Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce Who is at risk? Work and automation in the time of COVID-19, published in October.

The Government is currently considering the report and continues to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on the UK labour market.

The £30bn Plan for Jobs announced by my Rt. Hon friend the Chancellor of the Exhequer in July will protect, support and create jobs as part of our response to coronavirus. Among the measures included, we have committed at least £2 billion for a Kickstart Scheme that will directly pay employers to create new jobs for any 16 to 24-year old at risk of long-term unemployment, a further £3bn to support 140,000 green jobs, and trebling the number of sector-based work academy placements in England, in order to provide vocational training and guaranteed interviews for more people, helping them gain the skills needed for the jobs available in their local area.

As announced in the Queens’ Speech, we will be bringing forward an Employment Bill to implement a range of Manifesto commitments. This legislation will ensure that we have an employment framework that keeps pace with the changes in our labour market by providing new protections for those in low-paid work and the gig economy, and by encouraging flexible working. It will balance the needs of both employers and workers, ensuring everyone benefits from flexibility.