In line with data protection obligations, the Cabinet Office cannot disclose the personal contractual arrangements of individual members of staff

The Department advises that up to three individuals per network, including chairs, co-chairs and committee members, may receive a 10% work time allocation for network activity, with line manager agreement. The Department has eight recognised diversity networks which align with characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010 and/or characteristics particularly important to our organisational demographic:

• Age Network;
• Disability, Neurodiversity, Long-term Conditions and Carers Network;
• Faith and Belief Network;
• Parenting Network;
• Race Network;
• Sex Network ("sex" in the Equality Act 2010 refers specifically to biological sex recorded at birth, not acquired gender, and as such this network covers sex, with supporting forums discussing 'men's' and 'women's' issues);
• Sexuality and Gender Network; and
• Social Equality and Support Network.

NHS England does not set an organisation wide allocation or entitlement of protected time for staff network chairs or committee members. Any arrangements for time spent on network activity are agreed locally, based on business need.

NHS England has 12 staff networks:

• Ability;
• Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic;
• Carers and Family Network;
• Christian Network;
• Disability and Well-being;
• Jewish;
• LGBTQIA+;
• Menopause;
• MultiKultural;
• Muslim;
• Neurodiversity; and
• Women’s.

No civil servants in the department are currently claiming for both a) diversity network and b) trade union facility time.

We will continue to undertake comprehensive engagement and consultation on the implementation of the Plan to Make Work Pay and the Employment Rights Bill, and we will be engaging closely with employers, including local authorities as the policy develops. We will consult extensively on the implementation of the legislation, to ensure it works for workers and employers alike.

The Government has published a final stage impact assessment on strengthening workers’ rights to access, recognition and representation (see paragraphs 61 to 66 in relation to trade union recognition in particular). This is available at: Impact assessment: Strengthening workers’ rights to trade union access, recognition and representation.

The statutory trade union recognition scheme is available to unions where the workplace has 21 or more workers. Therefore the smallest workplaces that have 20 or less workers are not in scope of the scheme.

Guidance on the trade union recognition scheme is at Gov.uk. This sets out that the scheme is available to unions where the workplace has 21 or more workers. Therefore the smallest workplaces that have 20 or less workers not in scope of the scheme. There are no specific exemptions for town and parish councils.

Making work pay is a priority for delivering the Government's Plan for Change.

As Chair of the Future of Work Cabinet Committee, the Deputy Prime Minister oversees the Committee which considers and takes decisions on matters related to the Make Work Pay package of reforms to the employment law framework. The Secretary of State for Business and Trade and the Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets work very closely with the Deputy Prime Minister and have responsibility for all policy development which falls within the responsibility of the Department for Business and Trade.

Strengthening employment rights is a key priority across Government. The Deputy Prime Minister is supported in her role as the Chair of the Future of Work Cabinet Committee, alongside the delivery of other cross-cutting priorities on Make Work Pay, by a Deputy Director and five FTE policy advisors.

Strengthening employment rights is a key priority across Government. The Deputy Prime Minister is the Chair of the Future of Work Cabinet Committee, which is responsible for considering and taking decisions on matters related to the Make Work Pay package of reforms to the Employment Law framework. The department, alongside the Department for Business and Trade, and other Government departments will ensure the Deputy Prime Minister has the necessary support to carry out that role.

On Monday 21 October, the Government published 24 Impact Assessments, providing a comprehensive analysis on the potential impact of the Employment Rights Bill.

This analysis includes consideration of impacts on the public sector, particularly where proposed legislative reforms are expected to affect local authorities. We will engage closely with local authorities as policy develops.

The department is aware of a campaign by members of the Public and Commercial Services trade union (PCS) on the introduction of a four-day week. No formal representations have been made to the department.

Our Impact Assessments provide an initial, indicative assessment of the impacts that could result from primary legislation. This represents the best estimate for the likely impacts given the current stage of policy development. We intend to refine our analysis and conduct further assessment as the Bill progresses, in line with Better Regulation requirements.

The New Burdens Doctrine does not apply to policies which apply the same rules to local authorities and to private sector bodies, such as employment legislation that applies to all organisations, unless these have a disproportionate effect on local government.

Since July, the Department for Business and Trade has undertaken an extensive programme of engagement around the Employment Rights Bill and broader Plan to Make Work Pay.

Such engagement has been underpinned by a strong commitment to working in partnership with businesses and trade unions to ensure policy is firmly pro-business and pro-worker.

This approach to engagement has received praise from businesses and trade unions alike and will continue throughout and beyond the passage of the Employment Rights Bill.

Details of Senior Officials’ and Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Since July, the Department for Business and Trade has undertaken an extensive programme of engagement around the Employment Rights Bill and broader Plan to Make Work Pay.

Such engagement has been underpinned by a strong commitment to working in partnership with businesses and trade unions to ensure policy is firmly pro-business and pro-worker.

This approach to engagement has received praise from businesses and trade unions alike and will continue throughout and beyond the passage of the Employment Rights Bill.

Details of Senior Officials’ and Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Since July, the Department for Business and Trade has undertaken an extensive programme of engagement around the Employment Rights Bill and broader Plan to Make Work Pay.

Such engagement has been underpinned by a strong commitment to working in partnership with businesses and trade unions to ensure policy is firmly pro-business and pro-worker.

This approach to engagement has received praise from businesses and trade unions alike and will continue throughout and beyond the passage of the Employment Rights Bill.

Details of Senior Officials’ and Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Since July, the Department for Business and Trade has undertaken an extensive programme of engagement around the Employment Rights Bill and broader Plan to Make Work Pay.

Such engagement has been underpinned by a strong commitment to working in partnership with businesses and trade unions to ensure policy is firmly pro-business and pro-worker.

This approach to engagement has received praise from businesses and trade unions alike and will continue throughout and beyond the passage of the Employment Rights Bill.

Details of Senior Officials’ and Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Since July, the Department for Business and Trade has undertaken an extensive programme of engagement around the Employment Rights Bill and broader Plan to Make Work Pay.

Such engagement has been underpinned by a strong commitment to working in partnership with businesses and trade unions to ensure policy is firmly pro-business and pro-worker.

This approach to engagement has received praise from businesses and trade unions alike and will continue throughout and beyond the passage of the Employment Rights Bill.

Details of Senior Officials’ and Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Since July, the Department for Business and Trade has undertaken an extensive programme of engagement around the Employment Rights Bill and broader Plan to Make Work Pay.

Such engagement has been underpinned by a strong commitment to working in partnership with businesses and trade unions to ensure policy is firmly pro-business and pro-worker.

This approach to engagement has received praise from businesses and trade unions alike and will continue throughout and beyond the passage of the Employment Rights Bill.

Details of Senior Officials’ and Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

I thank the shadow Secretary of State for his question. I just remind him that he has to direct the question to the Minister responding—I am sure we will get there in the end.

I also remind the shadow Secretary of State that during the general election, the front page of The Times had 120 businesses supporting the Labour party in full knowledge of our plans to make work pay. We are consulting regularly and frequently—almost on a daily basis—with businesses about how the plans will work. I am afraid that the shadow Secretary of State has spent the summer putting out scaremongering statements about what this all means. In fact, the only statement he made over the summer on which I agreed with him was that his party deserved to lose the general election.

Again, I have to point out that I am not the Secretary of State—perhaps one day.

We heard all these arguments 20 years ago with the minimum wage. Conservative Members were wrong about that, and they are wrong about this. I just hope they are a bit quicker to come round to realising that this country is going to prosper with improved workers’ rights, working in partnership with businesses to improve the economy for the benefit of everyone.