Lords
Proceedings
14 July 2026
Business Hiring
My Lords, is my noble friend aware of the latest Manpower survey of employers that reports a surge in hiring intentions for the third quarter of this year, placing the UK in the top division of the global league? Does she agree that any efforts to suggest that stronger workers’ rights hit hiring int…
Lords
Proceedings
13 July 2026
Employment: Artificial Intelligence
My Lords, my noble friend the Minister is right that skills are critical, and the launch of the AI skills hub is welcome, with its focus on providing free training for 10 million workers. However, is she aware of reports that the majority of courses on the hub charge fees and that some are tied to p…
Lords
Proceedings
30 June 2026
Extreme Heat: Resilience of NHS Infrastructure
My Lords, many workers across many sectors are suffering unbearable temperatures that they are expected to work in, and that is increasing demand on the NHS and its services. Does the Minister agree with the principle that health and safety laws can drive adaptations in workplaces necessary for the …
Lords
Proceedings
9 June 2026
Further Education Colleges: Recovery of VAT
My Lords, another funding disparity currently planned for the next academic year relates to funding for free meals for students from poorer backgrounds. I strongly welcome the expansion of eligibility for free meals, but, in my experience, teenagers who attend FE colleges are no less hungry than tho…
Lords
Proceedings
4 June 2026
Declining Birth Rates
My thanks, too, to my noble friend for opening this debate.
My Lords, it seems ironic that some of the very same politicians who framed the falling birth rate as a crisis have also pledged to bring back the two-child benefit cap. Meanwhile, the far right peddles racist conspiracy theories about whi…
Lords
Proceedings
3 June 2026
World Cup Ticket Prices
My Lords, the magnificent parade through Highbury and Holloway on Sunday proved that football can and should be a sport for everyone from every background. But, as we have heard, not just ticket prices but accommodation and travel are pricing out ordinary fans. Will my noble friend the Minister cons…
Lords
Proceedings
21 May 2026
Higher Earners: Emigration
My Lords, is my noble friend the Minister aware of the hard data provided by Patriotic Millionaires, which shows that the strong majority are proud to live in this country, believe that it is patriotic to pay their fair share of tax and, in fact, are prepared to pay a little more, particularly to he…
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
Self-employed: Paternity Leave
My Lords, it is nearly a year since the Women and Equalities Committee recommended the introduction of a paternal allowance for self-employed working fathers and other parents, similar to the maternity allowance for self-employed mothers. The committee also said that the lack of any provision for se…
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
Healthy Life Expectancy: England
My Lords, ever since the Marmot report, we have known that poor-quality employment is a key driver of lower healthy life expectancy. The Employment Rights Act is a big step forward, but does my noble friend the Minister agree that we need action on asbestos removal from workplaces and public places,…
Lords
Proceedings
28 April 2026
Middle East: Economic Update
My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister agree that conflict in the Middle East underlines the case for ever-stronger relationships with the EU, including on trade? Secondly, does he agree that on industrial strategy, the priority must be protecting plants and jobs? To what extent can we use our …
Lords
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
Rail Safety Recommendations: Backlog
Interestingly, we can see the main causes of accidents highlighted in this. We know, for example, that level crossings are a critical point and that the weather is becoming an increasing risk. The work that has been done following different accidents when track workers have been injured and, unfortu…
Lords
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
Steel Sector
I thank my noble friend for her question. The issue of grid connections partly sits in my department; the House might be interested to know that we have 800 gigawatts of demand in new projects to 60 gigawatts of supply. Grid connections and making sure that the grid is fit for the future will be a m…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 April 2026
Business Improvement District Ballots: Digital Voting
I agree with my noble friend that everybody should be paid a proper wage for the job they do. She is quite right that money earned in local areas is often spent locally by those on lower wages, so it is very important that we do that. One thing that really affected our high streets was the legislati…
Lords
Oral Questions
14 April 2026
Child Poverty and Homelessness: Asylum and Settlement Policies
I am grateful to my noble friend. She has campaigned for many years with the Trades Union Congress for rights at work. I have campaigned for rights at work, a minimum wage and good conditions for people in the care sector, and our Employment Rights Bill in this House and the House of Commons is to m…
Lords
Oral Questions
25 March 2026
Small Boat Deaths: Cranston Inquiry Report
I am afraid that this particular Minister is ill qualified to work out the effects of international conflict. What I should say in respect of those matters for which the department is responsible is that we have to be ready for all the numbers in order to ensure the safety at sea of all those who go…
Lords
Oral Questions
18 March 2026
2 contributions
EU Directive: Adequate Minimum Wages
My Lords, as with other relevant EU directives, the Department for Business and Trade is monitoring the EU directive on adequate minimum wages. As we are no longer an EU member state, we are not obliged to transpose its directives, but we note their progress. The UK has a long history of minimum wag…
My Lords, the Government agree that a strong voice for workers is a positive for the economy as a whole. We believe the best way of delivering that is to start with implementing the ambitious measures in the Employment Rights Act, including introducing the fair pay agreements in social care, reintro…
Lords
Debate
9 March 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
I remind my noble friend that in Committee a number of us raised the statement that was issued by a whole range of civic society organisations, whose members often live in the communities in which they carry out protests. He will recall in particular that the TUC supported that civic society stateme…
Lords
Proceedings
6 March 2026
International Women’s Day
My Lords, I congratulate all noble Baronesses on their maiden speeches today. As the youngest Member of this House, I feel a particular responsibility to bring the voices of young women and girls into our debates, to defend and extend our rights, to prioritise our safety and to ensure that we are he…
Lords
Debate
4 March 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I will be very brief, partly to remind all noble Lords that the shop workers’ union, USDAW, under Joanne Thomas, the current leader, Paddy Lillis before her and, indeed, John Hannett—the noble Lord, Lord Hannett—has campaigned for years for freedom from fear for a predominantly female work…
Before the Minister sits down, I think there was appetite among many of us to see the beginnings of a strategy for each sector that we know is facing rising violence. I know that that is not within the gift of the Minister, but a request to talk to Ministers and get people around the table in those …
Lords
Oral Questions
24 February 2026
Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper
My noble friend is absolutely right. I can remember the contribution made by the union learning fund to support trade unions to enable the development of skills in their workplaces. It is a real shame that the last Government removed the funding from it. I can tell my noble friend that this is somet…
Lords
Oral Questions
2 February 2026
Prisoners for Palestine: Hunger Strikes
Prison rules are there for a very good purpose, and rules are rules. It is the same for any prisoner, on remand or not. If any prisoner is not content, their concerns can be brought to the independent monitoring board or the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
Lords
Oral Questions
26 January 2026
ILO Convention 190
My noble friend is right to recognise the important step this Government have taken to avoid NDAs when it comes to prevention or speaking out about harassment and discrimination. Our Benches are very proud of that landmark piece of legislation in the Employment Rights Act. In terms of enforcement, a…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 January 2026
2 contributions
Parental Leave and Pay Review
My Lords, the parental leave and pay review launched on 1 July 2025, and we expect it to run for a period of 18 months. The review will conclude in early 2027 with a set of findings in which the Government will outline next steps for taking any reform forward to implementation.
My Lords, I pay tribute to the advocacy not only of my noble friend but of her former employer, the TUC. The Government have met with many stakeholders and had many encouragements to act in lots of different directions. My noble friend is absolutely right that the system needs reform. We know that i…
Lords
Debate
13 January 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I support what I understand to be probing amendments in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Blower, but first I want to seek clarification from my noble friend the Minister on government Amendment 372. I do so from the perspective of someone who had direct responsibility for organising ma…
Lords
Oral Questions
7 January 2026
Public Sector Productivity
My noble friend asks a really interesting question and I am very happy to consider the point that she raises. The quality of management makes a massive difference in both the private and the public sector. We talked before about working from home. It is well documented that the better the quality of…