Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to investigate reports that clothing manufacturing businesses in Leicester (1) have not complied with the restrictions in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) do not intend to follow the restrictions being put in place to address the localised lockdown.

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) website (www.hse.gov.uk) has advice for businesses and organisations on the precautions required in the workplace, including from COVID-19 and enables employees and others to contact HSE about working conditions or practices. HSE has also been working alongside other government departments across a range of sectors following up reports and concerns about safety in the workplace and COVID-19 restrictions.

Throughout the pandemic, HSE has actively engaged with businesses, including clothing manufacturers, by site visits and phone calls, investigating reports from those raising concerns, assessing compliance with health and safety law, and using guidance such as that published about social distancing from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19).

Specifically, in Leicester HSE has investigated 3 textile businesses following concerns reported, contacted 17 and undertaken 14 site visits to assess compliance with health and safety legislation. Enforcement action has been taken at 1 of these sites where non-compliance with COVID-19 risk controls was found.

HSE will continue to regulate workplaces by carrying out proactive spot checks over the coming weeks to ensure that appropriate measures are in place to protect workers from COVID-19. In Leicester, HSE has prioritised these spot checks in the textile industry and will take enforcement action to secure compliance where businesses cannot demonstrate they are taking all reasonable steps to make their workplace COVID secure. HSE will also continue to respond to reports of concerns raised.

(Footnote – It is usual to provide documents when web links are used in Parliamentary Questions but during the COVID – 19 outbreak Government Departments have used interactive websites that allow stakeholders to access a wide range of guidance that is relevant to their situation. These sites have content pages that link to other sites and documents.)