Political Monitor UK | November 10th Edition

APSCo News

IR35 Discussion

Later this month Tania Bowers is attending a roundtable with Conservative Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade Andrew Griffith MP and Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury Gareth Davies MP and also a roundtable with Reform’s Richard Tice. Both are interested in hearing ideas on IR35 reform and more general business regulatory strategy. Tania will be contacting members over the next two weeks to canvas opinions from a range of members.

Please email tania.bowers@apsco.org asap if there are particular pain points you want raised   or have thoughts on how to approach reform of employment status for tax and IR35.

See a link to the report below. Employer Vanguards are committing to embracing the report’s healthy working lifecycle - which aims to reduce sickness absence, improve return-to-work rates, and increase disability employment rates – which the government will work towards developing into a voluntary certified standard by 2029. If you are interested in being an Employer Vanguard, open to SMEs and larger businesses, review the website pages and feel free to contact tania.bowers@apsco.org for an introduction.

See our update below on the Commons’ rejection of the Lords’ amendments. The government are coming under increasing pressure to reconsider the impact of the reforms on the labour market and employer behaviour, particularly given other policies being considered such as levying NI on pension salary sacrifice. This was considered in Policy Talks Q4.

We are engaging with peers this week ahead of the Lords debate on 17^th November.

APSCo submitted a response last week to the DHSC’s Call for Evidence on the 10 year workforce plan and our thought leadership piece on the importance and value of contractors to the NHS “one workforce” has been published in the British Journal of Healthcare Management.

Our next webinar on healthcare strategy and finding opportunities with acclaimed academic William Palmer, now working at the RCN is on 20^th November.

Consultations

Social Work

Dame Annie Hudson has been appointed to lead an Independent review of Social Work England to ensure it effectively regulates and support social workers in England. This is being accompanied by a call for evidence regarding the key factors government should consider in ensuring that the regulation of social work is fit for purpose. You can access the consultation here. The deadline to respond is 26 November 2025.

Parliament & Legislation

Employment Rights Bill:

• MPs rejected all the Lords’ amendments to the Employment Rights Bill - including on day-one dismissal rights, zero-hours contracts and union ballot thresholds - firmly backing the Government’s reforms.
  
  
• The reasoning for disagreement with the Lords’ amendments can be found here. The Employment Rights Bill returns to the Lords for further debate on 17 November. As such, Royal Assent may be delayed until December.
  
  
• The Tony Blair Institute has warned that the Government’s proposed “day one” employment rights and wider reforms are overly extreme and risk damaging hiring, business confidence and economic growth.
  
  
• The Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade Andrew Griffith has argued that the Bill is dominated by trade union interests and will severely harm businesses, trigger mass job losses and increase welfare costs, urging it to be withdrawn before it becomes an “Unemployment Act”.
  
  
• A poll by the Chartered Management Institute shows that most managers support the Employment Rights Bill and the role of trade unions, while seeking additional guidance to implement day-one worker rights effectively and maintain positive workplace relations.
  
  
• Angela Rayner has urged MPs to defend Labour’s Employment Rights Bill, arguing it will deliver the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.

The Government has launched four consultations on how measures in the Employment Rights Bill should operate in practice, focusing on protections for pregnant women and new mothers, bereavement leave, and trade union reforms. 

Further consultations will follow in line with the Implementation Roadmap to ensure continued engagement with stakeholders on the Employment Rights Bill and the wider Plan to Make Work Pay. 

English Devolution Bill:

• The Bill has completed its Committee Stage in the House of Commons and is now due to move to the Report stage, with the date for this session to be confirmed.

Political Update

Government & Parliament

Wider News

• It has been reported that the Chancellor is considering a £2 billion charge on Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs), used by professionals like lawyers and accountants.
  
  
• The Chancellor’s visit to the Gulf unlocked £6.4 billion in trade and investment deals, including £5 billion in export finance to support British manufacturing and more than 4,100 UK jobs.
  
  
• The Joint Committee on Human Rights heard evidence on AI regulation, emphasising the need for oversight in high-impact sector like recruitment and better training for regulators.
  
  
• Skills England has launched new tools and partnerships to help UK businesses address a £400 billion AI skills gap and prepare 7.5 million workers for future technologies.
  
  
• The British Medical Association has rejected a new offer from the Government to end its dispute with resident doctors in England after a five-day strike, with junior doctors now planning to start striking on the 14^th.
  
  
• Nigel Farage has launched a new policy group to advise on small business policies as part of his pledge to lobby for the sector and make Reform UK the party of small business, following a £200,000 donation from Lord Bamford.
  
  
• Martin Wolf in the Financial Times suggests the government’s shift toward Old Labour-style policies, marked by tighter labour laws, rent controls, and reduced market flexibility, risks undermining employment, housing supply, and educational progress, despite good intentions to improve security and fairness.