May. 01 2024
Source Page: A Warm Scots Future Fairer Scotland Duty SummaryFound: is because they can only work part -time
Mentions:
1: Paula Barker (Lab - Liverpool, Wavertree) Thank you for the work that you do and for being here today.Those colleagues who know me well know that - Speech Link
2: Mike Amesbury (Lab - Weaver Vale) We were set up by the trade unions and the labour movement to provide good, secure work. - Speech Link
3: Felicity Buchan (Con - Kensington) That house was for 18 to 25-year-old women. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Vicky Ford (Con - Chelmsford) and local authorities will need to work together. - Speech Link
2: None With that, I welcome and commend the work of the right hon. - Speech Link
3: Damian Hinds (Con - East Hampshire) wider work with behaviour hubs and champions, and so on—is to spread best practice. - Speech Link
4: Damian Hinds (Con - East Hampshire) to see some of the amazingly dedicated work and the lengths that schools and individual members of staff - Speech Link
5: Vicky Ford (Con - Chelmsford) every year for many years, you will see that there is deep concern about the happiness levels of young women - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Fleur Anderson (Lab - Putney) Women are five times more likely to develop ME, and to have more symptoms from their ME, than men. - Speech Link
2: Caroline Nokes (Con - Romsey and Southampton North) effective treatments—and of course, the holy grail, a cure—but research focused on the women who need - Speech Link
3: Andrew Stephenson (Con - Pendle) I will continue to work with him and other hon. and right hon. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Tom Pursglove (Con - Corby) and North Poole (Michael Tomlinson) leads on this work and he is confident of the whereabouts, once - Speech Link
2: Tom Pursglove (Con - Corby) I wish Liberal Democrat Members were as enthusiastic as I am about the back to work plan and our work - Speech Link
3: Vicky Ford (Con - Chelmsford) We have amazing domestic abuse services, and we have welcomed women and their families from all over - Speech Link
4: Joanna Cherry (SNP - Edinburgh South West) co-authored a report with Helena Kennedy recommending that the UK Government have a humanitarian visa for women - Speech Link
5: John Stevenson (Con - Carlisle) Work and Pensions to ensure we achieve that? - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Lord Oates (LD - Life peer) Network, which support over 100 women healthcare workers who received their work permits before the - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Preet Kaur Gill (LAB - Birmingham, Edgbaston) What will be the impact of the Bill on pregnant women and unborn babies, and when do you think the target - Speech Link
2: Bambos Charalambous (Lab - Enfield, Southgate) their families, their social life, their work life and so on. - Speech Link
3: Mary Glindon (Lab - North Tyneside) Much of that is also targeted at women who are pregnant.Part of that work is also supporting staff. - Speech Link
4: Preet Kaur Gill (LAB - Birmingham, Edgbaston) I work in a deprived area. - Speech Link
5: Andrea Leadsom (Con - South Northamptonshire) We work out where the patient is on the clock face, and we are trying to get them round the clock to - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: O'Kane, Paul (Lab - West Scotland) detailed work to be done, it is clear that the work and pensions secretary and the Government must respond - Speech Link
2: Chapman, Maggie (Green - North East Scotland) Older women are now often unable to find appropriate jobs, and many cannot work, as they are carers for - Speech Link
3: McCall, Roz (Con - Mid Scotland and Fife) I add my congratulations to the WASPI women and campaigners for their hard work and diligence in getting - Speech Link
4: McNair, Marie (SNP - Clydebank and Milngavie) women groups have done so much amazing work. - Speech Link
5: Clark, Katy (Lab - West Scotland) work to quantify the loss to those women and the communities in which they live and to make the case - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Sarwar, Anas (Lab - Glasgow) is willing to work with business.It is now clearer than it has ever been that it is time for the people - Speech Link
2: Yousaf, Humza (SNP - Glasgow Pollok) U-turning on his support for the WASPI—Women Against State Pension Inequality—women.We on the SNP benches - Speech Link
3: Harvie, Patrick (Green - Glasgow) The Government will no longer be a majority Government, but minority Governments can work. - Speech Link
4: Gilruth, Jenny (SNP - Mid Fife and Glenrothes) My app did not work. I would have voted no. - Speech Link
Asked by: Lennon, Monica (Scottish Labour - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on its work to make Scotland "a leading Fair Work Nation by 2025".
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Minister for Energy and the Environment
Scotland is making great strides towards becoming a leading Fair Work nation.
The number of accredited Real Living Wage employers is up from 14 in 2014 to over 3,500 in 2023. That’s proportionately 5 times as many than the rest of the UK, and some 65,000 workers in Scotland have had a pay rise as a result of accreditation, making a real impact for people in the lowest paid jobs.
Our support contributes to 89.9% of employees aged 18 and over in Scotland being paid at least the real Living Wage (2023 data), higher than Wales 87.1%, England 87.0%, NI 84.4%, and the UK overall 87.1%.
Building on the work of the Fair Work Convention we’re pressing forward with sectoral agreements in Adult Social Care and Construction, as well as Retail with to help put those sectors and their workforces on a sustainable footing for the long term.
The median gender pay gap has continued on a long-term downward trend and has now reached a record low of 1.7% in 2023 for full time employees in Scotland, lower than the overall UK gap of 7.7%.
The Disability Employment Gap fell further to 30.2 percentage points in 2023 – a decrease from 31.9 p.p. in 2022 and the lowest it has been since our baseline year in 2016 when it was 37.4 p.p. There is still work to do but this suggests that we are on track to achieve our ambition to reach 18.7 p.p by 2038.
Fair Work First principles were applied to some £4bn public funds since 2019, and in 1 July 2023 we took this further by adding the requirement that all grant recipients awarded a public sector grant pay at least the real Living Wage and provide appropriate channels for effective workers’ voice.
Through the Workplace Equality Fund we focused on providing financial support for employers to address longstanding barriers in the labour market that particular priority groups experience, including disabled people, women, racialised minorities and older workers. In 2023-24 the WEF investment was almost £600,000 across 10 projects, bringing the total spent to over £3.2m on 71 projects since 2018 [1] . This year we are evaluating the effectiveness of the WEF to inform future interventions.
In financial years 2020-21 and 2023-24, we invested £1.2 m in the Apt Public Social Partnership (PSP)which worked to improve the recruitment and retention of disabled people by developing and testing different types of support for employers. The PSP engaged with employers in the private and third sectors, with a particular focus on SMEs throughout Scotland. An independent evaluation of the PSP’s impact will be commissioned in 2024-25. Employers involved in the partnership to date have reported benefits such as improved recruitment and retention processes, increased confidence in having conversations about employment with disabled people, and increased awareness about the benefits of a diverse workforce.
We have repeatedly voiced our opposition to legislation at Westminster that undermines workers’ rights, including the Trade Union Act 2016, the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2022, hire and rehire, and the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act 2023.
We have been proud to support pay deals for public sector workers that reflect the vital jobs that they do. Last year pay deals were around £800 million greater than planned and our total expenditure on public sector pay is now around £25 billion – over half of our fiscal resource. On average public sector pay in Scotland is around 6% more than the rest of the UK.
[1] Total investment in WEF projects since 2018 is £3,194,500