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.

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.