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What would you like to ask the Minister for Employment?

Steve Bridger

We have an exciting episode of the HR People Pod in the pipeline, where we will be taking the opportunity to interview the Minister for Employment, Alison McGovern, and we want your help!

To help shape the discussion on the episode, we want to hear from you around some of the concerns, challenges as well as optimism you have towards the government’s Get Britain Working proposals as well as the recent Keep Britain Working review. 

Below is a reminder of some of the key proposals set out within the Get Britain Working White Paper:

  • Tackling long-term sickness – ambitions to reverse the increase in economic activity caused by ill health, with long-term sickness-related economic inactivity at a near-record high
  • Youth guarantee – a pledge to provide all 18-21 year olds in England with access to an apprenticeship, training, education or help finding a job
  • Jobcentre reforms – transforming the Jobcentre system into a new ‘national jobs and careers service’, which will focus on skills and careers rather than solely monitoring and managing benefits claims

Related links:

The Keep Britain Working review subsequently calls for urgent collaboration between government and businesses. The document suggested the inactivity crisis is “unlikely” to be resolved by the Government efforts alone, emphasising that employers have a “key role to play in creating inclusive workplaces that protect mental and physical health and support the retention and rehabilitation of employees, including disabled people and people with health conditions”.

Related links:

Thank you and look forward to seeing your thoughts, questions and comments below.

  • in reply to Steve Bridger
    She is a very impressive woman, and even as she approaches 80 is still a leading light in all sorts of organisations!
  • in reply to Matthew
    Thank you so much for sharing that - your mum sounds awesome. It was hard enough in the 80's (I wanted to be an electrical engineer, but was told that was for boys), that I can't even imagine how hard it was for your Mum to do that in the 60's
  • in reply to Teresa

    My mother in law was legally obliged to give up work when they adopted my husband and his brother, as a condition of the adoption (in the 1970s). Sometimes you have to look back at the shore to realise you've swum quite a long way, re the rights of women in the workplace!

  • What are the chances of Britain introducing a wartime economy?This would mean restructuring the economy prioritise the war effort, shifting resources and industries towards military production, rationing supplies, and adjusting tax policies to fund the war effort. I ask this question as commentators suggest the UK is in an undeclared war with Russia.
  • in reply to Paul Carter
    I would like to know what the plans are regarding Access To Work. Considering the significant backlog of over 55,000 applications as of late 2024, what immediate steps is the government taking to ensure people with a disability are not being denied employment opportunities due to delays or potential cuts to this vital support?
  • What plans does the government have to address the huge financial strain that the increase to employer NI contributions has put on UK businesses since April? We're seeing a big increase in headcount cuts, hiring and pay freezes, which in many cases is directly linked. Many businesses are on their knees and unable to afford growth in people capital. How will you help?
  • in reply to Sharon
    Totally agree - there is already some great work going on in this respect with University Technical Colleges, which tackle both the technical skills shortages but also general employability skills. As a school governor in a very successful UTC, I've seen first hand the great benefits there are working more closely with industry - our employer partners snap up our students who are able to pursue some amazing career opportunities as a result, and the employers regularly comment that they notice a real difference between our students and those in other schools! So while UTCs are doing this very well, there is a lot more that could be going on in this sphere with schools more widely. I'm a great believer that University is most definitely not for everyone; the most important thing is to find the right pathway to progress - be that university, an apprenticeship (including degree apprenticeships, or going straight into employment or other training.

  • So, here it is. You said; we did (or rather asked).

    In a special episode of the HR People Pod, the CIPD's Director of Profession,  put your questions to Alison McGovern MP, Minister for Employment.

    Listen to the episode here:

    https://www.cipd.org/en/knowledge/podcasts/hr-people-pod/

      

      

      

      

  • in reply to Steve Bridger
    Thank you! Do we have an idea when the transcript will be available please? I don't know why, but I can't bear listening to people having a conversation online or on the radio - accidentally hitting Radio 4 in the car and hearing an interview makes me want to rip the radio out (its a Teresa quirk i think as don't know anyone else who has this!).
    Thank you :)