Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 penalties to deter organisations from discriminatory employment practices.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department keeps employment rights and enforcement mechanisms under regular review.
Discrimination in the workplace is unlawful, and robust penalties already exist under the Equality Act 2010 for employers who breach these obligations. We will continue to assess whether the current framework provides an effective deterrent, including the potential merits of enhanced enforcement models—such as Fair Work Agency measures—to support fair treatment in workplaces and strengthen compliance.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department provides support to pregnant employees that have challenged their unfair dismissal and discriminatory employment practices that they have experienced.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Business and Trade, provides authoritative and impartial advice free to employees or employers in relation to employment discrimination issues via their website (http://www.acas.org.uk) and telephone helpline 0300 123 1100 or text relay service 18001 0300 123 1100. ACAS also provides employees and employers with Early Conciliation to help them resolve or settle their workplace dispute without going to court.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he has taken to ensure that employment protections for pregnant employees are legally enforceable.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government is committed to ensuring pregnancy and maternity protections are effective and enforceable.
We recently consulted on legislation to make it unlawful to dismiss pregnant women, mothers on Maternity Leave, and for at least six months after they return to work, except in specific circumstances. We sought ideas to improve awareness of workplace rights, so pregnant employees feel confident to challenge unlawful treatment and hold employers to account.
To strengthen enforcement, we are also extending the Employment Tribunal time limit from three to six months, giving pregnant women more time to bring claims.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions he has had with Royal Mail on the adequacy of delivery services (a) in Rushcliffe constituency and (b) nationally.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider.
In November, I met the CEOs of Royal Mail and International Distribution Services and raised concerns about Royal Mail’s performance. They reported continued targeted action to improve reliability. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if quality of service does not improve.
Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, has told Royal Mail it must urgently publish and implement a credible plan that delivers major and continuous improvement.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent progress his department has made on the parental leave and pay review.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Parental Leave and Pay Review’s Call for Evidence closed on 25 August 2025 after receiving almost 1500 responses, which are currently being analysed and will go on to inform the review.
We are engaging with a range of stakeholders, including advocacy groups, trade unions and business representatives, including through a series of thematic roundtables to inform our ongoing work. We intend to continue this engagement in 2026.
The Review will be concluded in early 2027 and the Government will outline next steps for taking any reforms forward to implementation.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he plans to respond to his Department's consultation on parental leave and pay review which closed on 25 August 2025.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Parental Leave and Pay Review launched in July 2025 alongside a Call for Evidence which ran until 25 August 2025. We received almost 1500 responses to this Call for Evidence which are currently being analysed with the findings going on to inform the Review. The Government will publish the Review’s findings and a roadmap at its conclusion in early 2027. This will include next steps for taking any potential reforms forward to implementation.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many complaints of package holiday operators failing to provide adequate assistance during accommodation emergencies have been reported to the Competition and Markets Authority in each of the last three years.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Obtaining a definitive figure for the number of complaints would require a manual review, which would be disproportionate. But a search for relevant terms identified only one complaint relating to the provision of emergency accommodation by a package travel operator, which was received in 2025.
The CMA uses complaints, alongside other sources of information and intelligence, to help inform decisions as to the work it undertakes.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that package holiday operators comply with their obligations under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 to provide appropriate assistance to consumers during emergency situations.
Answered by Justin Madders
We are working closely with the industry and regulators to help them understand and comply with the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 (PTRs). There are also three DBT approved bodies which assess and monitor business insolvency risk and have codes of conduct travel operators must abide by, as well as offering dispute resolution services if needed.
We have recently undertaken a consultation on the PTRs that included several workshops with industry. We will continue to engage with them on possible legislative changes. This includes the development of guidance that will help them to be compliant.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what enforcement action has been taken against operators who have failed to comply with their duties under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Department for Business and Trade does not hold this information. The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 are enforced by individual Local Trading Standards Departments with the Civil Aviation Authority overseeing Air Travel Organisers License protected holidays that include flights.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to improve consumer awareness of their rights under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018.
Answered by Justin Madders
Currently, the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 (PTRs) set out all the necessary information that consumers should receive about the package holiday they are buying before and after the contract is concluded. This includes details on the insolvency protection in place amongst other key details.
We recently consulted on the PTRs and conducted consumer research as part of the process. We are considering how to address the issues identified.