To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will bring forward proposals to enable the Redundancy Payments Office to pay statutory redundancy payments to workers in circumstances where companies which continue to trade are unable to make such payments. (264483)

There are already statutory provisions in place that enable the RPO to pay employees who have obtained a tribunal award for redundancy if the employer fails to pay. The RPO also has discretion to offer financial assistance to employers who are unable to meet the lump sum redundancy payment at once without jeopardising other jobs, without the need for a tribunal award, when approached by an employer, employee or employment tribunal.