Employment Rights Bill: Implementation Road Map
(2 days, 12 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Justin Madders)
I am notifying Parliament today of the publication of the Employment Rights Bill implementation road map. The road map will provide clarity for workers and businesses, as well as parliamentarians, on how and when the Government will consult on the implementation of the Bill measures, and when they should expect these measures to come into effect.
The plan to make work pay is the Government’s ambitious package of reforms that will upgrade our employment rights framework, ensuring it is fit for a modern economy, empowers working people and contributes to economic growth. It will support the delivery of the Government’s plan for change by tackling the low pay, poor working conditions and poor job security that has been holding the UK economy back. The Bill is a crucial step in delivering these reforms.
We will continue to engage and consult comprehensively on the implementation of the measures in the Bill to make sure these changes work for all. While the Bill sets out the policy in primary legislation, key details of how many of the individual measures will work in practice will be consulted on, agreed, and then set out in secondary legislation and regulations, subject to the Bill receiving Royal Assent.
The road map will allow employers, unions and workers to plan ahead to ensure that they can prepare for these important reforms. By engaging closely with our stakeholders, we will ensure our changes work for all.
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Parental Leave Review
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Justin Madders)
I wish to make a statement on the parental leave review.
The plan to make work pay
This Government are committed to making life better for families. The current parental leave and pay system does not work as well as it could. We have already taken action to improve the system by legislating, in our landmark Employment Rights Bill, to make paternity leave and unpaid parental leave “day one” rights. The Bill will also put in place legislation that makes it unlawful to dismiss pregnant women, mothers on maternity leave, and mothers who come back to work for a six-month period after they return—except in specific circumstances.
We committed to a review of the parental leave system in the plan to make work pay, and through this launch today we are delivering on this commitment.
Review: context
The review will form part of delivering the plan for change, linking to two of the Government missions: to kickstart economic growth and break down barriers to opportunity. The work of this review will support our ongoing work to raise living standards, give children the best start in life and alleviate child poverty.
This review presents a much-needed opportunity to consider our approach to the system of parental leave and pay, giving due consideration to balancing costs and benefits to both businesses and the Exchequer. All current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements will be in scope of the review.
Review: lead Departments
This review will be co-led by the Department for Business and Trade and the Department for Work and Pensions—the two Departments that have the main responsibility for the current parental leave framework. These Departments will work closely with other Government Departments on this cross-cutting and important policy.
Review: objectives
The current system does not have an overarching set of objectives and has grown gradually over time. This review presents an opportunity to reset our approach and the understanding of parental leave and pay and what we want the system to achieve.
We will assess the current system against the following objectives:
Our first objective is to support the physical and mental health of women during pregnancy and after giving birth to a child.
Our second objective is to support economic growth by enabling more parents to stay in work and advance in their careers after starting a family. This will particularly focus on improving both women’s labour market outcomes and the gender pay gap.
Our third objective is to ensure that there are sufficient resources and time away from work to support new and expectant parents’ wellbeing. This will also include facilitating the best start in life for babies and young children, supporting health and development outcomes.
Our fourth objective is to support parents to make balanced childcare choices that work for their families, including enabling co-parenting, and providing flexibility to reflect the realities of modern work and childcare needs.
Review: engagement
This will be an evidence-based review that reflects and considers the perspectives and experiences of those who engage with the parental leave and pay system.
There will be opportunities for stakeholders to contribute views and expertise throughout the review, including through a call for evidence that also launches today. This call for evidence seeks initial evidence specifically in relation to the objectives that will set the foundation for what we want our system to deliver.
Review: timeline
We expect the review to run for a period of 18 months. The Government will conclude the review with a set of findings and a road map and will set out next steps for taking any reforms forward to implementation.
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UK Defence Innovation and Cyber & Specialist Operations Command
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The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)
Today this Government are outlining two major developments in our commitment to reform defence and the delivery of our strategic defence review. The establishment of the new UK Defence Innovation organisation and the renaming of the UK Strategic Command to become the “Cyber & Specialist Operations Command (CSOC)”, reflecting the command’s evolved role and enhanced responsibilities.
UKDI is a new body which will harness and exploit technology for our armed forces. It will be the focal point for innovation within the Ministry of Defence, backed by a ringfenced annual budget of £400 million, supporting the Government’s plan for change by driving defence as an engine for UK growth and creating highly skilled jobs in the dual-use technology sector.
It will consolidate and streamline the existing MOD landscape into a single coherent system, as demanded by the SDR, with the mandate to bring innovative technology to the hands of frontline troops faster and to foster a thriving and world-leading UK defence tech sector. The UKDI will be in the new National Armaments Director Group within the MOD as part of the new operating model being established through Defence Reform.
The SDR highlighted the rapidly evolving threat landscape and the critical need for the UK to maintain its technological edge. UKDI will play a pivotal role in implementing the review’s recommendations by breaking down barriers between defence and commercial innovation, ensuring that game-changing technologies can be identified, developed, and deployed to the frontline at pace.
It will take a new approach by moving quickly and decisively, using different ways of contracting, to enable UK companies to scale up innovative prototypes rapidly, by setting out a clear pathway to growth, working with the rest of Government, from initial production to manufacturing at scale.
And will make the UK a defence innovation leader through funding and supporting firms of all sizes to take state-of-the-art technology from the drawing board to the production line.
The UKDI has been formally established today, with further design, transition and implementation work to be developed over the next 12 months. UKDI will be fully operational by July 2026.
This comes alongside another significant development within the Military Strategic Headquarters, under the command of the Chief of Defence Staff, with UK Strategic Command being renamed as the Cyber & Specialist Operations Command. This change reflects the command’s changed role and reinforces its responsibilities following the SDR, particularly its leadership of the cyber domain, which the SDR demanded a greater focus on across defence and Government as a whole. It follows the MOD, and Government partners, having to protect UK military networks against more than 90,000 “sub-threshold” attacks in the last two years.
The new name firmly places leadership of this crucial domain for defence and the armed forces with the new command. It also better represents CSOC’s “Lead Command” responsibilities for those specialist capabilities critical to operational success, ranging from intelligence, special forces, through to deployed medical capabilities and command and control as well as the permanent joint headquarters. CSOC, through Commander CSOC—General Sir Jim Hockenhull—will continue to be under the command of the Chief of the Defence Staff and the newly formed Military Strategic Headquarters, created under Defence Reform.
These are part of the far-reaching changes that will ensure we get cutting-edge innovations to our armed forces faster, enhancing military capability while driving economic growth in every corner of the UK.
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Afghan Resettlement Schemes
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The Minister for the Armed Forces (Luke Pollard)
For two decades, more than 150,000 UK armed forces personnel served with great courage and distinction in a bid to bring stability and security to the people of Afghanistan. They were helped in this difficult mission by thousands of equally brave Afghans performing in a variety of supporting roles. We can be proud as a nation that, following the Taliban’s seizure of power in 2021, we have honoured our obligation to those who put their personal safety at considerable risk by offering one of the most generous Afghan resettlement programmes in the world. We can be equally proud of what that programme has accomplished.
Today I want to provide an update on the latest progress of the Afghan Resettlement Programme. The ARP was announced by the Defence Secretary on 18 December 2024 as a means of bringing together different resettlement schemes across Government—including the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme—to drive efficiency and improve outcomes for UK taxpayers and our Afghan friends and allies. Through the ARP, the Government are continuing to honour our commitment to all Afghans eligible to come to Britain. So far, over 34,000 Afghans have successfully relocated to the UK and started rebuilding their lives in this country. This is an incredible achievement, and I would like to thank Members across the House for their support, as well as former Ministers.
While the Government will continue to support the ARP, we have said all along that these schemes cannot continue indefinitely. When announcing the launch of the ARP last year, the Defence Secretary told the House that we would update colleagues when the time came to stop taking on new applicants. I repeated that commitment to the House in May. That time has now come.
Throughout the past year, we have regularly assessed progress, and carefully considered the right time to stop taking on new applications. Four years on from the ARAP scheme’s launch we have now reached the right point. We are currently finding over 95% of first-time applications to be ineligible. This shows that we have honoured our obligation and commitment that we set out to repay when the scheme was established.
As of today, the Home Office has laid the necessary immigration rule changes where ARAP will no longer take on new principal applications.
To be clear, all applications received to date will continue to be processed. Those who are found eligible will still have their immediate family members—such as one spouse and children under 18—automatically considered for relocation. They will also still have 30 days from accepting their ARAP offer to make an application to relocate any additional family members to the UK.
We expect the current pace of arrivals to remain at the same level for the duration of this Parliament as we clear applications, process requests for an additional family member, and complete relocations. There remains a lot of work to be done, but it is our intention to finish the process and honour our obligation in full by the end of this Parliament.
As I stated in my written ministerial statement in May, we will also continue to progress phase 2 of the Triples review, and I will continue to keep the House updated on this.
Those within scope of phase 2 of the Triples review are not affected by this change. All of the cases within scope have already applied for ARAP and will in due course receive a new eligibility decision or a confirmation they remain ineligible.
Despite the programme’s achievements, however, I am also conscious that some ARAP cases have waited a long time for decisions. We inherited a large backlog of cases from the previous Administration, and colleagues across the House have contacted the Department raising ARAP cases over the years that have faced long waits for decisions. I share their concern, and I am determined to address every outstanding case as quickly as possible, while ensuring that each application is individually assessed. From the autumn, we will introduce key performance indicators for our ARAP caseload. This will help people understand where they stand in the process—and when they should receive a decision.
I am also announcing, on behalf of the Home Secretary, the closure of the Home Office-run Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme. This means that the Government will not launch any further pathways nor accept any further referrals. Over 12,800 people have been successfully resettled under the ACRS since 2021. More than half of arrivals have been children, and a quarter women.
To reassure those who have made a referral under the Separated Families Pathway but have not yet received a decision, the Home Office will continue to consider those referrals and issue decisions. Once again, we will honour our commitments to anyone found eligible. We will also honour our commitments to those who have already been found eligible for ACRS but are not yet in the UK.
Relocating over 34,000 eligible Afghans is no small feat and would not have been possible without the support of our partners both at home and abroad.
We are grateful to the local authorities and devolved Governments who continue to help deliver the ARP successfully. Working hand in hand with local government, we will continue our efforts to implement a fair approach to the dispersal of Afghan arrivals across the UK and to empower regions to ensure arrivals are placed in areas that best support their integration. We are also grateful for our international partners. The majority of those eligible have travelled via Pakistan, so I would like to thank the Government of Pakistan for their ongoing co-operation and support.
Finally, I would like to thank all those civil servants and military personnel who continue to work tirelessly to relocate eligible Afghans and to help them rebuild their lives in the UK.
Without the contribution of our Afghan friends and allies, UK personnel who served in Afghanistan would have had an even tougher and certainly a more dangerous job. The Government’s goal remains, by the end of this Parliament, to have safely relocated those eligible and honour in full our moral obligation to those who supported our mission in Afghanistan.
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Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery: Contingent Liabilities
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Michael Shanks)
Today I am notifying the House of the steps taken by the Government with regard to the insolvency of Prax Lindsey oil refinery and related subsidiaries.
We know that this will be incredibly worrying news for workers at the refinery, as well as the wider community in Lincolnshire. The Government stand with the workers, their families and the community at this difficult time. Given the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee’s interest in this, we are updating on the action that the Government are taking.
There have been long-standing issues at the company since it was acquired in 2021. Prax Lindsey oil refinery’s financial reports indicated that it has recorded losses of around £75 million up to the financial year ending February 2024 since its acquisition in 2021.
At the end of April, the Government were informed of ongoing commercial difficulties. We repeatedly asked the company what the financial gap was, to work out whether the Government could help bridge that gap, but the company was unable to share that basic information.
As a result of today’s decision by the company, an official receiver and an administrator have been appointed to take over different parts of the business. The Government will ensure supplies are maintained, protect our energy security, and do everything we can to support workers.
The company has left the Government with very little time to act. The Government are supporting the official receiver to carry out his statutory duties, including managing the situation on the Prax Lindsey site to determine next steps. This will include urgently reporting back on all potential uses of the site, prior to a wind-down of the refinery.
As to the wider business, there are extensive operational and financing interdependencies within the Prax Group which mean that the refinery’s parent company, State Oil Ltd, has also been placed into administration today along with a small number of other group entities.
However, other parts of the group—including the group’s retail business in the UK, which provides oil trucks, logistics and forecourt services at a number of filling stations—have not gone into administration. The retail business is profitable, and is not solely supplied with fuels from the Lindsey refinery. This means that alternative supplies for the group’s retail network can be sourced as necessary and the administrators will seek to do that and trade the business as normal while they look to secure a prompt sale of the retail operation in due course.
The Energy Secretary has written to the Insolvency Service to demand an immediate investigation into the conduct of the directors and the circumstances surrounding this insolvency.
The Government’s immediate priority is to ensure that affected workers are supported through this difficult time. We will urgently work with the company and trade unions to explore what further support can be offered for workers.
I have laid a departmental minute today notifying the House of two contingent liabilities associated with the Government’s intervention. I regret that, due to compressed timings and the rapid response the Government have had to prepare, I have not been able to follow the usual notice period of 14 parliamentary sitting days. These liabilities relate to:
Legal indemnity
A legal indemnity has been offered to the official receiver to protect it against financial loss or legal claims incurred in the course of carrying out its statutory functions. The indemnity is a standard mechanism in high-risk or complex insolvencies where appointees are expected to act in the national interest without undue risk to the appointees. Crystallisation is expected to be limited.
Operating cost support
The Government will provide short-term funding to cover the essential operating costs of the refinery. This is required to maintain safe site operations to ensure our energy security during the initial phase of liquidation and to facilitate a controlled shut down or potential sale as a going concern. The funding acts as working capital to ensure the secure transition of the site as well as allowing the fuel sector enough time to adapt supply chains and commercial arrangements so that fuel remains available to end users. The final operating cost support will depend on market conditions and the strategy adopted by the official receiver, and this will be subject to close scrutiny and governance by the Government and the insolvency office holders.
Together, these contingent liabilities are necessary to provide the official receiver and special manager with the necessary tools to fulfil their duties in a beneficial way for creditors and taxpayers. If the liability is called, provision for any payment will be sought through the normal supply procedure. The Treasury has approved the proposal in principle.
I will update Parliament on any developments in this contingent liability.
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Armenia and Azerbaijan: Arms Embargo
(2 days, 12 hours ago)
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The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Stephen Doughty)
This statement supersedes the written ministerial statement of 2 July 2014 on the “Arms Embargo (Azerbaijan and Armenia)” —[Official Report, 2 July 2014; Vol. 583, c. 60WS.]
The UK regularly reviews export policy to embargoed destinations in light of our international obligations and the situation on the ground, to ensure that implementation continues to be legally robust, diligent and consistent with the terms of the sanctions in place.
The Government will apply the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe arms embargo to weapons, ammunition and munitions that might be used on the land border between Armenia and Azerbaijan by military, police, security forces and related Government entities. Weapons, ammunition and munitions are those items specified in entries ML1, 2, 3 and 4 of the UK Military List of the Export Control Order 2008. Supplies of such equipment to other end users, such as humanitarian, peacekeeping, research or media organisations, will not be considered subject to the embargo unless there is a risk of diversion to the land border for use by the military, police, security forces and related Government entities of either state.
This is a change from the 2 July 2014 UK interpretation of the arms embargo, which included the supply of all military list equipment to military, police and security forces and related governmental entities, where this equipment could be used in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, or on the land border between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
This revision is consistent with the precursor to the OSCE, the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe’s declaration of 1992, which requested an embargo on
“all deliveries of weapons and munitions to forces engaged in combat in the Nagorno-Karabakh area”.
Export and trade licence applications for Armenia and Azerbaijan will continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis against the UK strategic export licensing criteria, and the Government will not issue a licence where to do so would be inconsistent with any of the criteria. The UK will continue to monitor the situation on the ground and keep the arms embargo under review.
We strongly support the efforts of both parties to find a lasting peace.
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NHS Pensions: McCloud Remedy Implementation
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The Minister for Secondary Care (Karin Smyth)
On 31 March 2025, I issued a written statement on the delivery of remediable service statements to NHS pension scheme members affected by the discrimination identified by the McCloud judgment. In it, I set out the extended deadlines by which the NHS Business Services Authority, which acts for the Secretary of State as the administrator of the NHS pension scheme, must provide affected members with remediable service statements.
Those deadlines were informed by a delivery plan put forward by the authority. However, as statements have been produced, it has become clear that the resource required to implement that plan was significantly underestimated.
I regret to inform the House that the NHS Business Services Authority will not be able to meet a number of these deadlines, including for those members who were due to receive a statement by 1 July 2025. The authority has begun issuing these statements, and enacting members’ consequential decisions, and as of 27 June 2025, 1,359 have been issued.
I stated on 31 March 2025 that I will hold NHS Business Services Authority to account against those extended deadlines for the delivery of remediable service statements. I will be meeting with the chief executive of the NHS Business Services Authority this week to express my disappointment with the progress that has been made and will be asking the recently-appointed independent chair of the NHS Pension Board to review the capacity, capability and delivery plans of the authority’s McCloud remedy functions and report to me before recess. The NHS pension scheme is a key part of the reward package for NHS staff who should expect an excellent service.
When I have agreed a revised delivery plan with the authority, one which is endorsed by the authority’s board, I intend to set new deadlines, including for those members who were expecting a statement by 1 July 2025, and will update the House as soon as possible. It is important to me that members have realistic timeframes for when they will receive their statements, and that the Government fulfil their obligations to them at the very earliest possible opportunity.
I know this will be disappointing news to affected members and the organisations that represent them. I want to assure them that we will continue to prioritise members based on their likelihood of facing financial detriment, that the authority are continuing to issue statements while a revised delivery plan is developed, and that they will receive 8% interest on pension arrears they are owed following receipt of their statement and enactment of their choice.
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Immigration Rule Changes
(2 days, 12 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department (Seema Malhotra)
My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary is today laying before the House a statement of changes in immigration rules.
Changes to the skilled worker and other work routes as set out in the immigration White Paper
These changes implement the first phase of reforms to work visas set out in the immigration White Paper, “Restoring Control over the Immigration System”, published on 12 May 2025.
The key change is raising the threshold for skilled worker visas from occupations at regulated qualifications framework level 3 and above (approximately A-level skills) to occupations at RQF level 6 and above (mainly graduate professions).
Salary requirements for work visas are being raised in line with the latest Office for National Statistics data, ahead of an upcoming thorough review of salary requirements (including discounts) by the independent Migration Advisory Committee.
The immigration salary list and a new, interim temporary shortage list provide time-limited and conditional access to the skilled worker route for occupations below the new RQF level 6 threshold, but with no ability for applicants to bring dependants. The ISL will be phased out in future and the TSL will be reviewed by the MAC.
Skilled worker entry clearance applications for care workers and senior care workers are being closed, while maintaining in-country switching applications for a transition period until 22 July 2028.
The changes include transitional arrangements, allowing existing skilled worker visa holders to continue to extend their visas, bring dependants, change employment and take supplementary employment in occupations below RQF level 6, while applying the new rules to applicants from overseas and those applying to switch from other routes.
The changes to the immigration rules are being laid on 1 July 2025.
The changes relating to the skilled worker and other work routes will come into effect, as detailed in the statement of changes, from 22 July 2025.
An additional change is also included in this package of rules changes that will close the Afghan relocations and assistance policy to new principal applications. Detail of that change is being announced today in a statement by the Minister for the Armed Forces from the Ministry of Defence.
Alongside the closure of ARAP, we will also be closing the Afghan citizens resettlement scheme. This means that HMG will not launch any further pathways nor accept any further referrals. Over 12,800 people have been successfully resettled under the ACRS since 2021 and over half of these arrivals have been children and a quarter women.
The Home Office will continue to consider those referrals that were made under the ACRS separated families pathway, but that have not yet received a decision. This Government will honour our commitments to anyone found eligible, and to those who have already been found eligible for the ACRS but are not yet in the UK.
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Hague 2019 Judgments Convention
(2 days, 12 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Alex Davies-Jones)
My noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede) has today made the following statement:
“Today, 1 July 2025, the Hague convention of 2019 on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil or commercial matters—hereafter: ‘Hague 2019’; ‘the Convention’ —enters into force for the UK.
The convention will provide greater certainty and predictability for citizens and businesses dealing in cross-border civil and commercial disputes, allowing for easier recognition and enforcement of judgments between the UK and other contracting parties. This will reduce the costs for litigants of determining whether a judgment obtained in one contracting state is enforceable in another. The convention will help increase confidence in the UK legal system, support international trade, investment and cross-border mobility, and enhance access to justice. It is also a significant step in improving recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments between UK and EU businesses, as this is the first new agreement in this area of law to apply between the UK and the EU since EU exit.
The UK signed the convention on 12 January 2024 following an overwhelmingly positive public consultation and ratified on 27 June 2024. In accordance with its provisions, the convention enters into force for the UK on 1 July 2025. This is a significant step in strengthening the UK’s co-operation with our international partners, enhancing our position as a global hub for dispute resolution, reaffirming the UK’s position as a leader in private international law and boosting our legal services sector. It will apply to judgments given in proceedings that commence on or after 1 July 2025 across the whole of the UK or in other participating countries.
While the decision to join Hague 2019 is a reserved matter, the implementation of the convention is devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland. Officials in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland ensured the swift implementation of court rule amendments necessary to bring Hague 2019 into force simultaneously across the UK.
Concluded under the Hague conference on private international law, the convention has a potentially global reach. There are currently 30 contracting parties to Hague 2019 —the 27 EU member states, the EU, Ukraine, Uruguay and now of course the UK. The convention is also set to enter into force for both Albania and Montenegro on 1 March 2026 and for Andorra on 1 June 2026. There are also six signatories—Costa Rica, Kosovo, Israel, North Macedonia, the Russian Federation, the USA—who have not yet ratified. The UK can decide by way of declaration not to operate the convention with any country that joins in the future. Such declarations may be subsequently modified or withdrawn at any time.
A copy of the UK Government’s implementing legislation for Hague 2019, the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments (2019 Hague Convention etc.) Regulations 2024, is available online.” https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2024/9780348260960
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NATS Technical Failure of August 2023: CAA Report
(2 days, 12 hours ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Kane)
The Civil Aviation Authority has today published a report on the progress made in relation to the 34 recommendations that were made in the independent review’s final report into the NATS technical IT failure of August 2023.
I would like to express my gratitude to the CAA, NATS, airlines and airports for the progress they have made in responding to the recommendations that were made by the independent panel. Today’s report confirms the positive approach that has been made in responding to the recommendations by all stakeholders.
NATS has delivered its recommendations, with many of these already having been confirmed as completed by the CAA. The CAA expects to have completed validation of all recommendations made to NATS during the summer. Airlines and airports have committed to reviewing their practices for communicating and assisting their passengers during periods of disruption. The CAA is reviewing these plans and will monitor compliance through an extended compliance programme, along with establishing an industry code of conduct. The CAA will continue to hold airlines and airports to account for how they meet their obligations to consumers.
The CAA is making good progress in responding to its recommendations. In particular, it has focused its efforts in response to the panel’s recommendations relating to the expansion of its work on improving industry compliance and the rights of aviation consumers. The CAA will commence a programme of work related to the next price control review period for NATS (NR28), which will directly address a number of the recommendations made by the panel.
My Department remains steadfast in our commitment to delivering on the recommendations that the panel has made for Government, and we will make the required legislative reforms on which this is dependent when parliamentary time allows, to ensure that air passengers have the highest level of protection possible.
The CAA will provide a further report on progress with the recommendations towards the end of the year. The expectation is that most of the recommendations made by the panel will have been validated and completed by the end of 2026.
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