Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that replacing the Energy Bill Relief Scheme with the Energy Bill Discount Scheme will have on the hospice sector.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The new Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS) will run from April until March 2024 and continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers including hospices. An HMT-led review into the operation of the current Energy Bill Relief Schemes was conducted with the objective of significantly reducing the overall burden on the taxpayer/public finances, and ensuring support is targeted at those most in need and unable to adjust to recent energy price rises. The review considered a range of qualitative and quantitative evidence, including input from businesses and stakeholders. The new scheme strikes a balance between supporting non-domestic customers and limiting taxpayer’s exposure to volatile energy markets, with a cap set at £5.5 billion.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of a shorter working week.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Individuals and employers working together should be able to decide what flexible working arrangements work best for them.
The Government’s consultation and accompanying impact assessment on “making flexible working the default” showed there are benefits associated with all kinds of flexible working arrangements. These benefits include reduced vacancy costs; increased skill retention; enhanced business performance; and reduced staff absenteeism rates.
Our consultation closed on 1st December 2021. We are currently reviewing the responses and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when their response to the consultations on (1) shared parental leave, and (2) carers’ leave, will be published.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to delivering our manifesto commitments to make it easier for fathers to take Paternity Leave and to introduce a new employment right to one week of unpaid leave for carers. Information collected through public consultation will inform policy development in both areas.
We are currently assessing the responses to the consultation on high-level options for reforming parental leave and pay. Separate to this, we are also conducting a formal evaluation of the Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme, which has included large-scale, representative, surveys of employers and parents which looked at a broad range of parental leave and pay entitlements.
Together, the consultation and the evaluation will give us a fuller picture of how well the current system of parental leave and pay is working for parents and employers. We intend to publish the Government Response to the consultation and the findings of the evaluation later this year.
The consultation on Carer’s Leave set out detailed policy proposals to create a new employment right for one week’s unpaid leave. The consultation received a significant number of responses, demonstrating the importance of this issue.
The Government response to the consultation will be published in due course, setting out the way forward.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what sanctions employers face if they breach the guidance set out in Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19), published on 11 June, in relation to (1) people with caring responsibilities, and (2) new and expectant mothers.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government first published the safer workplaces guidance on 11 May setting out businesses can reopen safely. This guidance forms part of employers’ normal health and safety practice. Health and safety legislation is enforced by the Health and Safety Executive and by local authorities.
This guidance does not change employers’ responsibilities towards new or expectant mothers. Workers who are pregnant are part of the “clinically vulnerable” group who are at higher risk of coronavirus. If clinically vulnerable individuals, such as those who are pregnant, cannot work from home, they should be offered the safest available on-site roles. Employers need to assess whether this involves an acceptable level of risk. As part of this they should take into account their specific duties towards those with protected characteristics, including new or expectant mothers – who are ultimately entitled to suspension on full pay if a suitable role cannot be found.
If the enforcing authority finds that an employer is not taking action to properly manage workplace risk, a range of actions are open to them including specific advice or issuing enforcement notices. Employers should consult with unions and employees when carrying out their risk assessment. If employees continue to have concerns, they can raise them with their employer, any union safety representatives, or ultimately with the enforcing organisation - the Health and Safety Executive or their local authority.
Depending on the business, HSE and local authorities enforce health and safety in these workplaces and will monitor compliance including through inspections and following up on concerns raised by individuals with them. Local authorities enforce health and safety in workplaces, such as offices, shops, warehouses, and consumer services. They take action against any business who isn’t complying with their legal health and safety obligations, including providing guidance and issuing enforcement notices to require them to take the necessary action or taking tougher action like fines and jail sentences if they continue to not comply.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what tailored guidance they have made available to (1) businesses, and (2) service providers, on how to make social distancing accessible for people with sight loss.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government considered people with disabilities when developing the safer workplace guidance for businesses.
Our guidance does not replace existing employment, health and safety or equalities legislation. It provides information to employers on how best to meet these responsibilities in the context of COVID-19.
The safer workplaces guidance provides some suggestions to help employers make their workplaces COVID-19 secure for their employees, visitors and customers. We expect all businesses to approach reopening in a sensible way, taking account of the Government’s guidance and discussing with neighbouring businesses and their local authorities where applicable.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to (1) adopt the EU’s Work-life Balance Directive, (2) make paternity leave a day one right, (3) increase paternity pay, and (4) introduce eight weeks of paid parental leave as part of each parent’s current unpaid 18-week entitlement.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
The Government is committed to maintaining and enhancing workers’ rights, and to supporting people to balance their work and caring responsibilities. This month we laid regulations in Parliament which will give grieving parents a right to paid time off work. We also committed in the Queen’s Speech to bring forward an Employment Bill which will introduce a new entitlement to carer's leave; and introduce a new entitlement to leave and pay for parents of children who spend time in neonatal care. Our manifesto committed to make it easier for fathers to take paternity leave; we have recently consulted on high-level options for reforming parental leave and pay, including Paternity Leave and Pay and Unpaid Parental Leave, and will respond to this consultation in due course.
After we leave the EU, we will be able to set our own standards for workers’ rights, and we intend to use this opportunity to make the UK the best place in the world to work.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the entitlement to one week’s leave for unpaid carers included in the Queen's Speech December 2019: background briefing notes, published on 19 December 2019, refers to paid or unpaid leave.
Answered by Lord Duncan of Springbank
This Government is determined to make Britain the best place in the world to work. That is why we are bringing forward an Employment Bill which will represent the largest upgrade to workers' rights in a generation.
The Government’s proposal is to introduce a week of unpaid Carer’s Leave. This will be complementary to other employment rights, such as the right to request flexible working, annual leave and the right to time off for family and dependants which help employees balance work with caring responsibilities.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the main elements of the campaign to encourage more fathers to take shared parental leave; and what is the take-up target.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Shared Parental Leave (SPL) campaign is jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Government Equalities Office.
It involves advertising online, on posters in rail stations, bus shelters and on roadsides and in some print publications, driving to a website www.gov.uk/sharetheleave which contains more information and links to guidance on the policy. We are also working with key stakeholders and using PR to communicate our messages to both parents and their employers.
The aim of the campaign is to increase awareness of SPL and encourage more parents to discuss this with their partners and employers. We are not able to set a target for take up of shared parental leave as this data is not collected or reported on by employers.
Asked by: Baroness Lister of Burtersett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Henley on 9 January (HL Deb, cols 109–110), when they expect to complete the evaluation of shared parental leave; and whether they will invite stakeholders, including interested voluntary organisations, to submit evidence to the evaluation.
Answered by Lord Henley
We have started to evaluate the Shared Parental Leave and Pay schemes and will gather and analyse information from a wide variety of sources.
Subject to the progress of data collection, we anticipate publishing findings in spring 2019.