AQW 20910/22-27

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 20/01/2025
Answered On Date: 31/01/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail any action his Department is taking in relation to tackling modern slavery and human trafficking as per the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's Annual Statement 2024, particularly with regard to promoting good job opportunities to enable women to become less vulnerable to sex for rent.

Answer:

Modern slavery is the policy remit of Department of Justice.

I am committed to updating the employment law framework in this mandate to increase the number of people working in good jobs. I will do this by focussing on four key themes of a good job:

Terms of employment;

Pay and benefits;

Employee voice; and

Worklife balance.

By modernising and strengthening the law in these four areas we can help improve job security for those accessing the workforce.

My department also provides a range of programmes designed to support individuals who face barriers to employment with the aim of developing a flexible skills system that will work for everyone, no matter what their background, education or personal circumstances. This is a key feature of the Skills Fund that I launched in July with an investment of almost £12m, facilitating skills interventions such as ‘Step Up’ and ‘Skill Up’. We also have all age Apprenticeships in place now, with an Apprenticeship Challenge Fund in place to help those from under-represented groups.

I also recognise the relationship between the provision of adequate childcare support and the ability for parents to participate in education and employment. To this end, £740k of the Skills Fund was allocated this year to support pathways into the childcare sector, helping ensure an adequate supply of workers into this critically important sector.