Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Victoria Atkins and Pauline Latham

Tuesday 9th May 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Victoria Atkins)]

As the Minister responsible for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, may I wish His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen a very long and successful reign and say that its 63,000 members of staff will be proud to try to help His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, as they are bound to do? The Government are aware of concerns about employment practices in the hair and beauty sector. The concerns are largely focused on the so-called rented chair model, which is a long-standing practice and a legitimate alternative to employing stylists, provided that the parties involved follow the relevant rules. The Government are committed to tackling disguised employment and HMRC will consider any evidence suggesting that businesses have misclassified individuals for tax purposes.

[Mrs Latham]

It is estimated that 70% of the hairdressing industry is currently operating under a self-employed model to avoid pay-as-you-earn, national insurance and VAT. According to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs guidelines, those salons often amount to disguised employment. The problem is that all apprentices—and 90% of hairdressers learn through apprenticeships—must be trained in salons that pay their tax, an increasingly unattractive model. Will the Minister consider how we can taper VAT rates or enforce disguised employment rules more stringently to ensure that we have appropriately trained hairdressers in future?

[Victoria Atkins]

I am sure that I am joined by all Members of the House in thanking my hon. Friend for her interest in ensuring that we have hairdressers in 15 years’ time. We recognise the important role that hairdressing salons play in the education and training of apprenticeships. Indeed, funding for employer-led apprenticeships will grow to £2.7 billion in 2024-25, which will help to pay for the cost of training and assessment. However, she is quite right to pinpoint the need for those participating in the hairdressing industry to ensure that they are following the rules correctly. It is not their choice; there are very strict criteria, and they must make sure that they follow them. I very much look forward to discussing this in further detail with my hon. Friend later this week or next week.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Victoria Atkins and Pauline Latham

Tuesday 22nd March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

I am happy to take up the hon. Gentleman’s kind invitation. As he knows, we are very concerned about evidence from the family harms panel review about how some perpetrators use the family courts to continue their abuse. I hope the hon. Gentleman will be comforted by the news that in February we launched an integrated domestic abuse courts pilot in courts in Dorset and north Wales, which is testing a more investigative and less adversarial approach to family court proceedings.

[Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

23. If he will consider the potential merits of extending the time limits for claims under the Equality Act 2010 from three to six months.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Victoria Atkins and Pauline Latham

Monday 28th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question, knowing as I do the work that she is doing on this. We are very much looking at the evidence. In 2016, the last year for which we have figures, 179 people aged 16 to 17 entered marriage, out of nearly half a million who got married that year. In a way, the hon. Lady’s question demonstrates the complexities of this difficult subject, but I am very keen to work with her and other Members to look at the evidence on this important issue.

[Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

Does the Minister really believe that it is still appropriate for children to marry, with parental consent, before they have completed mandatory education or training up to the age of 18?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Victoria Atkins and Pauline Latham

Wednesday 12th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

T5. What is the Minister doing to help girls to reach their full potential in the light of their being taken from school at this time of the year at or below the age of 16 for early marriage abroad?

[The Minister for Women (Victoria Atkins)]

I thank my hon. Friend for her unrelenting campaign to ensure that this issue is brought before the House. Forced marriage is a terrible form of abuse, and this Government and this Prime Minister have made protecting women and girls from violence and supporting victims of forced marriage a key priority. We have introduced a range of measures to tackle this crime, including creating a specific forced marriage offence and criminalising the breach of forced marriage protection orders.

Gender Pay Gap

Debate between Victoria Atkins and Pauline Latham

Thursday 4th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

The hon. Lady knows that last year was the first year for reporting gender pay gap figures and this is the second. Although I am impatient to get the gap closed, we have to acknowledge that it will take time for businesses and employers to close it. I would therefore like the data to settle, perhaps for another year or so, before we start looking at reducing the number of employees at which companies and businesses have to start reporting. We acknowledge that it is an extra bureaucratic responsibility for businesses. We want to make sure that the large employers are doing their best before we move it down, but I look forward to that work.

[Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

Labour Members had 13 years to tackle the injustice of the gender pay gap but failed to do so. Will my hon. Friend join me in welcoming the steps that this Government have taken to tackle this historical injustice?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Victoria Atkins and Pauline Latham

Thursday 13th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

Forced marriage is outlawed in this country, but it still happens, and schools do not do enough about it. It does not help either that children can get married at 16 in this country. Will the Minister meet me and Jasvinder Sanghera from Karma Nirvana to discuss this issue?

[Victoria Atkins]

It was a pleasure to sit in for my hon. Friend’s 10-minute rule motion on exactly this point last week, and I would be happy to meet her to discuss the marriage age. Forced marriage is illegal, of course, and the Home Office is doing a great deal of work to spread the message around communities particularly affected by it that it is simply not acceptable in the 21st century.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Victoria Atkins and Pauline Latham

Thursday 11th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Victoria Atkins]

That is a very pleasant suggestion, and I look forward to meeting Professor Sawers in due course.

[Mrs Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

5. What steps the Government are taking to encourage more girls and women to get involved with the 2018 Year of Engineering.