Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the planned (a) commencement and (b) implementation dates are for each substantive policy provision of the Employment Rights Bill.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
On 1 July the Government published the Employment Rights Bill Implementation Roadmap. The Roadmap provides clarity for employers and workers on how and when Government will engage and consult on the detailed implementation of Bill measures once it becomes law, and when measures will take effect.
The Roadmap outlines several phases of commencement including following Royal Assent, in April 2026, in October 2026, and in 2027. As part of our Plan for Change we are working at pace to deliver on our commitment to Make Work Pay, engaging and consulting throughout to make sure we get the detail right.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Business Secretary announces new DBT non-executive directors, published on 17 December 2024, if he will publish the correspondence to and from the Commissioner for Public Appointments to obtain permission to appoint Nita Clarke without open competition.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I fully respect the principles of public appointments and the Governance Code for Public Appointments was fully adhered to in this process: the rationale for appointing without competition was made public at the time of announcement, following consultation with the Commissioner, and there is no requirement under the Code to publish this correspondence. A fair and open competition was undertaken with a strong field of applications. However, it needed to be strengthened further by the appointment of Nita Clarke, who is bringing vital skills in employee engagement, partnership and employee voices in the workplace drawn from a long and distinguished career including as Vice President for Employee Relations at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the imposition of tariffs by the European Union on the United States on levels of trade between the United States and (a) the UK, (b) Great Britain and (c) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
As we've said previously, we champion free and open trade and will continue to work with our international partners to establish this.
We will continue to monitor any further developments, and we will always do what is in the national interest for our economy, businesses and the British people across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the letter of 30 September 2024 from the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster letter to the Senior Salaries Review Body, when the Office for Pay Review Bodies was set up.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office of Manpower Economics was set up in 1971. Its name was changed to the Office for the Pay Review Bodies on 1 October 2024, to reflect better the role of the organisation.