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 ensure that workers receive tribunal awards in cases where the respondent company has entered (a) administration and (b) liquidation.
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 potential impact of the establishment of phoenix companies on the number of unpaid employment 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 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 Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to UN General Assembly Resolution ES-10/24, published on 18 September 2024, whether she has taken steps to cease the importation of (a) products and (b) services originating from illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government considers Israeli settlements 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. Where there are doubts about the declared origin of goods, His Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) undertakes checks to verify the origin and ensure fiscal compliance. The UK Government encourages accurate labelling of goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine to avoid misleading consumers and promote transparency.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of goods from the illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are passed-off as coming from Israel.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in Palestine are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel.
Where there are doubts about the origin of goods that have been declared as being of Israeli origin, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. HMRC does not however provide specific details regarding checks as it may serve to undermine compliance activity.