HC Deb 03 April 2001 vol 366 cc106-4W
Dr. Cable

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment he has made of the impact of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2001 on recruitment company products; [156843]

  1. (2) what assessment he has made of the impact of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2001 on (a women returning to work, (b) ethnic minorities, (c) work experience students and (d) improving the skill of women in the workplace; [156847]
  2. (3) how many recruitment companies and agencies made representations to the Department during the consultation on the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2001; [156842]
  3. (4) what representations he has received from the Inland Revenue regarding the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2001; and if he will place these in the Library; [156846]
  4. (5) how many requests for a meting he received from recruitment companies regarding the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2001; [156844]
  5. (6) what discussions he has had with (a) women's groups, (b) representatives of ethnic minority groups and (c) student groups regarding the implications of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2001; [156848]
  6. (7) if he will list those recruitment agencies and companies that he has met regarding the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2001, indicating (a) those companies which requested the meeting and (b) those which he invited to a meeting without a request; [156845]
  7. (8) what discussions he had with (a) the Inland Revenue and (b) the Better Regulation Task Force regarding the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2001; and if he will make a statement. [156849]

Mr. Alan Johnson

A summary of responses to consultation on revisions to the Regulations, which includes a list of respondents, has been placed in the Library of the House. I have had meetings with a number of these, though most contacts have been with the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and other trade bodies rather than with individual agencies.

There have been discussions with both the Inland Revenue and the Cabinet Office's Regulatory Impact Unit about the draft Regulations, and consultees include members of the Better Regulation Task Force. Correspondence within Government on policy issues is not normally made public.

The Regulations are designed to benefit recruitment agencies, their clients and those employed through them. They will remove unnecessary restrictions on agencies' operations and the services they can offer, while protecting the interests of work-seekers and vulnerable groups such as the young and those receiving care. They recognise the important role that this sector plays in a flexible labour market and in helping many people back into work. They support the Government's policies on skills and employment, for example by requiring appropriate training and experience to be given, creating incentives to increase the skills of the workforce, and preventing unjustified restrictions on temporary to permanent transfer. A draft Regulatory Impact Assessment has been placed on my Department's website, and a final version will be published when the draft Regulations are laid before Parliament.