Written questions by Davies.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of resourcing levels in local Trading Standards services.

Awaiting answer.

What progress he has made on creating a cross-departmental taskforce on tackling illicit trade involving i) his Department, (ii) HMRC, (iii) the Home Office and (iv) the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Awaiting answer.

How (i) consumers and (ii) businesses can report incidents of illicit trade on high streets.

Awaiting answer.

How many times Ministers from his Department have attended UK conferences, trade shows and exhibitions since 7 February 2023.

Awaiting answer.

When he plans to remove minimum wage age bands.

The Government is committed to ensuring that every adult worker benefits from a genuine living wage, and we will remove the discriminatory age bands for adults. From April 2025, we are boosting the National Minimum Wage for 18–20-year-olds by 16.3% or £1.40 to £10.00 per hour, a record increase and a significant step towards our commitment.

Whether he sought external legal advice when drafting the Employment Rights Bill.

With respect to the Employment Rights Bill, the Department has been supported by legal advice from the Government Legal Department and, where appropriate, external legal advice. Legal advice provided to the Government is privileged.

When he plans to create a single enforcement body to ensure employment rights are upheld.

Creating the Fair Work Agency (FWA) is a complex process that requires primary legislation. The Employment Rights Bill is the first phase of delivering the FWA and implementation will occur in phases following Royal Assent. We will set out more detail on this in due course.

Whether he has carried out a proportionality assessment on clause 16 of the Employment Rights Bill.

The Employment Rights Bill establishes a new day one statutory right for all employees who have experienced the loss of a loved one. The measures in the bill set a framework for the entitlement, and the details will be set out in secondary legislation. The Government has published an Impact Assessment, which covers the impacts on businesses and workers. Due to the sensitive and personal nature of bereavement, we will be consulting stakeholders on the specifics of the entitlement to ensure that Bereavement Leave is sculpted by the needs of employees and employers.

What role the Fair Work Agency will play in ensuring businesses observe best practice when granting their employees maternity leave.

We are creating the Fair Work Agency to deliver a much-needed upgrade to enforcement of workers’ rights. The Fair Work Agency will work closely with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), which already provides guidance for both employers and workers in these specific areas, to deliver appropriate support to the majority of businesses who want to comply with the law.

What the role of the Fair Work Agency will be in helping to ensure businesses observe best practice in granting paternity leave.

We are creating the Fair Work Agency to deliver a much-needed upgrade to enforcement of workers’ rights. The Fair Work Agency will work closely with the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), which already provides guidance for both employers and workers in these specific areas, to deliver appropriate support to the majority of businesses who want to comply with the law.