To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports that lower-paying sectors including hospitality and retail have experienced some of the largest falls in payroll employment and vacancies; what support the Government is providing to...

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports that lower-paying sectors including hospitality and retail have experienced some of the largest falls in payroll employment and vacancies; what support the Government is providing to...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the extent to which the concentration of Graduate Route visa holders in low‑wage or low‑skilled employment overlaps with sectors that have high levels of young people aged 16 to 24 who are not...

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the extent to which the concentration of Graduate Route visa holders in low‑wage or low‑skilled employment overlaps with sectors that have high levels of young people aged 16 to 24 who are not...

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will provide a response to the recommendation in the National Minimum Wage: Low Pay Commission Report 2022 CP 758 that seafarers be exempted from the Accommodation Offset.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will provide a response to the recommendation in the National Minimum Wage: Low Pay Commission Report 2022 CP 758 that seafarers be exempted from the Accommodation Offset.

The loan charge was a scandal that affected tens of thousands of people across this country, some of whom were on very low pay and not given a choice by their employers. At the last Budget, the Government put forward changes. What assessment has the Minister made of how those changes will impact people at the lowest end, including social care workers across the country?

The loan charge was a scandal that affected tens of thousands of people across this country, some of whom were on very low pay and not given a choice by their employers. At the last Budget, the Government put forward changes. What assessment has the Minister made of how those changes will impact people at the lowest end, including social care workers across the country?

I thank my hon. Friend for the question, and for the representation she has provided for her constituents and, through her work on the loan charge and taxpayer fairness all-party parliamentary group, for many across the country who have been affected by the loan charge. At the Budget, we made the decision to write off £5,000 from the liabilities of everyone who has been affected by the loan charge, so about a third of those affected will have their liabilities written off entirely. I look forward to continuing to engage with her and Members across the House on this important issue.

I thank my hon. Friend for the question, and for the representation she has provided for her constituents and, through her work on the loan charge and taxpayer fairness all-party parliamentary group, for many across the country who have been affected by the loan charge. At the Budget, we made the decision to write off £5,000 from the liabilities of everyone who has been affected by the loan charge, so about a third of those affected will have their liabilities written off entirely. I look forward to continuing to engage with her and Members across the House on this important issue.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of introducing a 15-year route to settlement on migrants on low wages.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of introducing a 15-year route to settlement on migrants on low wages.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. [Laughter.] Conservative Members laugh, but working people paid a very heavy price for 14 years of economic failure. Austerity damaged the economy and decimated public services; the botched Brexit deal stifled growth; and the reckless borrowing of the mini-Budget saw mortgages and the cost of living soar.

My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. We are determined to tackle inequality; he will be pleased to know that under this Government, wages are up, but we need to do more. We have had a pay increase for the 3.5 million lowest-paid, and the Chancellor will deliver a Budget based on Labour values.

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. [Laughter.] Conservative Members laugh, but working people paid a very heavy price for 14 years of economic failure. Austerity damaged the economy and decimated public services; the botched Brexit deal stifled growth; and the reckless borrowing of the mini-Budget saw mortgages and the cost of living soar.

My hon. Friend is right to raise this issue. We are determined to tackle inequality; he will be pleased to know that under this Government, wages are up, but we need to do more. We have had a pay increase for the 3.5 million lowest-paid, and the Chancellor will deliver a Budget based on Labour values.

Q3

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Jon Trickett (Normanton and Hemsworth) (Lab):

When the Conservatives were in government, they said that they would level up the country, but in fact they left the country divided. Austerity, de-industrialisation and stagnant wages all ripped the heart out of mining communities like the ones I represent. Everywhere we can see the legacy that the Conservatives left. How can it be right that the hard-working, loyal people in my constituency earn £400 a week, or £20,000 a year, less than people who live in Kensington? Will the Prime Minister declare that it is the Government’s moral purpose to eliminate economic injustice—starting, in the Budget next week, with an announcement of massive investment in the north, and wherever else poverty and low pay raise their heads?

Q3

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Jon Trickett (Normanton and Hemsworth) (Lab):

When the Conservatives were in government, they said that they would level up the country, but in fact they left the country divided. Austerity, de-industrialisation and stagnant wages all ripped the heart out of mining communities like the ones I represent. Everywhere we can see the legacy that the Conservatives left. How can it be right that the hard-working, loyal people in my constituency earn £400 a week, or £20,000 a year, less than people who live in Kensington? Will the Prime Minister declare that it is the Government’s moral purpose to eliminate economic injustice—starting, in the Budget next week, with an announcement of massive investment in the north, and wherever else poverty and low pay raise their heads?

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to ensure that low paid workers have adequate income in retirement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans she has to ensure that low paid workers have adequate income in retirement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to monitor the potential impact of the April 2025 Statutory Sick Pay reforms on low-paid workers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to monitor the potential impact of the April 2025 Statutory Sick Pay reforms on low-paid workers.

The Trussell Trust recently reported that three in 10 people who were referred to food banks in 2024 were in working households and that the majority, 72%, were on universal credit. What more can the Government do to ensure that work pays and we can take low-paid workers out of poverty?

The Trussell Trust recently reported that three in 10 people who were referred to food banks in 2024 were in working households and that the majority, 72%, were on universal credit. What more can the Government do to ensure that work pays and we can take low-paid workers out of poverty?

I recently spoke at an event in Parliament hosted by that organisation. I am pleased to say that its report said there had been a small drop in the use of food banks over the past year. We have put the household support fund, now the crisis and resilience fund, on a proper basis for the next three years to support those families in the most desperate need.

I recently spoke at an event in Parliament hosted by that organisation. I am pleased to say that its report said there had been a small drop in the use of food banks over the past year. We have put the household support fund, now the crisis and resilience fund, on a proper basis for the next three years to support those families in the most desperate need.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential of state pension integration practices on (a) lower-paid and (b) female pensioners; and if she will take steps to review (i) guidance and (ii) legislation to help ensure (A) fairness and (B)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential of state pension integration practices on (a) lower-paid and (b) female pensioners; and if she will take steps to review (i) guidance and (ii) legislation to help ensure (A) fairness and (B)...

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the individual opt-out agreement under the Working Time Regulations 1998 on levels of exploitation in low-paid employment.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the individual opt-out agreement under the Working Time Regulations 1998 on levels of exploitation in low-paid employment.

Motion that this House has considered the rate of Statutory Sick Pay. Motion lapsed.

Motion that this House has considered the rate of Statutory Sick Pay. Motion lapsed.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the rate of Statutory Sick Pay.

It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart.

Successive Governments have grappled with statutory sick pay, with report after report saying that we need fundamental, root-and-branch change to a system that is letting workers down...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the rate of Statutory Sick Pay.

It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart.

Successive Governments have grappled with statutory sick pay, with report after report saying that we need fundamental, root-and-branch change to a system that is letting workers down...

I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing a debate on this critical issue. In my constituency and probably his, many small and medium-sized businesses are struggling—let us be honest—with the rise in national insurance contributions. Does he agree that, building on Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, the Minister and the Government...

I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing a debate on this critical issue. In my constituency and probably his, many small and medium-sized businesses are struggling—let us be honest—with the rise in national insurance contributions. Does he agree that, building on Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, the Minister and the Government...

Absolutely. I agree with the hon. Gentleman. He makes an important point that I will address more substantially later in my speech. He will also understand that having a healthier workforce and limiting presenteeism would massively increase the productivity of those small and medium-sized businesses in the long run. One...

Absolutely. I agree with the hon. Gentleman. He makes an important point that I will address more substantially later in my speech. He will also understand that having a healthier workforce and limiting presenteeism would massively increase the productivity of those small and medium-sized businesses in the long run. One...