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Select Committee · Business and Trade Committee

Post-pandemic economic growth: UK labour markets

Status: Closed Opened: 27 May 2022 Closed: 11 Sep 2023 23 recommendations 18 conclusions 1 report

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee is launching an inquiry into the UK Labour Market. This next strand of the Committee’s overarching Post-Pandemic Economic Growth inquiry, launched in June 2020, will also build on the work of the Committee’s major inquiry into the impact of coronavirus on businesses and workers. The Committee wishes …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Tenth Report - Post-pandemic economic growth: UK labour mar… HC 306 21 Apr 2023 41 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 items
1 Conclusion Tenth Report - Post-pandemic economic g… Rejected

Ministerial responsibility for labour market policy remains fragmented across Whitehall.

Ministerial responsibility for labour market policy is fragmented across Whitehall departments. We therefore call on the Government to consider the following: a) establish a Ministry of Labour b) appoint a new Minister of State for Labour in the Cabinet Office with the authority to convene and coordinate labour market policy …

Government response. The government rejects the recommendation, stating that new departmental structures established in February 2023 (including the Department for Business and Trade) are considered effective for labour market policy and delivery. It explicitly states it does not feel it necessary to …
Department for Business and Trade
20 Recommendation Tenth Report - Post-pandemic economic g… Rejected

Set out Government plans for statutory protection against unscrupulous umbrella company practices

The actions of unscrupulous umbrella companies are depriving workers of rights and in some cases remuneration, and they are damaging the reputation of umbrella companies as a whole. There is widespread agreement that the Government should act to provide statutory protection from such practices. In response to this Report, the …

Government response. The government rejects the committee's characterisation of enforcement, stating it does not agree and detailing existing HMRC minimum wage investigations and increased investment in enforcement bodies, arguing that the UK already has a robust system for enforcing employment rights.
Department for Business and Trade
30 Recommendation Tenth Report - Post-pandemic economic g… Rejected

Amend the Bill to ensure committee examination of retained EU work and employment law regulations.

We recommend that the Bill should be amended to ensure that within a given timeframe a committee also examines any regulations which are part of retained EU law and which govern UK law relating to work, including workplace standards and employment rights, which the Government (a) intends should expire at …

Government response. The government has replaced the sunset clause in the Retained EU Law Bill with a list of specific revocations and intends to retain powers to amend more complex regulations after its own assessment and consultation, without committing to the recommended …
Department for Business and Trade

Oral evidence sessions

5 sessions
Date Witnesses
21 Feb 2023 Kevin Hollinrake MP · Department for Business and Trade, Lucy Standing · Bravestarts, Mike Warren · Department for Business and Trade, Tim Balcon · Construction Industry Training Board, Tony Wilson · Institute for Employment Studies View ↗
10 Jan 2023 Joeli Brearley · Pregnant Then Screwed, Kate Dearden · Community Trade Union, Lizzie Penny · Workstyle Revolution, Philippa Childs · Prospect Union, Professor Keith Ewing · Institute of Employment Rights, Sarah Douglas · Liminal Space View ↗
29 Nov 2022 Hannah Reed · Unite Union, Jennifer Sole · Employment Lawyers Association (ELA), Margaret Beels · Department for Business and Trade, Ms Alexandra Hall-Chen · Institute of Directors View ↗
15 Nov 2022 Andrew Pakes · Prospect Union, Anna Thomas · Institute for the Future of Work, Brian Palmer · Amazon, Carly Kind · Ada Lovelace Institute, Charlotte Holloway · Zoom, Laurence Turner · GMB, Neil Ross · techUK, Tania Bowers · Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCO) View ↗
19 Jul 2022 David Fry · Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, Frances O'Grady · Trade Union Congress (TUC), Jane Gratton · British Chambers of Commerce, Matthew Percival · Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Mike Keoghan · Office for National Statistics, Ms Claire Tunley · Financial Services Skills Commission, Neil Carberry · Recruitment and Employment Confederation, Stephen Phipson CBE · Make UK View ↗

Correspondence

3 letters
DateDirectionTitle
18 Apr 2023 To cttee Letter from the Chair to Amazon relating to AI technology in the workplace, 24 …
18 Apr 2023 To cttee Letter from Amazon to the Chair relating to AI technology in the workplace, 17 …
10 Jan 2023 To cttee Letter from BEIS Chair to Amazon on AI in the workplace, 10 January 2023