Tag: Lord Taylor of Warwick

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics’ Labour Force Survey showing that there has been a 20 per cent increase in the past year of workers on zero-hours contracts, what action they are taking to support those workers.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

The latest ONS survey shows that less than 3% of the UK workforce is on a zero hours contract with nearly 70% happy with the hours they work. These contracts have a part to play in a modern, flexible labour market.

Government made exclusivity clauses in zero hour contracts unlawful in 2015, meaning individuals have more control over their lives and can work more hours with another employer if they wish. Government also created a route of redress for individuals whose employer mistreats them if they look for, or work elsewhere.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to work with credit card companies to support customers who are struggling with persistent debt.

Lord O’Neill of Gatley

The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, which includes the credit card sector. Consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014.

The FCA is currently undertaking a thorough review of the credit card market through its ‘credit card market study’. The market study is investigating three areas, one of which is the extent of unaffordable credit card debt. On the 3rd November 2015 the FCA published its interim report which found that the market was working reasonably well for most customers. However, the FCA expressed concern about the scale of potentially problematic debt in this sector and the incentives for firms to manage this.

The interim report also included the FCA’s early thinking on potential remedies which include measures to give consumers more control over their credit limits, measures to encourage customers to pay off debt quicker when they can afford to, and proposals that firms do more to identify earlier those consumers who may be struggling to repay and take action to help them manage their repayments. The FCA is currently asking for feedback on the findings and potential remedies.

The Government is looking forward to the full report in the spring and would encourage interested parties to give their views to the FCA to assist it in addressing the issues it has identified.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to commission a review into the obstacles that prevent more people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds from reaching senior positions in business, similar to the Women on Boards review by Lord Davies of Abersoch.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Government believes that businesses benefit from a rich and wide talent pool including people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

Government is fully supportive of the private led Diversity initiative chaired by Sir John Parker who are currently considering this issue. We expect the group to report on their findings in 2016.

There are no current plans for Government to commission a separate review into the obstacles that are preventing more people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds from reaching senior positions in the boardroom.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-01-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the consequences that would follow if negotiations between the EU and the USA on the renewal of the Safe Harbour agreement on data transfers fail.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

I remain hopeful that the EU and US will come to an agreement on a replacement for safe harbor. If not, data transfers to the US will need to be based on an alternative method of transfer.

I visited Washington at the beginning of January where I discussed what this Government could do to aid discussions between the Commission and US. Since this visit, I hosted a roundtable together with the Information Commissioner’s Office where we provided business and other interested organisations with an update on the discussions.

The Government continues to urge both sides in these negotiations to reach a swift conclusion. Commissioner Jourova recently said that she believed an agreement was possible and the Committee comprising the data protection authorities of all 28 member states will meet to review the position on 2 February.

In the meantime the Commission issued a communication on 6 November 2015 regarding international transfers. This is based on guidance from the Article 29 Working Party which is the grouping of the European data protection authorities. The Information Commissioner’s Office has also issued guidance on the use of alternative methods of data transfer between the EU and US.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-02-02.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to overcome the problem of race hate crimes on Britain’s railway networks in the light of the figures collected by the British Transport Police that show an increase in such crimes of 37 per cent in the past five years.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

The Government considers the safety of passengers on the railway to be of paramount importance. The British Transport Police (BTP) is committed to providing policing services that meet the needs of all passengers and people who work on the railways. In line with the College of Policing’s National Hate Crime Strategy, BTP is working with partners to reduce hate crime and the harm that it causes, increasing the confidence of victims to report, and to identify and prosecute those who commit such crimes.

BTP will also work with Train Operating Companies and Network Rail to improve awareness, vigilance and reporting on hate incidents, and to identify locations and patterns.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-04-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what actions they plan to take to redress the gender balance in engineering, construction and transport apprenticeships.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Inspiration starts at school. Schools are legally required to secure the independent advice and guidance that all young people need when making career choices. Through the Careers and Enterprise Company, Enterprise Advisers work directly with schools to develop effective links with other local businesses to equip young people with the skills they need.

We are encouraging more young women to enter science and engineering careers, including apprenticeships. The annual Tomorrow’s Engineers Week (TEWeek) encourages them, to consider a career in engineering. The Your Life campaign inspires young people to study maths and physics as a gateway to STEM careers. The STEM Ambassadors programme is a network of over 28,000 volunteers working with schools across the UK, 40% of whom are women.

The construction sector is working with the Construction Leadership Council to highlight the opportunities the sector offers. Women into Construction, an independent not-for-profit organization, provides bespoke support to women wishing to work in the construction industry and assists contractors in recruiting motivated and trained women.

We are launching a new communications campaign in May aimed at promoting the benefits of apprenticeships. Our promotional campaigns include role models of successful female apprentices in sectors where they are under-represented.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the relationships between Norway and the EU, and Switzerland and the EU, could be used as models for the UK’s relationship with the EU after leaving that Union.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The Government provided an assessment of alternative models that the UK could pursue in its paper "Alternatives to membership: possible models for the United Kingdom outside the European Union", which was presented to Parliament in March this year. It will be for the next Prime Minister to determine, along with their Cabinet, the right approach to take and the right outcome to negotiate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2016-09-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the disclosure by Equal Justice of details of six new discrimination claims involving race, sex and gender against the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), what action they are taking to ensure that MPS black and ethnic minority groups are able to work in an environment that is safe and free from abuse.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Government takes allegations of unlawful discrimination in the police very seriously and is firmly committed to ensuring the highest possible standards in policing. Such allegations must be investigated thoroughly and, when and where required, perpetrators must be dealt with robustly.

We are reforming the police disciplinary system to ensure it delivers greater transparency and accountability. We are implementing the recommendations of the Chapman Review to make the police disciplinary system less adversarial with a greater focus on rehabilitation, development and improvement where possible, whilst ensuring the most serious matters are dealt with appropriately and robustly through the police conduct system.

It is essential that the actions and behaviour of racist police officers are not allowed to undermine public confidence in the police’s ability to respond to, investigate and fight crime, or to tarnish the reputation of the police and the majority of officers who work closely and effectively with people from all communities.

The public must also have trust that the police represent the communicates they serve, and the proportion of police officers who are from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds has now risen to its highest level ever with forces taking important steps to attract staff from a diverse range of backgrounds.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the measures small businesses can take to protect themselves from cyber-attacks.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe

he Government is investing £860m in a comprehensive National Cyber Security Programme (NCSP) to protect the UK from cyber attacks, tackle cyber crime and make the UK one of the safest places in the world to do business online.

Through the NCSP the Government is providing protective advice and guidance, such as the “Ten Steps to Cyber Security”, the Cyber Streetwise campaign, and “Get Safe Online”, and promoting the Cyber Essentials scheme, which sets out the basic technical controls to protect against common cyber attacks. The Government is also building partnerships with industry and sharing cyber threat information, and building law enforcement capabilities to tackle cyber crime, including the National Cyber Crime Unit within the National Crime Agency, and the new network of cyber crime officers within the Metropolitan Police Service and Regional Organised Crime Units.

The Cyber Essentials scheme and Cyber Streetwise campaign are specifically designed to help protect small businesses. In addition, tailored guidance called “What you need to know about cyber security” is available for small businesses, as well as a free online training course for staff in small and medium-sized business.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Taylor of Warwick on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2015, which found that women are being paid the average wage men earned in 2006.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

New figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that the gender pay gap in the UK remains the lowest on record.

There are now also more women on FTSE Boards and running businesses than ever before, and this year the UK was ranked as the best place in Europe for female entrepreneurs.

I am proud of our achievements, but recognise there is still more we must do. This is why the government is introducing new regulations that will require larger employers to publish their gender pay gap information. This will encourage companies to take action and drive change on this important issue.