Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2022 to Question 960, if he will place in the Library a copy of the equality impact assessment carried out by the Insolvency Service on its plan to close offices including in Birkenhead.
Answered by Paul Scully
An overarching Equality Impact Assessment has been completed for all offices, including Birkenhead, affected by the plan to restructure the Insolvency Service’s estate to eleven regional offices. A copy of this document will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether an equality impact assessment has been carried out for the closure of the Insolvency Service office in Birkenhead.
Answered by Paul Scully
As part of the business case to restructure its estate, the Insolvency Service has carried out an Equality Impact Assessment on the plans to close offices including Birkenhead.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the (a) local Chambers of Commerce or (b) Federation of Small Businesses was consulted on the decision to close the Insolvency Service office in Birkenhead.
Answered by Paul Scully
The agency is engaging stakeholders as part of an on-going process.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to enable households to exempt themselves from the Energy Bills Rebate.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Energy Bills Support Scheme, as announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 3 February, is currently the subject of a government consultation issued on 11 April. The implementation of the policy will be reviewed following the conclusion of the consultation. Allowing consumers to opt out of receiving the reduction on their bills would likely increase the administrative costs and complexities of the scheme.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the enforcement of minimum wage legislation in the UK maritime industry.
Answered by Paul Scully
Seafarers who ordinarily work within the UK and its territorial waters are entitled to be paid the UK National Minimum Wage.
The government is clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it and takes robust enforcement action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly. HMRC enforce the minimum wage on behalf of the government, across all sectors of the economy. They consider every complaint from workers, conduct proactive enforcement activities, and deliver educational activity to support employer compliance. HMRC have a strong record on enforcing the minimum wage. Since 2015 they have returned over £100 million in unpaid wages to 1 million workers.
If anyone thinks they have been underpaid, they should complain to HMRC using the online form on GOV.UK, or call the Acas helpline. Complaints can be made anonymously and HMRC won't reveal a worker's identity to the employer.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) recruitment agencies and (b) job sites do not advertise vacancies that do not comply with minimum wage legislation.
Answered by Paul Scully
This Government is clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it and will take robust enforcement action against employers who do not pay their staff correctly.
The Employment Agencies Act 1973 and its associated regulations are the main pieces of legislation that directly regulate employment agencies and employment businesses, including online recruitment services, which operate within Great Britain. This legislation is enforced by the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate. It is the responsibility of the agency to check the validity of the adverts before they post them online and that they include the required information.
An individual's entitlement to the minimum wage is not dependent on the rates of pay included in a job advert or job offer that they accepted. Therefore, if an individual is not being paid at least minimum wage when they are entitled to it, they should complain to HMRC using the online form on gov.uk. HMRC consider every complaint they receive and, if they identify underpayment, they will require the employer to repay the arrears to workers and a penalty to government.
HMRC support employers and workers by actively raising awareness of employers’ obligations and workers’ rights relating to the minimum wage. For example, HMRC routinely contact employers who advertise unpaid internships, signposting them to guidance to help ensure they are compliant.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to prevent businesses advertising vacancies for seafarers in British territorial waters at rates of pay less than the minimum wage, in breach of the National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) Order 1999.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government is clear that anyone entitled to be paid the minimum wage should receive it. In 2020, the Government legislated to ensure that seafarers who are working in the UK territorial sea are entitled to be paid the minimum wage, regardless of where they ordinarily work or where their ship is registered. This means that most individuals working in our waters are entitled to be paid at least the National Living Wage or relevant National Minimum Wage rate for their age.
An individual’s entitlement to the minimum wage is not dependent on the rates of pay included in a job advert or job offer that they accepted. If an individual is not being paid at least minimum wage when they are entitled to it, they should complain to HMRC using the online form on GOV.UK. HMRC will consider ever complaint they receive and since 2015 they have returned over £100 million in unpaid wages to 1 million workers.