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1022924

	registered interest
	date	10/12/2018
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Candidates: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the launch of the EnAble Fund for Elected Office, what support her Department is providing to help disabled candidates standing for parliamentary elections.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	200689
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2018 answer text <p>The Government believes that political parties have the prime responsibility for supporting their disabled candidates. We are undertaking a programme of work with disability stakeholders to help political parties to better support disabled candidates.</p><p>Alongside this work we have launched the EnAble Fund for Elected Office which is a £250,000 interim fund to support disabled candidates, primarily for the forthcoming local elections in May 2019.</p><p>The fund will help cover disability-related expenses people might face when seeking elected office which could include items such as British Sign Language Interpreters, Assistive Technology or taxi fares where other modes of transport are not appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 13/12/2018 17:47:07 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1143660

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2019
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	EnAble Fund for Elected Office
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many candidates have been supported through the EnAble Fund for Elected Office; how much of the £250,000 budget has been allocated; and what the average grant allocated is since the introduction of the scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	285158
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/10/2019 answer text <p>The EnAble Fund for Elected Office is a £250,000 interim fund and is available until March 2020 or until the £250,000 budget is exhausted. The Fund supported around 40 candidates at May’s local elections.</p><p> </p><p>We have commissioned an independent evaluation, which will include assessments of average grants made and will be published after the Fund has closed next year.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 04/10/2019 12:31:58 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1172886

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2020
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Offshore Industry: Discrimination
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to prevent offshore employment providers recruiting in the UK from discriminating against an applicant on the grounds of a protected characteristic.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	7222
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2020 answer text <p>Companies based in the United Kingdom and which recruit here are subject to British laws, including those which protect people from discrimination because of their sex or any other protected characteristic. Conversely, employers based overseas who recruit British workers for overseas work are subject to the laws of the country in which they are based, and similar arrangements apply to work on ships where the ship’s ownership is outside the UK and the ship is to operate outside UK territorial waters.</p><p>This general legal position in no way excuses companies, as recently reported, which deny British women job opportunities on ships registered or owned abroad, especially where the company in question is seeking to recruit in this country. It is unacceptable to see this sort of blatant sex discrimination in 2020 if there is no genuine occupational requirement for a position to be filled by a man. The Department for Transport will be reviewing regulations on the treatment of seafarers and will be looking at this issue as part of the review.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 30/01/2020 16:49:51 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1174362

	registered interest
	date	29/01/2020
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Employment: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government has taken to ensure that people with disabilities receive help and support to identify and challenge discriminatory workplace behaviours and practices.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	9723
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>Any employer who undertakes actions that result in discrimination may be held liable for such behaviour at an Employment Tribunal. Through the Equality Act, employees are protected from victimisation, meaning they should not fear the consequences of challenging discrimination at their workplace, even where no legal case is taken or won.</p><p>In 2019 the EHRC published two pieces of guidance; a guide to help employees including disabled staff challenge discrimination at work, and a guide to help employers understand their responsibilities to provide disabled staff with additional support and workplace adjustments. The EHRC also supports disabled individuals who have experienced discrimination to take their cases to court; in 2018 EHRC delivered a Legal Support Project to increase access to justice for people experiencing disability discrimination. It offered groups £189,000 for legal assistance across 94 cases in areas including employment.</p><p>Prior to considering legal action, a person who feels that they have been unlawfully discriminated against can contact the <a href="http://www.acas.org.uk" target="_blank">Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service</a> or the <a href="https://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/" target="_blank">Equality Advisory and Support Service</a> .</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 04/02/2020 11:57:07 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1174363

	registered interest
	date	29/01/2020
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Employment: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that employers meet their obligations to provide reasonable adjustments to the workplace to ensure that people with hidden or invisible condition are able to (a) access and (b) stay in employment.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	9724
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to protecting people with disabilities in the workplace. The Equality Act 2010 places obligations on employers in relation to disabled employees and job applicants, including a duty to provide reasonable adjustments. However, the legislation recognises the need to strike a balance between the needs of disabled people and the interests of employers. What is ‘reasonable’ will vary from one situation to another. This is because factors like the practicability of making the adjustment, the cost of the adjustment and the resources available to a business, will vary from one situation to another. Although employers may in some cases make anticipatory adjustments, many will be at the request of the employee, including those where the disability may not be obvious or may be entirely hidden.</p><p>The government runs Access to Work, a demand-led discretionary grant scheme that offers up to £59,200 funding per year for in-work support for people whose disability or health condition affects the way they do their job. The scheme is designed to offer support above the level of employers’ statutory obligations under the Equality Act 2010, as well as providing advice to employers on in work support available for their employees which could include reasonable adjustments.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 04/02/2020 11:56:32 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1176405

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2020
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Shipping: Crew
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2020 to Question 7222 Offshore Industry: Discrimination, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on his proposed review of regulations on the treatment of seafarers.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	12994
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2020 answer text <p>The provisions of The Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 are a matter for the Secretary of State for Transport. Officials from the Government Equalities Office are however liaising with those in the Department for Transport on the forthcoming review.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 11/02/2020 16:51:41 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1491093

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2022
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Period Poverty Taskforce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Period Poverty taskforce will resume its work before the end of August 2022.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	40833
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>Period poverty is an issue the Government takes very seriously and has taken a number of steps to address the problem.</p><p>Since January 2020, a Department for Education scheme provides free period products in schools and 16-19 education institutions in England. 94% of eligible secondary schools had accessed this scheme by December 2021.</p><p>Additionally, from 1 January 2021, the ‘tampon tax’ has been abolished – with a zero rate of VAT applying to all period products. Prior to the abolition of the tax, a Tampon Tax Fund was in place to allocate the funds generated from the VAT on period products, to projects which improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. A final round of £11.25 million in grant funding was awarded in November 2021 to distribute the VAT collected on period products in the final nine months of the 2020/21 financial year, before the tax ended.</p><p>As well as these steps, in 2019, NHS England announced that it would offer period products to every hospital patient who needs them and the Home Office changed the law to ensure that all people in custody are provided with health and hygiene products for free, to include period products.</p><p>In March 2020, in light of COVID-19, the work of the Period Poverty Taskforce was paused to free up resources to focus on the pandemic. Further announcements on the plans and the work of the Taskforce will be made in due course<strong>.</strong></p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway grouped question UIN 40834 question first answered 05/09/2022 08:32:57 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1491094

	registered interest
	date	20/07/2022
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Period Poverty Taskforce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, for what reasons the Period Poverty Taskforce has not resumed its work since the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	40834
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/09/2022 answer text <p>Period poverty is an issue the Government takes very seriously and has taken a number of steps to address the problem.</p><p>Since January 2020, a Department for Education scheme provides free period products in schools and 16-19 education institutions in England. 94% of eligible secondary schools had accessed this scheme by December 2021.</p><p>Additionally, from 1 January 2021, the ‘tampon tax’ has been abolished – with a zero rate of VAT applying to all period products. Prior to the abolition of the tax, a Tampon Tax Fund was in place to allocate the funds generated from the VAT on period products, to projects which improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. A final round of £11.25 million in grant funding was awarded in November 2021 to distribute the VAT collected on period products in the final nine months of the 2020/21 financial year, before the tax ended.</p><p>As well as these steps, in 2019, NHS England announced that it would offer period products to every hospital patient who needs them and the Home Office changed the law to ensure that all people in custody are provided with health and hygiene products for free, to include period products.</p><p>In March 2020, in light of COVID-19, the work of the Period Poverty Taskforce was paused to free up resources to focus on the pandemic. Further announcements on the plans and the work of the Taskforce will be made in due course<strong>.</strong></p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway grouped question UIN 40833 question first answered 05/09/2022 08:32:57 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1503574

	registered interest
	date	02/09/2022
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Period Poverty
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether it remains her Department's policy to end period poverty by 2025.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	45284
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2022 answer text <p>Period poverty is an issue the government takes very seriously and has taken a number of steps to address the problem.</p><p>Since January 2020, a Department for Education scheme provides free period products in schools and 16-19 education institutions in England. 94% of eligible secondary schools had accessed this scheme by December 2021. We are pleased to confirm that the continuation of free period products in schools in England for all learners who need them until 2024. We have expanded the range of products included to ensure more environmentally friendly and sustainable products, based on user feedback.</p><p>Additionally, from 1 January 2021, the ‘tampon tax’ has been abolished - with a zero rate of VAT applying to all period products. Prior to the abolition of the tax, a Tampon Tax Fund was in place to allocate the funds generated from the VAT on period products, to projects which improve the lives of disadvantaged women and girls. A final round of £11.25 million in grant funding was awarded in November 2021 to distribute the VAT collected on period products in the final nine months of the 2020/21 financial year, before the tax ended.</p><p>As well as these steps, in 2019, NHS England announced that it would offer period products to every hospital patient who needs them and the Home Office changed the law to ensure that all people in custody are provided with health and hygiene products for free, to include period products.</p><p>In March 2020, in light of COVID-19, the work of the Period Poverty Taskforce was paused to free up resources to focus on the pandemic.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway grouped question UIN 45367 45383 question first answered 07/09/2022 06:00:28 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith

1602239

	registered interest
	date	08/03/2023
	answering body	Women and Equalities
	answering dept id	31
	answering dept short name	Women and Equalities
	answering dept sort name	Women and Equalities
	hansard heading	Epilepsy: Family Planning
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to support women with epilepsy to make informed family planning choices and have safe pregnancies.
	tabling member constituency	Lancaster and Fleetwood
	tabling member printed	Cat Smith
	uin	903995
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/03/2023 answer text <p>Tighter restrictions continue to reduce the number of pregnancies exposed to sodium valproate and support women to make informed choices. The MHRA and Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) has announced it will introduce tighter restrictions to reduce pregnancies exposed to sodium valproate, including the recommendation for no new patients under 55 years of age to be prescribed valproate unless two specialists independently consider and document that no other medicine is effective or tolerated.</p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 08/03/2023 17:33:01 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
	tabling member	4436 label Biography information for Cat Smith