In your corner - REC Campaigns and Policy news - 20 October

What a week! In the last couple of hours, the Prime Minister Liz Truss has resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party. A leadership election is already underway but fear not, this one will be resolved by Friday 28 October. The process for deciding who the new PM will be hasn’t been decided yet, but shortlisted candidates will be chosen quickly, with a caretaker PM leading the party into the next General Election. Truss will remain Prime Minister until her successor is appointed, after which time she’ll almost certainly return to the backbenches before being relegated to the history books as the UK’s shortest serving PM.

 

Our take on the fiscal announcement

At the start of the week, the new Chancellor certainly made his mark by unpicking almost all the policies that his predecessor announced less than a month ago. If you want to know what’s ‘out’ and what remains, take a look at our blog. Other than undoing much of what went before, there wasn’t much detail on any tax announcements, but we’re still expecting the medium-term fiscal plan, supported by an OBR forecast, on Monday 31 October. As always, the Campaigns team will be following the statement closely and we’ll provide an overview for members as quickly as possible.

 

REC writes to Department for Education on Childcare Crisis

Last week the REC wrote to Kelly Tolhurst MP, Minister for Schools and Childhood, to set out some of the actions the government can take to address ongoing issues with childcare provision in the UK. Changes to the childcare system are needed to improve access to and availability of high-quality childcare. Improving childcare will allow those with caring responsibilities to work without fear over the quality or cost of childcare, in turn helping to address to labour shortages in the UK. Our blog on how to solve the childcare crisis sets out the key issues and REC’s asks to address them.

 

A virtual workshop for REC members on NHS England frameworks and audits

Driving industry standards and helping our members comply with regulations and legal requirements is a priority for the REC. To help members navigate audit periods and maintain standards, the REC hosted a virtual workshop for members supplying workers to NHS England. In this recording, you can hear from HealthTrust Europe and Crown Commercial Services on how best to manage audits and maintain the standards that we work towards.  

 

REC gives evidence to two select committees in Parliament

REC Deputy CEO, Kate Shoesmith was invited to give oral evidence to two select committees looking at skills and labour shortages. Kate first appeared in front of the Science and Technology Committee (Lords) on skills and people in STEM on 11 October. Then on 13 October she was in front of with the Economic Affairs Committee, giving evidence on the UK’s labour supply.

 

Public Accounts Committee’s inquiry into skills for a strong economy

The Public Accounts Committee recently launched an inquiry into skills and the UK’s economy seeking views on how to develop workforce skills for a strong economy. The REC responded to this call for evidence, sharing our member’s insights and focusing on ways to improve the current skills offering. We also set out policy recommendations that will help to address labour and skills shortages. You can view the full submission here.

Energy Bills Relief Scheme – BEIS launches survey to inform next steps

The government launched the Energy Bills Relief Scheme on 1 October 2022, to provide support with energy costs relief to eligible organisations through to 31 March 2023. In parallel, the government has launched a three-month review which will identify businesses and organisations most at risk from higher energy costs and likely to require support after 31 March. As part of this review, the government is engaging with businesses, organisations and trade associations across the UK to better understand energy needs. To inform this work, the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has launched a survey which members can complete here. The data provided will be treated as confidential. The survey closes at 11:55pm on Monday 24 October.

 

Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation survey

The CDEI is seeking to understand current industry engagement with AI assurance (the wider governance and regulation of AI to manage risk) across sectors, including HR and Recruitment. AI assurance refers to the wider governance and regulation of AI to manage risk. Please fill in their 10-minute survey, which aims to identify industry barriers and enablers to using both AI assurance techniques, and technical standards to support AI assurance. The deadline for completion is 30 October.

World Menopause Day

Tuesday 18 October marked World Menopause Day and this year’s theme was ‘Cognition and Mood’. Menopause is a natural stage of life which affects around half of the population. Acas has produced guidance covering what employers can do to support women and staff who are going through or experiencing the effects of menopause. You can find their guidance toolkit here. Director of Dispute Resolution and Executive Board Menopause Champion, Kate Nowicki has talked about how to support menopause at work in Acas’ latest podcast. The REC is part of DWP’s 50 Plus Taskforce and last year, we produced guidance on menopause and employment which provides helpful data on menopause and sets out actions that government, employers, and colleagues can take when it comes to menopause in the workplace.

Research Corner

The REC’s latest JobsOutlook survey shows that business confidence in the UK economy fell by a further 3% from the previous rolling quarter, the lowest figure since the start of 2022. Employers’ confidence in making hiring and investment decisions also fell slightly. Despite the drop in confidence, the immediate outlook for hiring remains positive, and employers are still looking to hire both perm and temp positions.

We’ve also published our Q3 JobsOutlook. Check out the quarterly report for more insights of the jobs market.