Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent progress the Insolvency Service has made on its civil investigation of P&O Ferries' dismissal of 786 employees on 17 March 2022.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Insolvency Service’s civil investigation into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies made by P&O Ferries remains ongoing. As such no further comment or information can be provided at this time.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many of Royal Mail's delivery routes have changed as a result of the adoption of electric vehicles.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Royal Mail is a private company, and the Government does not have a role in its operational decisions including the deployment of electric vehicles and administration of delivery routes.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions she has had with (a) businesses, (b) devolved administrations and (c) Trade Union Congress on methods to reduce the number of workers on zero-hour contracts.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them.
Research from CIPD found that 62% of zero hours contract workers are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, which is similar to the proportion of employees as a whole (66%)
(2022).
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions she has had with (a) the Scottish Government and (b) public bodies on the potential merits of changing procurement processes to reduce the use of zero-hour contracts in Scotland.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them.
Research from CIPD found that 62% of zero hours contract workers are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, which is similar to the proportion of employees as a whole (66%) (2022).
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Office for National Statistics report entitled EMP17: People in employment on zero hours contracts, published in May 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of data on the number of people on a zero hours contract.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them.
Research from CIPD found that 62% of zero hours contract workers are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, which is similar to the proportion of employees as a whole (66%) (2022).
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to reduce the number of people on zero hours contracts in (a) the North East and (b) the UK.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them.
Research from CIPD found that 62% of zero hours contract workers are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, which is similar to the proportion of employees as a whole (66%) (2022).
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support (a) young workers, (b) women and (c) workers not born in the UK that are subject to zero-hour contracts.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are use-ful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a ze-ro hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them.
To support lower paid workers we have extended the ban on exclusivity clauses, which restrict staff from working for multiple employers, to contracts where the guaranteed weekly income is equivalent to or below the Lower Earnings Limit of £123 a week. On 1 April 2023, the Government increased the National Living Wage (NLW) for workers aged 23 years and over by 9.7% to £10.42.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of zero-hour contracts on the (a) health and (b) well-being of workers.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them.
Research from CIPD found that 62% of zero hours contract workers are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, which is similar to the proportion of employees as a whole (66%) (2022).
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Wansbeck)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the activities of P&O in 2022, when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to prevent companies making workers immediately redundant.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is consulting on a draft Statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement that will deter employers from misusing controversial tactics and failing to engage in meaningful consultations with employees and their representatives.
There are already clear rules in place around notification and consultation which employers must follow when making 20 or more employees redundant. Most companies, when facing up to these difficult decisions, do the right thing and follow these rules.
Of course there will always be some that do not, and I agree it is important that our framework adequately deals with this.
A civil investigation into P&O Ferries' actions by the Insolvency Service is of course ongoing. When this is complete, I will look at any findings closely and consider whether any change to the law is required.