Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to help promote flexible working.

The Department for Business and Trade works with a number of other Departments to promote flexible working. Several of them are members of the Department for Business and Trade / Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development co-chaired Flexible Working Taskforce, alongside business and family representative groups. In December 2022 the Government announced plans[1] to make the right to request flexible working a day one right, alongside other changes to make flexible working more accessible to all employees. The Government is pleased to support the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Private Members’ Bill[2] which will deliver several of these changes.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/making-flexible-working-the-default

[2] https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3198