Kate Dearden MP: speeches

Speeches

• 1 Sept 2026 · Science Facilities and Laboratories · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for that important intervention, and also thank him, my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Sarah Russell) and the many other colleagues who have raised that issue, not just today but with the Government and Ministers consistently, for their continued campaigning and advocacy. I will take this opportunity to address the concerns about the future of the world-famous Jodrell Bank site, which have been heard loud and clear—I will feed them back to the relevant Minister. UKRI has confirmed that its funding for the e-MERLIN network, which makes use of telescopes at Jodrell Bank, will wind down in 2028. However, I want to provide reassurance that Jodrell Bank will continue to be a significant centre for radio astronomy, science and research, with a strong future ahead.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Science Facilities and Laboratories · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention and for the passion we have heard in the debate, as well as her desire to fight for Boulby, her constituents and the sector as a whole. The Minister for Science has written to her today and will be happy to discuss with her the budget pressures and the difficult decisions that UKRI has taken to ensure that STFC remains financially sustainable and is able to support world-leading science in the future.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Science Facilities and Laboratories · Hansard source

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  Of course—that would be a pleasure and I would be honoured to do so. I reiterate that Boulby will remain an internationally significant research facility. It will continue to support a range of world-leading underground science and provide highly skilled employment in the region, with the potential to play an even larger role in the UK’s scientific future. My hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby highlighted in her speech the challenges with the operational budget at Boulby. UKRI has also announced funding that will sustain the UK’s continued engagement with the international XLZD dark matter experiment, which my hon. Friend mentioned, beyond the current £7.8 million infrastructure fund grant, which ends in 2027. Boulby will remain well placed to pursue future funding opportunities alongside its outstandingly significant work. I thank colleagues again for being in Westminster Hall to support this debate. I want to offer reassurances that UKRI and STFC are engaging directly with facilities, laboratories, partners, staff and trade unions throughout the implementation of the saving plan, including in respect of any potential workforce implications. However, to be clear, no staff exits are expected this financial year, and formal processes will follow where needed. The UK has an extraordinary scientific heritage, but our task today is not merely to celebrate past achievements but to ensure that the next generation of discoveries and the innovations they will enable happen here. The Government will achieve that goal, not just through record investment in public R&D but through responsible stewardship of our national assets, international co-operation, and taking the difficult decisions necessary to ensure we have a portfolio of research facilities that are fit for the future, because the future of British science will depend not only on the brilliance of our researchers but on the strength of the infrastructure that supports them. I once again thank all colleagues for being here to support the debate. Question put and agreed to.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Science Facilities and Laboratories · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising that important issue on behalf of his constituency and the sector more widely. I have heard him loud and clear and will feed that back to the Minister for Science, Innovation and Investment, who I am sure will be happy to discuss it further with my hon. Friend and any other colleagues who are keen to be kept in the loop. I have mentioned how investment that backs people, facilities and technologies can not only turn research into practical benefits but strengthen our economy and support the high-skilled jobs that colleagues have mentioned throughout the debate. Such investment is vital to keeping the UK at the forefront of global science. The sites across the country are essential to that work, which is why I am proud that the Government have put forward the largest ever investment in research and development, with a record £86 billion to be invested between 2026-27 and 2029-30. Some £38.6 billion of that investment will go to UK Research and Innovation, the UK’s largest research funder, with a mission to advance knowledge, improve lives and drive growth. UKRI supports the full spectrum of research and development, from curiosity-driven discovery research through to business innovation and commercialisation.

• 1 Sept 2026 · Science Facilities and Laboratories · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his work in this area. I have heard his reflections and his desire to see longer-term certainty, which I will feed back to the relevant Minister and the Department. The benefits of our investment, building on the previous funding that I mentioned, will be felt right across the UK. Particularly in respect of this debate and the Yorkshire and the Humber region—I am a Yorkshire MP myself—UKRI’s £580 million investment in 2023-24 was significant. My hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby mentioned a long list of vital science facilities, including Boulby, Diamond, ISIS and Jodrell Bank, which we have touched on, and I completely agree that they are not merely items on a balance sheet; they are national assets. Boulby is unique in that respect, as it is the UK’s deepest underground science facility. Located more than a kilometre beneath Yorkshire in a working mine, its depth and the surrounding salt rock mean that it is shielded from radiation, enabling world-leading research in areas such as dark matter and quantum technologies. I hope to answer many of my hon. Friend’s questions throughout my speech. Our science and research ecosystem has lots of important research infrastructure. The UK’s science and technology successes are built not only on researchers making groundbreaking discoveries, or engineers developing new technologies, but on our world-class R&D facilities and capabilities—the essential tools that our research communities use every day. Those include the facilities that allow us to explore the building blocks of matter and the computing systems that allow scientists to turn raw data into models of the universe or treatments for disease, as well as the international collaborations that enable us to tackle grand scientific challenges that no country can solve alone. Our research infrastructure makes the UK’s R&D achievements possible. The facilities are not only tools for research and industry but national assets, as I have mentioned. The landscape is changing rapidly. Facilities are becoming more connected and data-intensive than ever before, researchers are increasingly collaborating across borders, and the most powerful scientific instruments are often of a scale, cost and geographical reach beyond the capacity of any one nation to deliver alone. To ensure that our research facilities are ready for tomorrow, we must lay the groundwork today by supporting the facilities that allow researchers and innovators to produce the most insightful and impactful research. I will briefly highlight some examples of the impact of our facilities on our understanding of science and the lives of people across the UK. As we heard from colleagues, the Diamond Light Source at Harwell in Oxfordshire is the UK’s national synchrotron. Currently undergoing a £500 million upgrade, Diamond generates intense beams of X-rays, allowing research to examine materials in extraordinary detail. This enables discovery and innovation in fields ranging from medicines and battery technology to advanced manufacturing and aerospace, including for companies such as Rolls-Royce. We are also a leading partner in major international facilities, sharing the costs and benefits of scientific endeavours that, as I have said, no country could undertake alone. Also included in respect of our investment, and the Government’s absolute commitment to the sector, is the Square Kilometre Array observatory, headquartered in the UK at Jodrell Bank. I will come to that in just a second, but we are investing more than £300 million over 10 years to build the world’s largest radio telescope, enabling scientists to study the cosmos with unparalleled sensitivity, from the first stars and galaxies to signs of life beyond Earth.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Draft Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 Draft Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Ballots For Statutory Trade Union Ballots · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. The draft order and the draft code of practice were laid before the House on 22 June 2026. The statutory instrument and the guidance that we are debating relate to statutory trade union ballots under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. The instrument also corrects a minor error in unfair dismissal legislation in section 105 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, to reflect changes made under the Employment Rights Act 2025. At present, the law requires almost all statutory trade union ballots to be conducted solely by post. That approach has not kept pace with the way in which people live, work and participate in democratic processes. It makes holding a ballot unduly expensive and time-consuming, and it can act as an unnecessary barrier to democratic participation in a union. The statutory instrument addresses that directly. It will bring trade union balloting into line with modern secure voting practices that are already widely used in other contexts, including by political parties and listed companies. In so doing, it will deliver on a Government manifesto commitment to supporting greater participation in the democratic processes that shape working life. The practical changes we are making are long overdue. They are about enabling trade union members to take part in union decisions in more accessible and convenient ways, while maintaining the high standards of fairness, secrecy and security that are set out in existing legislation. The statutory instrument will introduce three additional methods of voting, alongside post. First, electronic voting will allow members to cast their votes online, using secure access credentials. That will be permitted only where a union member has provided a personal email or telephone number to their union. Secondly, hybrid voting—in which members receive voting materials by post, but may choose to return their vote either by post or electronically—will enable workers to choose how they cast their vote, without requiring any voter to use online options if they would prefer not to. Thirdly, in workplace voting, which is for industrial action ballots only, voting can take place in person, under the supervision of an independent scrutineer, at an appropriately secured location in the workplace. Importantly, the statutory instrument will expand the range of voting methods that can be used, but postal voting will remain an option for unions to use. The Government are committed to bringing forward electronic and workplace balloting quickly, securely and in a way that works properly in practice. That is why we are taking a phased approach to delivery. In phase 1, the new methods will be made available across all statutory trade union ballots, with the exception of statutory recognition and derecognition ballots. In phase 2, we will extend the electronic and hybrid voting options in 2027 to recognition and derecognition ballots. Alongside that, we will continue to work closely with key stakeholders to support implementation and oversee how those voting methods are operating in practice. As part of that, in the coming months we intend to launch a senior oversight board comprised of unions, businesses, scrutineers and cyber-security experts, who will share feedback on the operation of electronic balloting. By allowing those additional methods, unions will be able to reach their members in ways that are more convenient and inclusive for those members to participate, including members who may benefit from greater flexibility and accessibility in how they engage with ballots and their union democracy. Alongside the draft order, we have laid a draft statutory code of practice on electronic and workplace ballots. The code will provide detailed, practical guidance on how electronic and workplace balloting should be conducted in practice, ensuring that those methods are used in a way that is secure, fair and accessible. The code will give clarity to unions, independent scrutineers and employers, and will support a consistent approach across ballots. I turn now to the question of security and safeguards, which will be of interest to the Committee, to provide reassurance to Members that the security of the ballot process sits at the heart of this legislation. Modernisation must go hand in hand with maintaining confidence. That is why strong safeguards underpin our approach and are built into each of the balloting methods that we are providing for. Section 54 of the Employment Relations Act 2004—the enabling power under which we are making the changes—already sets clear standards. Any permitted method of voting must enable a ballot to meet those standards—namely, that those entitled to vote have the opportunity to do so, that votes are cast in secret, and that the risk of unfairness or malpractice is minimised. The draft order and the draft code also set out detailed requirements covering the operation of electronic and workplace balloting. Those include independent oversight by scrutineers, clear requirements on ballot security, and measures to ensure the reliability and integrity of the voting systems used. For electronic and hybrid balloting, that includes requirements relating to the protection of voter information, the security of voting systems and detailed audit and monitoring arrangements, alongside mandatory independent cyber-security certification that must be held by scrutineers before they can provide those methods. Similarly, clear requirements are built into the workplace option. Workplace voting is designed to operate in a limited and controlled way. It will be available only for industrial action ballots, reflecting the fact that those relate to workplace matters rather than to internal union processes. Workplace voting can be used only if the union and the employer agree and set out the terms of the voting in advance of any ballot. Where it is used, it must be independently supervised and conducted in line with detailed requirements, to ensure that the process remains secure and free of interference. The statutory instrument is essential to bringing trade union ballots into the 21st century, and will ensure that workers are provided with accessible and straightforward processes to participate in the democracy of their union. It will remove the costly and bureaucratic requirement that forces all ballots to be held by post, thereby allowing the way in which unions ballot finally to reflect the technological progress of modern life, while holding firmly to the core principles of fairness, accessibility and security that have always underpinned them. This reform is measured, proportionate and long overdue. This legislation sets out clear safeguards and technical standards to ensure the integrity and confidence of the ballot process, while making it meaningfully easier and more convenient for working people to take part in the decisions that affect them. I therefore commend the statutory instrument and the accompanying draft code of practice to the Committee. I trust that Members will support them.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Draft Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 Draft Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Ballots For Statutory Trade Union Ballots · Hansard source

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  I was just getting to the powers that we are using for the statutory instrument. Trade unions will be required to be the responsible person because they are best placed to consider the factors and criteria before choosing the ballot method. We have gone through the range of options that will be available. As I mentioned, the choice must include postal voting, even though that is not a new method. As I have mentioned, we have included in the legislation a presumption to reduce the factors and criteria to be considered for postal voting, to reflect the fact that it is a long-established method with which members will already be familiar and that trade unions know how best to approach it. However, the responsible person must not be aware of “any reason why it would not be possible to satisfy the requirements of the relevant legislation which relate to the means of voting which are to be used in the ballot or election.” That has been made clear to trade unions, which will have been designated the responsible person, alongside the range of other options that they must consider. That communicates clearly to trade unions their roles and responsibilities as the responsible person. As the shadow Minister knows, the responsibilities of independent scrutineers will continue in their role under the legislation. Independent scrutineers, which the shadow Minister asked about, are either named in or meet the requirements of the Trade Union Ballots and Elections (Independent Scrutineer Qualifications) Order 1993, which sets out clear requirements on who can be a scrutineer. The organisations named in that order have been independently conducting statutory ballots for many years, and we are confident in their independence. In the coming months, we will progress work on updating that order to expand the list of named permitted scrutineers. If he is interested, we will be happy to keep him updated on that particular work strand. The shadow Minister asked about the impact assessment of the introduction of electronic balloting. The primary impacts include up to £70 million of net present social value. The introduction of new balloting methods for statutory trade union ballots simply brings them in line with modern voting practices used regularly by many other organisations, including political parties and private companies, as I said. Requiring them to pilot those balloting methods would unnecessarily restrict their ability to effectively engage with their members and ensure that their views are properly reflected. We have no reliable evidence suggesting that electronic balloting will increase the frequency of participation. That is why a review will be important to our understanding of how the range of available balloting methods work out in different workplaces and trade unions. The range in savings estimates varies as it will depends on the uptake of the different balloting methods. As electronic ballots will require the use of personal email addresses or mobile numbers, unions will need to gather that information from their members before they commence. The draft order details operational, audit and reporting requirements on electronic voting methods well beyond those required for postal voting, to ensure the security of the ballot and retain the confidence of the public in electronic voting. We have developed those clear, secure and proportionate approaches to enable statutory ballots to be conducted via means other than post. The draft order has been carefully considered, through engagement with stakeholders, to ensure that their legitimate concerns about security and interference are managed while ensuring that accessibility, democracy and ease of use remain central to the balloting process. The draft order requires stringent processes to be followed for the conduct of electronic balloting, to ensure that the integrity of the ballot remains unquestionable. As I have mentioned, this change is long overdue. I am pleased we are the Government to finally introduce legislation to modernise these processes. I believe I have answered all the questions, and I look forward to the Committee’s support for the draft order and the associated draft code of practice. Question put.

• 8 Jul 2026 · Draft Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 Draft Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Ballots For Statutory Trade Union Ballots · Hansard source

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  I thank the shadow Minister for his remarks and questions. The draft order addresses a simple issue: the current requirement to conduct statutory trade union ballots solely by post has not kept pace with how people engage today, and balloting has become an overly burdensome and expensive process. That is why the range of options I outlined—online, hybrid and workplace balloting—which the shadow Minister alluded to, are necessary. The requirement to conduct ballots by post was born out of the legitimate need to guarantee secrecy and protection from union, third-party or employer interference, but those principles will not be reduced by this statutory instrument; they will, in fact, be improved upon in many cases. On the shadow Minister’s point about the chosen methods, electronic balloting has been a well-established option for businesses and political parties—including his own party—for many years. The Government will deliver modern and secure electronic workplace balloting, as we made clear in our manifesto and our wider Make Work Pay agenda. We are pleased to have progressed in that work and to have laid this legislation—it is a shame that the Opposition cannot support it. We have engaged with stakeholders, worked with experts and consulted on the draft code of practice to develop our approach to delivering the balloting methods for statutory union ballots. We are confident that our approach reduces bureaucracy and enables the increased participation of union members, while ensuring high security standards. The shadow Minister reflected more widely on the varied options in the legislation and asked in particular about the review. We will, of course, keep him updated as we proceed with the wider scrutiny board and as the legislation comes into force. That is important, because we want to ensure that every measure in our Make Work Pay initiative and in the Employment Rights Act works in practice in workplaces across the country, particularly for trade unions. That leads me to the shadow Minister’s second point, on the responsible person and the independent scrutineer. As he said, the responsible person will decide which voting method, or combination of methods, will be used to conduct a statutory ballot. When determining the method or combination of methods to be used for a ballot, the responsible person must apply the criteria and consider the factors specified in the legislation and the code of practice. Of course, if the union is acting on that ballot, it is best placed to decide what the combination of methods must be. That is why the responsible person is the trade union calling the ballot. We are making the necessary legislation under section 54 of the Employment Relations Act 2004. Under that section, a new method may be permitted only if the Secretary of State considers that a ballot conducted by that method could meet the required standard. A method meets that standard “if it is such that…those entitled to vote have an opportunity to do so…votes cast are secret…the risk of any unfairness or malpractice is minimised.”

• 8 Jul 2026 · Draft Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026 Draft Code of Practice on Electronic and Workplace Ballots For Statutory Trade Union Ballots · Hansard source

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  I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Trade Unions (Permissible Means of Voting) and Employment Rights (Unfair Dismissal) (Amendment) Order 2026.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Employment Costs: Impact on Recruitment · Hansard source

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  The UK was the fastest growing G7 economy in quarter 1 of this year, and we know that we will only achieve a thriving economy once people have a wage they can count on. We want to grow our economy with people in secure work. That is why we are giving greater certainty to more than half the UK’s workforce through our Employment Rights Act 2025 and putting more money in their pockets. External analysis by world-leading experts shows that the Act could increase employment, and our impact assessment shows that it will benefit more than 18 million workers across the country.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Employment Costs: Impact on Recruitment · Hansard source

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  We are focused on fixing the issues in our labour market that the Conservatives neglected: poor working conditions, insecure work, inequality, the undercutting of good employers in brilliant SMEs, and the bad industrial relations that we inherited. Since July, real wages have grown. We have the third highest employment rate in the G7, and we are focused on backing our brilliant SMEs. They are the backbone of the community. I come from a small business family, and it provided me with that first job and opportunity. We want to get more people into work and to work with our SMEs, so that we can build that thriving economy where people have a wage so that they can get on.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Alternative Dispute Resolution Regulations · Hansard source

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  The Department has not provided guidance on that matter. Fees relating to the accreditation and monitoring of alternative dispute resolution providers have not risen since 2015, and have been significantly eroded by the impact of rising costs. The intention behind the new fee structure is to ensure that, over time, fees are commensurate with the costs of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute performing the relevant functions to the required standards, that they are predictable for ADR providers, and that they provide costs recovery for the CTSI.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Alternative Dispute Resolution Regulations · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for her question. A well functioning ADR system makes markets work more effectively and drives economic growth. We are committed to ensuring that consumers and businesses are able to resolve disputes early, which helps to raise consumer confidence and compliance rates. We acknowledge that there will be a period of adjustment as the new fee structure beds in, and in the autumn we will conduct a review to assess whether the fee structure should be amended further. We recognise the importance of ensuring that charges are fair and proportional for all ADR providers and the CTSI as the competent authority.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We are working closely with various stakeholders to ensure that workers understand and claim their new rights under the Employment Rights Act. I know how vital trade unions are not just to organising, but to educating workers on their rights at work. I am so proud that they have been instrumental to development and implementation of these rights, and we look forward to continuing to working with them closely.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for her constant campaigning on this issue. I know how important it is and, I value working closely with her. Businesses producing or supplying those products must ensure that they are safe before they are placed on the market, including online marketplaces. Businesses should not supply products they know—or should know—are unsafe. My hon. Friend knows that taking action includes regulatory action. We work alongside other Departments on this, and our recent consultation looked at how we can go even further to ensure that products are safe.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Hospitality Sector: Employment · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Member for raising the vital role that the hospitality sector plays in providing those first jobs and opportunities for people. I work closely with hospitality businesses, and I am really keen to continue to listen to them, to understand the challenges they face. I know that the right hon. Member will welcome our youth jobs grant, which was launched this week and is open for applications—that was welcomed by the chief executive of UKHospitality. We want to keep working with those businesses, and I thank them for their engagement so far on how we can continue to support them to crack on with the brilliant opportunities they provide in communities across the country.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Hospitality Sector: Employment · Hansard source

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  The hospitality sector remains a major UK employer. It supported around 2.1 million jobs last year, or around 6% of total employment. Employment has grown by over 18% in the past decade, and although growth has stabilised more recently, that follows a period of strong expansion, reflecting the sector’s continued importance to local economies and youth employment. I know myself how vital the sector is for first jobs—my first job was in a café, and that opportunity gave me the skills to go on and succeed in my career. We are supporting jobs through skills investment, including new hospitality apprenticeships, incentives for SMEs to recruit young people, and sector-based work academy programmes to help people into work.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Employment Rights Act 2025 · Hansard source

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  The hon. Member might not have read the updated impact assessment, which significantly lowered that amount, following the passing of the Employment Rights Act towards the end of last year, to £1 billion. On supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, we want to work closely with them because many across the country are already doing lots of the things that are in the Employment Rights Act. They also understand that treating their workers fairly benefits their business and makes the economy grow. I am grateful to the small and medium-sized businesses that I have worked with and which fed directly into the details of the Act. I want to work closely with them to understand the impacts and where we can get this right, and to work on the details. I thank them for their engagement, and I look forward to continuing to work with them.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Employment Rights Act 2025 · Hansard source

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  Through the right to guaranteed hours, we are tackling one-sided flexibility. Qualifying workers are offered contracts that better reflect their hours, and they can then plan their lives and finances. Over 1.2 million people work on a zero-hours contract, and research published by the Living Wage Foundation in 2022 found that 87% of zero-hours workers said that they want more hours in their contract. My hon. Friend will understand the terrible consequences and the impact that not knowing their regular hours or how much they will earn that month can have on people’s lives, including the severe impacts of not being able to feed their kids or know whether they can pay their bills. We are working to get the details right and to get businesses, workers and trade unions to engage in our recent consultation so that we can achieve both flexibility and security.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Employment Rights Act 2025 · Hansard source

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  I am glad that the Liberal Democrat spokesperson welcomes parts of the legislation, but I wish she would not repeat lines from the Conservatives, who broke our economy and destroyed our labour market. That is why the Act is so important: it will fix problems, particularly the problem of people being in insecure work, which does not grow our economy and will not provide the stability that we need. I thank the hon. Lady for mentioning flexibility. The problem occurs when flexibility is one-sided and workers bear all the financial risks. That is why, as part of our consultations, particularly on zero-hours contracts, we want to get flexibility and security right, so that we can rebalance them. We are working closely with employers, including in the retail sector, to understand how best to get that balance right, so that it benefits workers and businesses, too.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Employment Rights Act 2025 · Hansard source

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  The Opposition’s suggestion of getting 13-year-olds to work later hours on a Sunday is simply not serious. What is serious is the review that we have conducted with Alan Milburn on how we can get more young people into employment. We recognise the challenge, and that is why it is an important priority for us. We inherited a situation in which nearly a million young people were not in employment, education or training. That increased by 250,000 before the general election, and the Conservatives did absolutely nothing about it. Young people written off by a legacy of rising youth inactivity and declining apprenticeship jobs. That is why we are serious about this. I appreciate and welcome Alan Milburn’s review, which is detailing how we can improve the situation. He has looked at the challenges that we are facing and laid bare the scale of them. We have already taken action to help young people by bringing forward the biggest youth employment reforms to create 500,000 opportunities for young people through our £2.5 billion youth guarantee, and we will continue to do more.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Employment Rights Act 2025 · Hansard source

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  The Employment Rights Act 2025 is bringing employment rights into the 21st century, with phased implementation to give businesses and workers, including those in Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch, time to get ready and understand their new rights at work. We have already repealed burdensome trade union legislation, strengthened statutory sick pay, introduced day one paternity leave rights and launched the Fair Work Agency. We continue to consult on measures such as zero-hours contracts and non-disclosure agreements to get the details right. Further changes will happen in October, including trade union reform and better protection from sexual harassment.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Unpaid Carers: Workplace Support · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the vital contribution that unpaid carers make to their loved ones and their communities, and the experiences of families in his constituency reflect the challenges faced by unpaid carers across the country. We want to ensure that carers can remain in work and fulfil their potential. Through our review, we will ensure that we are backing our unpaid carers to balance work and care, as well as the employers who support them in the workplace.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Unpaid Carers: Workplace Support · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his continued advocacy for young adult carers. I have been honoured to visit Carers Count Calderdale in my own constituency of Halifax, and I know about the important and vital support that incredible unpaid carers across the country are providing to their loved ones. We are reviewing the employment rights available to them, including through a public consultation that launched last month and which is currently open for views. We are considering the merits of additional support, including paid leave, improved guidance and a right to return, while remaining mindful of any potential impacts on businesses.

• 2 Jul 2026 · Hospitality Sector · Hansard source

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  I sincerely thank my hon. Friend for his continued engagement—I know how important the issue of market access for our breweries is to him. I was delighted to meet him and colleagues across this House recently, and I look forward to continuing to engage and work with them as the Government consider the evidence ahead of any announcements.