Political update
What's being said in government
David Cameron pledges to reverse national insurance rise
Conservative leader, David Cameron, indicated this week that the Conservatives would fight the general election on a pledge to reverse at least part of a planned increase in national insurance contributions from 2011.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live Cameron promised to set out his position on national insurance long before the general election.
Yes, way before election day," Cameron said when he was asked whether he would be able to give a clear commitment on national insurance. There is due to be a 1% increase on both employers and employees in April 2011.
Cameron added: "Look, it is not a great idea to put up taxes on people, £20,000 or £30,000, which is what Labour are planning to do in 2011. So we are looking as hard as we can at public spending programmes and trying to see if we can avoid at least a part of this great big tax rise on middle Britain and on jobs at precisely the time when we should be trying to help people to get jobs."
What's being said in Parliament
Oral Question: Agency Workers
Chris Mullin, Sunderland South, Labour: What plans he has for legislation on the regulation of agency workers; and if he will make a statement?
The Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, Pat McFadden: The Government want to get the legislation to implement the agency workers directive on to the statute book by the end of this Parliament. We will shortly table the relevant regulations and publish the Government's response to the recent consultation.
Chris Mullin: I am grateful to my Right Hon. Friend, but it is a pity that this has been left until so late in the day. How confident is he that the matter will be dealt with before Dissolution?
Pat McFadden: That is the aim. My Hon. Friend says that it has been left until late in the day, but if he looks across Europe he will see that we are legislating ahead of many other countries. I do not accept that there has been an unacceptable delay, but it is our aim to get this provision on the statute book by the end of the Parliament. As I have said, we will be publishing the relevant regulations shortly.
John Penrose Conservative Shadow Minister for Business: In October, the Government announced that this regulation would not come into force until 2011 to avoid harming Britain's recovery after the recession. Here we are, however, rushing it through Parliament just weeks before a general election. A cynic might wonder whether this is anything to do with the Labour party's pressing need for election funds from its trade union paymasters, who demanded this measure as part of the infamous Warwick agreement. Will the Minister take this opportunity to reassure those cynics that nothing could be further from the Government's mind and that they would never put short-term, grubby party political interests ahead of doing the right thing for the country?
Pat McFadden: Our aim in bringing forward these regulations is to abide by the agreement that we reached in Europe to ensure fairness for agency workers and flexibility for employers. That was the basis of the TUC-CBI agreement, and it stands in stark contrast to the Opposition's pledge to downgrade the employment rights that have been agreed in Europe. There will be a very clear choice on this matter when it comes to the election.
Adam Price, Carmarthen, East and Dinefwr, Plaid Cymru: Does the Minister accept that this change has long been campaigned for? There have been two series of consultation and there is now no impediment to ensuring that agency and temporary workers get the justice for which they have been calling for so many years.
Pat McFadden: The Hon. Gentleman is right to say that this has been under discussion for some time. It took a long time to get agreement in Europe. We were able to reach agreement on the basis of an agreement in the UK between the TUC and the CBI. We then successfully negotiated for that to be reflected in the European directive. That was something we could do only because this country, under this Government, is properly engaged with our European allies. I dread to think how we would negotiate in Europe if the Opposition, who are isolated in Europe, were trying to negotiate with 27 other countries.
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