Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many claimants who have used the employment tribunal penalty enforcement scheme since 2016 have received (a) full and (b) partial payment of their awards; and what the total value of (i) awards recovered for claimants and (ii) awards referred to the scheme is.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Workers should receive the payments they are entitled to. As part of the Plan for Change we will look at ways of strengthening enforcement options, including the Employment Tribunal Penalty scheme which will move to the Fair Work Agency (FWA) once established.
The proposed powers of the FWA are set out in the Employment Rights Bill and we are committed to ensuring that it has the appropriate resources to discharge its responsibilities. The FWA will work closely with HMRC, Insolvency Service and other relevant enforcement bodies to do this as effectively as possible. This will include considering how to use existing powers to tackle misuse of phoenix companies.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the employment tribunal penalty enforcement scheme in ensuring payment of awards since 2016.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Workers should receive the payments they are entitled to. As part of the Plan for Change we will look at ways of strengthening enforcement options, including the Employment Tribunal Penalty scheme which will move to the Fair Work Agency (FWA) once established.
The proposed powers of the FWA are set out in the Employment Rights Bill and we are committed to ensuring that it has the appropriate resources to discharge its responsibilities. The FWA will work closely with HMRC, Insolvency Service and other relevant enforcement bodies to do this as effectively as possible. This will include considering how to use existing powers to tackle misuse of phoenix companies.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that workers are informed about the enforcement options available to recover unpaid tribunal awards.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Workers should receive the payments they are entitled to. As part of the Plan for Change we will look at ways of strengthening enforcement options, including the Employment Tribunal Penalty scheme which will move to the Fair Work Agency (FWA) once established.
The proposed powers of the FWA are set out in the Employment Rights Bill and we are committed to ensuring that it has the appropriate resources to discharge its responsibilities. The FWA will work closely with HMRC, Insolvency Service and other relevant enforcement bodies to do this as effectively as possible. This will include considering how to use existing powers to tackle misuse of phoenix companies.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how his Department expects the Fair Work Agency to coordinate with (a) HMRC, (b) the Insolvency Service and (c) other existing enforcement bodies to ensure workers receive unpaid awards.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Workers should receive the payments they are entitled to. As part of the Plan for Change we will look at ways of strengthening enforcement options, including the Employment Tribunal Penalty scheme which will move to the Fair Work Agency (FWA) once established.
The proposed powers of the FWA are set out in the Employment Rights Bill and we are committed to ensuring that it has the appropriate resources to discharge its responsibilities. The FWA will work closely with HMRC, Insolvency Service and other relevant enforcement bodies to do this as effectively as possible. This will include considering how to use existing powers to tackle misuse of phoenix companies.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the proposed budget for the Fair Work Agency for tackling non-payment of tribunal awards.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Workers should receive the payments they are entitled to. As part of the Plan for Change we will look at ways of strengthening enforcement options, including the Employment Tribunal Penalty scheme which will move to the Fair Work Agency (FWA) once established.
The proposed powers of the FWA are set out in the Employment Rights Bill and we are committed to ensuring that it has the appropriate resources to discharge its responsibilities. The FWA will work closely with HMRC, Insolvency Service and other relevant enforcement bodies to do this as effectively as possible. This will include considering how to use existing powers to tackle misuse of phoenix companies.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to take steps to improve its monitoring of tribunal award payments to ensure employer compliance.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Workers should receive the payments they are entitled to. As part of the Plan for Change we will look at ways of strengthening enforcement options, including the Employment Tribunal Penalty scheme which will move to the Fair Work Agency (FWA) once established.
The proposed powers of the FWA are set out in the Employment Rights Bill and we are committed to ensuring that it has the appropriate resources to discharge its responsibilities. The FWA will work closely with HMRC, Insolvency Service and other relevant enforcement bodies to do this as effectively as possible. This will include considering how to use existing powers to tackle misuse of phoenix companies.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to differentiate between goods and services from (a) illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and (b) Israel.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods originating in these settlements are not entitled to tariff and trade preferences under either the existing agreement between the UK and Israel or in our agreement with the Palestinian Authority.
UK operators are advised on gov.uk that all movement certificates and invoice declarations made out in Israel must include the postcode where production has taken place. Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, HMRC undertakes checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure compliance. The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be labelled.
UK citizens and businesses should be aware of the potential reputational implications of getting involved in economic and financial activities in settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity. Those contemplating any economic or financial involvement in settlements should seek appropriate legal advice. We routinely update our guidance to British businesses on the Overseas Business Risk website.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
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 merits of (a) revising the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement to explicitly prohibit the importing of goods (i) produced and (ii) sourced (A) in whole and (B) in part in the illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and (b) ensuring that the supply of goods imported into the UK are free from human rights abuses in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements are not entitled to tariff and trade preferences under either the existing agreement between the UK and Israel or in our agreement with the PA.
There are clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity. UK citizens and businesses should be aware of the potential reputational implications of involvement in economic and financial activities in settlements, as well as possible abuses of the rights of individuals that such activity may entail. Those contemplating any economic or financial involvement in settlements should seek appropriate legal advice.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has considered barring (a) financial institutions, (b) banks and (c) other corporations headquartered in the UK from investing in settlement-based companies.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. There are clear risks related to economic and financial activities in the settlements, and we do not encourage or offer support to such activity.
The overseas business risk guidance, available on gov.uk, provides further information for UK operators. UK citizens and businesses should be aware of the potential reputational implications of involvement in economic and financial activities in settlements, as well as possible abuses of the rights of individuals that such activity may entail. Those contemplating any economic or financial involvement in settlements should seek appropriate legal advice.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
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 merits of taking legislative steps to prevent the importation of goods from the illegal territories in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) are illegal under international law. Goods originating from illegal Israeli settlements are not entitled to tariff and trade preferences under either the existing agreement between the UK and Israel or in our agreement with the Palestinian Authority. We do not encourage or offer support to such activity and advise that those contemplating any economic or financial involvement in settlements should seek appropriate legal advice.