Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Callanan on 26 January (HL Deb, cols 1509–13), who is being consulted as part of their review of workers' rights; whether the Trades Union Congress and trade unions have been excluded from such consultations, and if so, why; and how that review relates to the Employment Bill referred to in the Queen's Speech.

There is no Government plan to reduce workers’ rights.

In our manifesto, the Government promised to maintain existing levels of protections for workers provided by our laws and regulations as we left the EU. In any case, our high standards were never dependent on our membership of the EU. The UK has one of the best employment rights records in the world and it is well known that in many areas the UK goes further than the EU on worker protections.

We have also committed to enhancing workers’ rights now that we have left the EU. We have already set out plans to bring forward legislation which will make workplaces fairer, provide better support for working families and new protections for those in low-paid work.

Our manifesto contains commitments to create a new, single enforcement body for labour market abuses, to give greater protections for workers, as well as plans to encourage greater flexible working.