Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will pause action related to the IR35 loan charge while the newly announced review is underway.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

IR35 rules are distinct from the Loan Charge.

The Government has now announced a further independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers. The Government will provide further details on the review in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Transport, (b) rail operators, (c) regional mayors and (d) Transport for London on ensuring that apprenticeships are open to young people wherever they live.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity and we want to rebalance opportunities towards young people, who have the most to gain from apprenticeships but who too often have been locked out of accessing these opportunities. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education held a recent roundtable with Regional Mayors which included discussions on how we can work together more closely to boost opportunities for young people. The department and Skills England will continue to have discussions with the Department for Transport and its stakeholders.

This government’s reformed growth and skills offer, which will have apprenticeships at its core, will deliver greater flexibility for learners and employers, including through shorter duration apprenticeships in targeted sectors. This will help more people learn new high-quality skills at work, and fuel innovation in businesses across the UK. The department has also begun work to develop new foundation apprenticeships, a training offer that will give more young people a foot in the door and support clear pathways and progression in work-based training and employment.

The department provides employers and apprenticeship providers with additional funding to support more apprenticeship opportunities. The department provides two payments of £500 to employers and providers when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, and up to age 24 for apprentices with an education, health and care plan or who have been in local authority care. These payments are used in many cases to support costs such as work equipment, uniforms or travel.

Apprentices may also be eligible for local discounted travel schemes. For example, apprentices over 18, living in a London borough and in the first year of an apprenticeship can get discounted travel with an Oyster photocard.

Apprentices aged under 25 who have been in local authority care may be eligible for a £3,000 bursary, as well as wages from their employer. The bursary is not subject to tax and is not treated as income for benefits purposes.

The department is also continuing to promote apprenticeships in schools and colleges through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme as well as targeting young people through the ‘Skills for Life’ campaign.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking with (a) Deliveroo, (b) Uber Eats and (c) Just Eat to end the contracting-out of their workforce accounts for use by people illegally working in the UK.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is alert to the risks associated with substitution in the platform economy, particularly the role it can play in facilitating illegal working by irregular migrants.

I met recently with the Minister for Border Security and Asylum and the Director of Labour Market Enforcement to discuss this.

We are looking closely at the extent to which Deliveroo, Uber Eats and Just Eat have implemented the commitments they made earlier this year to implement systems to conduct right to work checks on substitute riders, and I have recently written to them seeking further detail on how this is operating in practice.

Found: October Members present: Debbie Abrahams, in the Chair Johanna Baxter Mr Peter Bedford Neil Coyle