Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Government plans to enforce staggered start times for construction sites to help ensure that construction workers are able to comply with social distancing guidance on public transport during the rush hour.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The health and safety of construction workers is a priority for the Government. In order to help ensure that it is safe for construction workers to operate in their workplace, the Government has worked with Public Health England (PHE) to develop sector-specific guidance on social distancing, and has also worked with the Construction Leadership Council to develop Site Operating Procedures (SOP), which provide practical advice to those seeking to implement the guidance.
The SOP set out that sites should consider introducing staggered start and finish times to reduce congestion and contact, and plan site access and egress points to enable social distancing. The Health and Safety Executive should consider enforcement action if a site is not consistently implementing the measures set out by PHE.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to protect construction workers during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The health and safety of construction workers is a priority for the Government. In order to help ensure that it is safe for construction workers to operate in their workplace, the Government has worked with Public Health England (PHE) to develop sector-specific guidance on social distancing, and has also worked with the Construction Leadership Council to develop Site Operating Procedures (SOP), which provide practical advice to those seeking to implement the guidance.
The SOP set out that sites should consider introducing staggered start and finish times to reduce congestion and contact, and plan site access and egress points to enable social distancing. The Health and Safety Executive should consider enforcement action if a site is not consistently implementing the measures set out by PHE.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
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 11 February 2019 to Question 216363 on Pay, for what reason his Department does not hold estimates of the total value of wages unlawfully unpaid in the last year.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government does not hold estimates of the total value of wages unlawfully unpaid.
The enforcement of the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (NMW) is a top priority for the Government; we have increased HMRC’s enforcement budget to a record high of £26.3 million for 2018-19.
The position of Director of Labour Market Enforcement was created in 2017 with an obligation to assess the scale and nature of labour market non-compliance. The Director draws upon a wide range of information and intelligence, including the Office for National Statistics’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
The Director utilises this intelligence to identify future labour market enforcement priorities for the HM Revenue and Customs Minimum Wage team, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.
The Director’s Labour Market Enforcement Strategy for 2018 to 2019 can be found below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/labour-market-enforcement-strategy-2018-to-2019. The recommendations set out within the strategy were overwhelmingly adopted by the Government in December 2018.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
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 11 February 2019 to Question 216363 on Pay, whether his Department has estimated the value of wages unlawfully unpaid for any periods of time.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government does not hold estimates of the total value of wages unlawfully unpaid.
The enforcement of the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (NMW) is a top priority for the Government; we have increased HMRC’s enforcement budget to a record high of £26.3 million for 2018-19.
The position of Director of Labour Market Enforcement was created in 2017 with an obligation to assess the scale and nature of labour market non-compliance. The Director draws upon a wide range of information and intelligence, including the Office for National Statistics’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
The Director utilises this intelligence to identify future labour market enforcement priorities for the HM Revenue and Customs Minimum Wage team, the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate and the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.
The Director’s Labour Market Enforcement Strategy for 2018 to 2019 can be found below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/labour-market-enforcement-strategy-2018-to-2019. The recommendations set out within the strategy were overwhelmingly adopted by the Government in December 2018.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has estimated the value of wages unlawfully unpaid in the last year for which information is available by category of unlawfully unpaid wages.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
This Government does not hold estimates of the total value of wages unlawfully unpaid in the last year.
Through enforcement of National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage (NMW) law over the 2017/18 financial year, HM Revenue and Customs identified over £15.6 million in wage arrears, owed to over 200,000 workers. Government has increased HMRC’s enforcement budget again to a record high of £26.3 million for 2018-19.
Any worker who feels they have been underpaid should contact the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas). Acas provides free and impartial information and advice on all aspects of workplace relations and employment law. Where appropriate, Acas will refer complaints relating to minimum wage underpayment on to HMRC for enforcement action.
The Acas website is at www.acas.org.uk and the Acas helpline number is 0300 123 1100.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the highest hourly rate paid for legal advice was by (a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's arms length bodies in 2018.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
This information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what information his Department holds on the number of times that Northern Powergrid has exercised the provision in section 9(1) (a) of Schedule 6 of the Electricity Act 1989 to enter a person’s property to place a new electric line in that property in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
There is no requirement for Northern Powergrid or the other Distribution Network Operators to provide this information to the Department. Therefore, this information is not collected and, as a consequence, we do not hold it.