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1077126

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2019
	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	Fibromyalgia
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether he has plans to classify fibromyalgia as a disability.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	225510
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2019 answer text <p>We believe that listing specific conditions would not help people with hard to diagnose illnesses (as is currently often the case with fibromyalgia), as doing so would make protection dependent upon a successful diagnosis rather than the immediate impact of the illness on a person’s life.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Equality Act 2010 is the principal means through which disabled people are protected from discrimination in Great Britain but does not, except in a few specific instances, specify conditions that may fall within the definition of disability. This is because in most cases, it is the impact on the person’s life that is the qualifying criteria rather than the condition itself.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The definition set out in the Act means that any person with a physical or mental impairment that falls within this definition will already be protected as having a disability, which may apply to many of those with fibromyalgia.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 04/03/2019 16:04:05 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1007896

	registered interest
	date	15/11/2018
	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	Equal Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to close the gender pay gap.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	191925
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/11/2018 answer text <p>Under new government legislation over 10,000 employers reported their gender pay gaps this year. These regulations increase transparency, driving board level discussions and pushing employers to take real action to close the gap.</p><p>We are now working with employers to help them understand their gender pay gaps, and support them to put plans in place to tackle gaps.</p><p>Mandatory gender pay gap reporting is just one of the steps government has taken to tackle the drivers of the gap including:</p><ul><li>introducing Shared Parental Leave and Pay and running a £1.5 million campaign to promote the scheme to eligible parents.</li><li>extending the right to request flexible working and establishing a taskforce working with business to make flexible working a reality for all employees.</li><li>creating a £5 million fund to support women and men who have been out of the labour market for a long period to return to work.</li><li>spending around £6 billion on childcare support by 2019-20, around £3.5 billion of which is planned to be spent on free early education entitlements.</li></ul> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 22/11/2018 16:05:08 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1490505

	registered interest
	date	19/07/2022
	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	Employment: Religion
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent assessment her Department has made of the prevalence of religion and belief discrimination in the workplace.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	39852
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2022 answer text <p>The prevalence of any alleged discrimination by employers because of religion or belief is not routinely monitored by government. However, there are clear provisions set out in the Equality Act 2010 which prevent employers from discriminating against an employee, or a prospective employee, because of religion or belief (including any lack of religion or belief).</p><p>The Government sponsors the Equality Advisory &amp; Support Service, which is a free service offering help and advice to anyone who feels that they have suffered discrimination, and the EASS statistics for contacts to the service relating to religion or belief discrimination within employment over the last five years are:</p><table><tbody><tr><td>Year</td><td>Number of contacts</td><td>% of all contacts to the service</td></tr><tr><td>2018</td><td>150</td><td>0.83%</td></tr><tr><td>2019</td><td>179</td><td>0.97%</td></tr><tr><td>2020</td><td>110</td><td>0.71%</td></tr><tr><td>2021</td><td>193</td><td>1.17%</td></tr><tr><td>2022 (to date)</td><td>59</td><td>0.84%</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The year 2021 saw an increase in contacts, partly due to a number of people claiming that it was their philosophical belief to object to having a vaccination against Covid. Such concerns would be registered by the service under the ‘religion or belief’ protected characteristic category.</p> answering member constituency Derby North answering member printed Amanda Solloway question first answered 22/07/2022 13:22:12 answering member 4372 label Biography information for Amanda Solloway
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1037787

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2019
	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	Employment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what representations she has received on the work of (a) Home Start and (b) other charities providing support for young families and carers; and if she will discuss with the Chancellor of the Exchequer the provision of additional funding for those charities to enable more help to be given to people returning to work.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	206356
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2019 answer text <p>The government launched a £1.5 million grant fund in the private sector to support people to return to work. Our grant fund is enabling charities and other organisations to launch projects for people who are currently out of work due to caring responsibilities and want to return to permanent employment. Home-Start have previously applied for this GEO funding.</p><p> </p><p>We have recently announced further funding to support those with additional barriers to participating in the labour market – including people who speak little English, people with disabilities, and those who are homeless or have been victims of domestic abuse. GEO is scoping how best to deliver this and will engage closely with HMT in advance of the next spending review to decide whether and how further funding should be allocated to helping people return to work.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 15/01/2019 17:39:41 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1037122

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2019
	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	Cervical Cancer: Screening
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will hold discussions with the Secretary of State for Health on making the NHS cervical screening programme available to women aged 18 years and over.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	205928
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2019 answer text <p>The best independent evidence shows that routine screening of women under 25 actually does more harm than good. Cervical cancer in women under the age of 25 is very rare and younger women often undergo natural and harmless changes in the cervix that screening would identify as abnormalities, resulting in many false negatives.</p><p>We offer vaccination to girls to protect against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which protects against 70 per cent of cervical cancers and which is expected to reduce the already low rates of cervical cancer in these young women and allow them to be protected for years to come.</p><p>Young women with symptoms of cervical cancer, largely unusual bleeding particularly after sex, should see their GP and be referred to a gynecologist if clinically appropriate.</p><p>My Rt Hon Friend the Minister for Women and Equalities has no plans to discuss this issue with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care<em>.</em></p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 15/01/2019 17:39:22 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1088823

	registered interest
	date	14/03/2019
	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	Sanitary Products
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on providing sanitary products free of charge in community health centres.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	232570
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/03/2019 answer text <p>The Minister for Women and Equalities has had discussions on ending period poverty and stigma with a number of Ministerial colleagues including the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Mental Health, Inequalities and Suicide Prevention. A new government-backed Taskforce on Period Poverty was announced by the Minister for Women and Equalities on 4<sup>th</sup> March to build on existing initiatives and develop ideas for a comprehensive, sustainable response in the UK. It will convene the public, private and third sectors, including representatives from the Department of Health and Social Care and grassroots organisations.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 21/03/2019 16:57:17 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1037121

	registered interest
	date	07/01/2019
	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	Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will allocate additional funds to charities supporting abused women to gain (a) employment and (b) training.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	205927
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government wants to make sure that all women have the freedom and opportunity to reach their full potential. This of course includes women from more marginalised or vulnerable groups such as those who have suffered from abuse.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Minister for Women and Equalities recently announced £500k of funding to support people with multiple and potentially complex barriers to returning to work, including victims of domestic abuse. This funding will be available for charities and other types of organisations to provide support in the form of training or employment opportunities.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>GEO is scoping how best to deliver this programme and will be working closely with delivery partners to publicise how organisations can apply for this funding in the near future.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 16/01/2019 15:53:50 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1227172

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2020
	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	Disability: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What assessment the Government has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on disabled people.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	905164
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to supporting disabled people affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p>We continue to monitor and understand the impact of the pandemic on people who are disabled or have a health condition by using both existing and new data sources.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 22/07/2020 16:36:26 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1173640

	registered interest
	date	27/01/2020
	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 discussions her Department has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the fiscal support available for employers who incur costs by making reasonable adjustments for disabled employees.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	8286
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2020 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, 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 service providers. 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.</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 30/01/2020 16:47:47 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1349018

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2021
	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	Age: Discrimination
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to tackle age discrimination in the workplace.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	37469
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2021 answer text <p>The Equality Act 2010 (the Act) provides protection for those aged 16 and over against direct and indirect age discrimination in employment. The Act makes it unlawful for an employer to directly discriminate against an employee or a job applicant because of their actual or perceived age or the age of someone they are associated with. Differential treatment because of age is permitted if the employer can show that this is proportionate and in pursuit of a legitimate aim. There are also a number of other limited exceptions to the general prohibition.</p><p>It is also unlawful for an employer to indirectly discriminate on age grounds, for example by use of a recruitment policy which unjustifiably disadvantages particular age groups; to harass an employee for reasons related to their age and to victimise an employee for bringing or supporting a complaint under the Act.</p><p>A person who believes that they have experienced discrimination because of age, or other unlawful treatment, may take their case to an employment tribunal. Before doing so, we advise people to seek advice and if possible try to solve their issue through conciliation.</p> answering member constituency Saffron Walden answering member printed Kemi Badenoch question first answered 10/09/2021 09:50:27 answering member 4597 label Biography information for Kemi Badenoch
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon