Asked by: Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements are underway to recruit a new Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to ensure continuity of the role and remit once the current incumbent's term ends in December.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The role of the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) is important to tackling Modern Slavery and supporting victims of this abhorrent crime.
In line with the requirements of the Governance Code on Public Appointments, Ministers are currently considering the recruitment options, enabling a decision to be taken in good time before the current incumbent's term ends in December.
Asked by: Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which "associated costs" employers who recruit internationally will be required to pay, as set out in the Home Office news story published on Gov.uk on 28 November, and where this requirement will be set out.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
As the Government set out in our Written Ministerial Statement (HLSW260) of 28 November, “…if a business wishes to recruit internationally, they will be required to pay for certificates of sponsorship, sponsor licences and the associated administration themselves”.
Detailed requirements will be added to the sponsorship guidance for employers by the end of the year. This can be found on Gov.uk at: Sponsorship: guidance for employers and educators - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 21 October (HL1287), when they will update the guidance to reflect the ability to switch to a different scheme operator if the licence of their current scheme operator is revoked.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office works closely with DEFRA and Scheme Operators to enable them to manage their visa allocations.
In the event that a Scheme Operator for the Seasonal Worker route became unlicensed for any reason, the Home Office would consider each case on its own merits and tailor our response accordingly with the primary aim of preventing detriment to individuals, which may include moving workers to a different scheme operator where possible and appropriate.
The Home Office has no current plans to update the guidance but will keep this under review.
Asked by: Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to review the treatment of Maternity Allowance as unearned income, so that employed women receiving Maternity Allowance are not worse off than those on statutory maternity pay and Universal Credit.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We want new mothers to be able to take time away from work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth in the interests of their own and their baby's health and wellbeing.
Maternity Allowance is intended for those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay and is designed to have a range of in-built flexibilities making it accessible to as many women as possible. Work is underway to make Maternity Allowance even more accessible so that women will, in future, be able to make their claims online. Further information on when this will be available will be provided in due course.
There are two qualifying conditions for Maternity Allowance: a woman must have worked for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks prior to the expected week of childbirth and she must have average weekly earnings at least equal to the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance purposes (£123.00 a week, 2023/24).
The work does not have to be for the same employer nor continuous, nor undertaken on the same basis. A claim can be made where there is a mixture of employment and self-employment and work for part weeks also counts as a full week’s work when calculating entitlement. A women can choose any 13 weeks within the 66-week period to calculate her earnings. To ensure that women gets the best rate, we have introduced a real time information calculator tool in collaboration with HMRC. Full details of eligibility and how to apply for maternity pay are available on Gov.uk.
Statutory Maternity Pay is paid by employers and reimbursed by HMRC and is treated as earnings in Universal Credit (UC). As with other earnings, SMP is subject to the work allowance and tapering rules that are built into UC. Maternity Allowance is a contribution-based benefit paid by the State and is classed as unearned income in the same way as other benefits.
The High Court judgment in 2020 upheld the policy of treating Statutory Maternity Pay paid by employers as earnings as well as the treatment of Maternity Allowance. A subsequent joint NI court judgement on 25th April 2022 also upheld the treatment of MA as unearned income in UC.
Asked by: Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the finding in the Parental Rights Survey 2019 that only nine per cent of mothers who do not receive Statutory Maternity Pay apply for Maternity Allowance, whether they plan to make the process for claiming Maternity Allowance more accessible.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We want new mothers to be able to take time away from work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth in the interests of their own and their baby's health and wellbeing.
Maternity Allowance is intended for those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay and is designed to have a range of in-built flexibilities making it accessible to as many women as possible. Work is underway to make Maternity Allowance even more accessible so that women will, in future, be able to make their claims online. Further information on when this will be available will be provided in due course.
There are two qualifying conditions for Maternity Allowance: a woman must have worked for at least 26 weeks in the 66 weeks prior to the expected week of childbirth and she must have average weekly earnings at least equal to the Lower Earnings Limit for National Insurance purposes (£123.00 a week, 2023/24).
The work does not have to be for the same employer nor continuous, nor undertaken on the same basis. A claim can be made where there is a mixture of employment and self-employment and work for part weeks also counts as a full week’s work when calculating entitlement. A women can choose any 13 weeks within the 66-week period to calculate her earnings. To ensure that women gets the best rate, we have introduced a real time information calculator tool in collaboration with HMRC. Full details of eligibility and how to apply for maternity pay are available on Gov.uk.
Statutory Maternity Pay is paid by employers and reimbursed by HMRC and is treated as earnings in Universal Credit (UC). As with other earnings, SMP is subject to the work allowance and tapering rules that are built into UC. Maternity Allowance is a contribution-based benefit paid by the State and is classed as unearned income in the same way as other benefits.
The High Court judgment in 2020 upheld the policy of treating Statutory Maternity Pay paid by employers as earnings as well as the treatment of Maternity Allowance. A subsequent joint NI court judgement on 25th April 2022 also upheld the treatment of MA as unearned income in UC.
Asked by: Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will make the next quarterly claimant data for Maternity Allowance available.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
A new operational system to record Maternity Allowance cases is currently being developed. As such, Maternity Allowance statistics have been suspended from the quarterly statistics release until data can be extracted from the new system.
Analysts are currently unable to provide a timescale for when the Maternity Allowance statistics will be reinstated, as work to develop the statistics from the new system is in very early stages. Users will be updated of progress via the Maternity Allowance statistics page and the DWP Statistical Work Programme page on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they give to workers on Seasonal Worker visas to switch to a different scheme operator if the licence of their current scheme operator is revoked, so that those workers can stay in the United Kingdom horticultural sector for the remainder of the time left on their visa.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Provisions have been put in place to make certain that there is no detriment to individuals who were sponsored by any company that no longer has a valid Home Office sponsor licence.
The Home Office has ensured that there is continuity of work with alternative sponsors for those who were originally attached to companies that have had their sponsor licence revoked.
Asked by: Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the revocation of Ethero’s licence as a scheme operator under the seasonal worker visa scheme, whether that company still holds a Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority licence; and if so, what plans they have to review that licence.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Ethero still hold a GLAA licence and the GLAA are considering appropriate measures in light of the revocation.
Asked by: Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that all seasonal worker scheme operators have complied with the requirement that all workers must receive a minimum of 32 hours’ pay for each week of their stay in the UK; and what plans they have, if any, to investigate scheme operator practice to ensure compliance with this requirement.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has a designated Seasonal Worker Scheme (SWS) team that regularly conducts visits to individual farms employing seasonal migrant workers. Checks are undertaken to ensure workers are offered a minimum of 32 hours employment per week and are paid at the appropriate rates.
Scheme operators that are responsible for the recruitment of the migrant workers are obliged to retain records of working hours and wages and these are inspected annually by sponsorship compliance officers. If discrepancies are discovered, then the SWS team will commence action against the respective scheme operator. This can include suspension or revocation of an operator’s licence.
From March 2023 to date, 241 farm visits have been conducted and 1,700 migrant workers interviewed. We will continue to consider how best to tackle labour exploitation in the Seasonal Worker Scheme.
Asked by: Baroness O'Grady of Upper Holloway (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the announcement by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer on 23 September 2022 to remove the cap on bankers' bonuses (HC Deb col 936), what consideration they have given to curbing any risk-taking in the financial sector which may occur as a result of the removal of that cap; and further to the finding in the High Pay Centre report Analysis of UK CEO Pay in 2022, published in August, that FTSE 100 CEO pay rose by 16 per cent in 2022, what consideration they have given to curbing the pay of senior staff in the financial sector, including by implementing the then Prime Minister's plans for the reform of boardroom governance in July 2016 by ensuring worker representation in boardrooms.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
As the Chancellor set out in the Edinburgh Reforms last year, the government remains committed to high standards and to a robust regulatory environment that safeguards the UK’s financial stability.
The PRA and FCA, who are responsible for rules on remuneration, are operationally independent from government and have statutory objectives to promote safety, soundness, and effective market functioning.
The removal of the bonus cap is entirely a decision by the independent regulators.