Politics

Last October (2016), Matthew Taylor was asked by the Prime Minister to conduct an independent review to look at whether employment practices need to change in order to keep pace with modern business models.

Matthew and the review’s expert panel will launch their nationwide tour, with cities including Glasgow, Norwich, Cardiff, Belfast and Newcastle among those being visited to collect evidence and build an understanding of how people work in different parts of the country.

The team will today (14 February 2017) meet entrepreneurs and workers at Google Campus in east London to find out about the capital’s labour market and to understand the impact of new ways of working on employment rights.

They will go on to host a town hall-style event, where workers, employers, business owners and representative groups from London will give evidence on their experiences to help inform the review.

Matthew Taylor said:

Most people recognise that we need as many jobs as possible in our economy and that the flexibility of our labour market is a strength. But people also want work to be fair and decent and to offer opportunities for progression and fulfilment.

The question is: what can we do to make work better without undermining our country’s excellent record on job creation?

We’ve started working through these complex questions and now is just the right time to hear the views of businesses, employees, the self-employed and the public as a whole.

Business Minister Margot James said:

The Matthew Taylor Review is hugely important in helping us understand whether employment rights need to change to keep up with the various new ways people can work.

It is symbolic that Matthew will launch his country-wide regional tour in London, where thousands of people are already working in ways completely different from only a few years ago.

I’d encourage everyone to take part in the review to make sure their views on the modern labour market are heard.

With 15% of those working in the UK’s labour market now self-employed, there has been a rise in the number of people doing ‘gig’ work – short-term, casual work that is increasingly sought by people through mobile phone apps when they want to work.

These roles can include driving, delivering items and DIY tasks. This is one of the areas the review will consider. The massive expansion of ‘disruptive’ businesses – where new ways of working and technology come together to create new products and services to better meet consumer demand – is also leading to a change in working practices.

The 3 expert panel members for the Taylor review are:

• Paul Broadbent – Chief Executive of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA), formerly assistant chief constable at Nottinghamshire Police.
• Greg Marsh (entrepreneur) – Founder and formerly Chair and Chief Executive of onefinestay. He works with Amnesty International as an elected member of the charity’s Finance and Audit Committee, and is a Visiting Professor at Imperial College Business School.
• Diane Nicol (employment lawyer) – Diane is a Partner at law firm Pinsent Masons specialising in employment law. She has over 20 years of experience of industrial relations disputes, senior exits and employment terms and conditions.

People can also take part in the review by contributing their experiences and ideas online, and by accessing tickets to the team’s town hall-style events via the review’s Dialogue page.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe will pay tribute to the Royal Mint’s role as a global leader in the production of coins and medals – exporting to an average of 60 countries every year.

The visit comes ahead of a major export conference in Cardiff due to take place next month, celebrating Wales’ position as a leading exporter for goods and services across the world.

The minister will be accompanied on the visit to the factory in Llantrisant, Wales by the Welsh Secretary Alan Cairns.

Commercial Secretary to the Treasury Baroness Neville Rolfe said:

The introduction of a new pound coin, the most secure coin in the world, is a historic event. The fact this coin is made in Wales makes it even more special as it underlines the importance of the Union.

Our message is clear: if you have a round one pound coin sitting at home or in your wallet, you need to spend it or return it to your bank before 15 October.

Alun Cairns, Secretary of State for Wales, said:

It is particularly exciting to get a sneak preview of history being made today at the Royal Mint as the new pound coin is prepared for circulation. The presence of the Royal Mint in Wales as the creator of our currency – as well as being a major employer – underlines how central Wales is to the union.

The Royal Mint is also blazing a trail as an exporter. The UK government will shortly hold a conference for exporters in Wales, and companies like the Royal Mint are a great example to follow.

This is the first time the £1 coin has been changed in over 30 years. Around £1.3 billion worth of coins are stored in savings jars across the country, and the current £1 coin accounts for almost a third of these.

Therefore ministers are reminding the public of the importance of all old £1 coins being returned before 15 October 2017 when they lose their legal tender status.

The new 12-sided £1 coin will be the most secure coin in the world. It boasts several new security features, including a hologram, to prevent counterfeits, which cost taxpayers and businesses millions every year.

Thank you, Mr President

I am most grateful for the analysis shared by our briefers this morning. And I join others in paying tribute to you, Mr Minister, for your leadership in bringing this important issue to our attention.

Over the past decade, the terrorist threat has evolved. We face increasingly complex threats as terrorists acquire new knowledge and new technology. Not intent simply with killing innocents, terrorists seek to destabilise, demoralise, and disrupt our way of life.

Critical infrastructure, be it a transport system, a communications hub, or a power grid represents an attractive target for these sinister actors. The fact that those responsible for the attack on the Brussels Metro and airport last March had also invested time in surveillance of a Belgian nuclear scientist should concern us all. We must redouble our vigilance to ensure that we are ready to defend the systems that allow our societies to function.

So we wholeheartedly welcome the action taken by this Council today in adopting resolution 2341. That resolution raises the profile of this important issue; it calls on states to improve preparedness; and it strengthens our cooperation in protecting the security of our people and our critical infrastructure.

If we are to truly tackle this threat, I believe we need to focus, Mr President, on three things: preparation, protection and partnerships. So firstly, preparation

It’s vital that plans for protecting our critical infrastructure are comprehensively developed, maintained and tested. We echo the call of the resolution for states to develop their own strategies to prepare and respond to any attack.

Threats to our infrastructure can come from many sources: terrorism, criminality or natural hazards. In reducing the risk to our infrastructure, the United Kingdom takes an ‘all-risks’ approach. That means developing plans that can be used to respond to many types of disruption or threats to life. Measures taken by states to prevent unlawful or criminal interference in our infrastructure can also serve to help prevent terrorist attacks. It’s in part because of the strong measures we have taken that terrorist threats to our infrastructure are being mitigated.

Secondly, protection. The threat to some elements of our national infrastructure may be aspirational, but there is one area where the threat is very real and very high: and that is transport. As recent reports from the UN Secretary General show, there continues to be a serious and enduring threat from international terrorism to our transport networks – specifically to civil aviation.

Three billion passengers reach their destination by air every year. This past year has offered us too many reminders of the risks they face. Attacks on airports in Brussels and Istanbul. The destruction of the Russian Metrojet aircraft over Sinai. The explosion on board a Daallo Airways flight from Mogadishu.

It was to combat these threats that the United Kingdom authored resolution 2309, and today echo its call on States to work with the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Working together we can ensure not only that international security standards keep pace with the terrorist threat, but also, crucially, that they are implemented effectively on the ground.

Finally, partnerships. The critical infrastructure that we need to protect is largely owned by the private sector, and can also form part of complex international networks and supply chains. Preparation and protection of infrastructure are simply good intentions if we fail to work across sectors to achieve them.

Each side has its part to play. Private companies are responsible for ensuring that their infrastructure is protected and that essential services are maintained, just as governments have an obligation to ensure that industry is managing these risks fully and responsibly.

And as this resolution identifies, stronger international partnerships are vital at a time when the functioning of infrastructure relies on cross border networks and supply chains. The sharing of information, early warning networks and expertise will strengthen our common approach.

Mr President,

This Council needs to stay abreast of the evolution of the terrorist threat, and to respond to it. Just as we act to prevent conflict, we should also act pre-emptively to prevent terrorism. Today, we have put another building block in place to strengthen our common effort. Because of our efforts, terrorists intent on stirring chaos have another hurdle to cross. Because of our efforts, our societies are a little safer than they were yesterday.

Thank you.