 for instance.

The Government takes consumer protection very seriously which is why we are introducing the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill. This Bill is intended to enable the UK to maintain high product standards, supporting businesses and economic growth, by allowing the UK Parliament the power to update relevant laws.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is the UK’s national product regulator within the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). As well as policy responsibility for product safety and standards, OPSS delivers front line product regulation for DBT, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Transport.

The Department does not routinely publish separate data on the number of staff employed in OPSS. The last separately published figures for OPSS were that it employed 430 staff in the year 2021/22.

The UK-Egypt Trade and Investment Subcommittee is a forum for promoting further trade and investment between our two countries, and the inaugural meeting was held on 18 July 2023.

At this meeting, market access issues, including ongoing regulatory collaboration in areas of shared priority and interest, such as renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, and financial services, were discussed.

The Subcommittee meets as circumstances require and officials in the UK and Egypt work together on an ongoing basis on trade and investment issues.

The Department is considering the outcome of the Finch case and the potential impacts of this across its portfolio and cannot comment further at this time.

The UK welcomed the creation of the Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders under the Aarhus Convention.

The Government is considering the issues raised in the Special Rapporteur's two recent letters, in the context of the UK's obligations under the Aarhus Convention.

We will respond in due course.

Monitoring and enforcing the border controls introduced under the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) is undertaken collaboratively between bodies including Defra, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Border Force and HMRC.

Our checks are intelligence-led and based on biosecurity risk: It would be inappropriate for us to set out operational details such as the exact inspection details from 30 April.

Checking details, such as time taken to review consignments, could be used by bad actors looking for exploitable elements of the border to facilitate illegal imports.

Furthermore, this information is also commercially sensitive. HMG does not wish to impact trader choice of route as details of checks completed may advantage/disadvantage other ports as traders may BCP shop to find what appears on paper to be the “fastest route”.

HM Government is responsible for setting charges on imports coming into GB to recover operating costs for the government-run BCP facilities serving the Port of Dover and Eurotunnel. Further detail on the Common User Charge including on invoicing and ongoing support will be published imminently.

The Common User Charge (CUC) rate will not apply at privately-run ports; it is up to individual commercial ports to determine their own charging structure and rates.

The requested information is not readily available as it is not centrally collated and to provide this would be at disproportionate cost. Depending on the benefit being claimed, the clerical NCC1 forms are either handed into the Jobcentre Plus office, for Universal Credit, or are sent to the relevant postal address for Child Tax Credits and Income Support.

The annual statistics about the policy that provides support for a maximum of 2 children in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit provides a range of statistics including statistics relating to the exceptions to the policy. The latest and previous publications can be found here: Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children, April 2024 - GOV.UK

The Government recognises the immediate issues affecting the National Health Service and is determined to fix them. We also recognise the need for investment in our estate across the country, including at Whipps Cross University Hospital, North East London.

My Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, has asked for an urgent report on the degree to which the New Hospital Programme is funded and a realistic timetable for delivery. He will consider this carefully then report back to patients, clinicians and local communities to confirm revision, if any, to the schedule.

The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review on the basis of various factors including impact assessments.

The UK Government remains committed to securing the release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah. We continue to raise Mr El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian Government. The Egyptian Government does not recognise Mr El-Fattah's British nationality and is refusing consular access. The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions, most recently with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on 14 November. The Prime Minister also raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 8 August. I raised Mr El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 15 October.

The UK Government remains committed to securing the release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah. We continue to raise Mr El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian Government. The Egyptian Government does not recognise Mr El-Fattah's British nationality and is refusing consular access. The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions, most recently with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on 14 November. The Prime Minister also raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 8 August. I raised Mr El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 15 October.

Hurricane Beryl passed through the Caribbean at the beginning of July, devastating several islands in the Grenadines, including Union. On 5th July, the Foreign Secretary responded by increasing available UK response funding up to £500,000. This money has allowed us to send emergency shelter kits (capable of supporting up to 4,000 people) and freshwater storage solutions (for over 1,600 families) to affected islands, which included Union Island. The UK also supported the deployment of Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) emergency response teams to assess needs and assist with relief, logistics and telecoms. St Vincent and the Grenadines also received US$1.86 million from the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), to which the UK was a founder donor.

It remains the government’s intention to deliver a single trade window (STW). The government is committed to minimising administrative burdens and frictions experienced by businesses trading internationally.

Across the UK, millions have used Buy-Now, Pay-Later (BNPL) products, which can be a helpful way of managing finances from month to month. However, without regulation, there are risks: that is why the government believes consumers need proper protections. The government has made regulating the BNPL sector a priority and in October 2024 it published a consultation setting out its plans for doing so.

Final legislation is expected to be laid in Parliament later in the Spring, and after the legislation has been made, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will consult on and finalise its tailored rules for BNPL products. We expect regulation to be in place 12 months after the legislation has been made.

HMRC publishes the estimated cost to the Exchequer and number of claimants of various tax reliefs.

The estimated value of Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance Contributions relief for “Employer Supported Childcare including workplace nurseries” can be found in the “Multiple_tax_types” worksheet of Estimated cost of non-structural tax reliefs (December 2023).

The figures include three forms of employer-supported childcare (ESC): workplace nurseries, childcare vouchers and directly contracted childcare. Use of these reliefs is not reportable to HMRC and so administrative data on their use is not available, nor is a detailed breakdown between the three forms of ESC. The introduction of Tax-Free Childcare and closure of childcare vouchers and directly contracted childcare to new entrants leads to the continuing reduction in the cost of ESC.

HMRC publishes the estimated cost to the Exchequer and number of claimants of various tax reliefs.

The estimated value of Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance Contributions relief for “Employer Supported Childcare including workplace nurseries” can be found in the “Multiple_tax_types” worksheet of Estimated cost of non-structural tax reliefs (December 2023).

The figures include three forms of employer-supported childcare (ESC): workplace nurseries, childcare vouchers and directly contracted childcare. Use of these reliefs is not reportable to HMRC and so administrative data on their use is not available, nor is a detailed breakdown between the three forms of ESC. The introduction of Tax-Free Childcare and closure of childcare vouchers and directly contracted childcare to new entrants leads to the continuing reduction in the cost of ESC.