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1690140

registered interest
date	19/02/2024
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 her Department is taking to (a) tackle the gender pay gap and (b) promote equal pay for equal work.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Christian Wakeford
uin	14746
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2024 answer text <p>In 2017 we introduced mandatory gender pay gap reporting for large employers, building on the robust equal pay protections we already have in the Equality Act. This has motivated employers to look at their pay data and improve workplace equality; including routing out instances of unequal pay.</p><p> </p><p>The national gender pay gap has fallen by approximately a quarter in the last decade; however, we are not complacent. To accelerate progress we are ensuring that people can balance their work and home lives. To this end we have supported legislation to: enhance flexible working, extend redundancy protection for those on maternity leave, and introduce carers leave. We have also announced the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever, in order to help working families with their childcare costs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 27/02/2024 12:01:13 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4871 label Biography information for Christian Wakeford

1690142

registered interest
date	19/02/2024
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	Women: Directors
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent progress her Department has made on promoting women's representation in leadership positions within (a) Government, (b) local government and (c) business.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Christian Wakeford
uin	14748
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2024 answer text <p>The Prime Minister has made clear his commitment to greater representation at the highest levels of Government, having appointed many talented women to his cabinet, and in ministerial positions. When it comes to local government, political parties are responsible for their candidate selection and should be leading the way in improving the diversity of representation. I am aware that most national parties provide additional support to women looking to become candidates.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Turning to business, almost 40% of UK FTSE 100 board positions are now held by women. To continue this progress, the Government supports the FTSE Women Leaders Review - which is independent, voluntary and business-led. The review uses data transparency to support talented, diverse leadership in the UK’s top companies. Now in its third stage, it continues to set stretching targets for firms to ensure a diverse pipeline of talent.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>This Government is fully committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to reach their full potential.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 27/02/2024 12:31:03 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4871 label Biography information for Christian Wakeford

1690143

registered interest
date	19/02/2024
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	Women: Education and Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce barriers to (a) education and (b) employment for women and girls.
tabling member constituency	Bury South
tabling member printed	Christian Wakeford
uin	14749
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2024 answer text <p>The Government has taken wide ranging action to ensure everyone, regardless of their sex, can take advantage of the same opportunities in both education and employment, some examples are outlined here.</p><p> </p><p>To prevent girls from missing school due to the cost of period products the DfE funds a period product scheme which provides free period products to pupils and students. The scheme covers all state-funded schools with female learners in year 5 or above and DfE-funded 16-19 education organisations in England. Since the scheme’s launch in January 2022, 99% of secondary schools, 94% of 16-19 education organisations and 75% of primary schools have placed an order for products.</p><p> </p><p>To increase the take up of computer science qualifications the DfE have invested in the National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE), which supports the ‘I Belong’ programme, available to secondary schools. Focused on Key Stage 3, ‘I Belong’ aims to improve schools’ awareness of the barriers to girls’ engagement with computing so they are better able to remove them.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also supports the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of 30,000 registered volunteers from over 7,000 STEM and related employers. Approximately 48% of Ambassadors are women and 17% are from minority ethnic backgrounds, providing young people with a variety of role models, and encouraging increasing numbers of girls to take STEM subjects.</p><p> </p><p>To make sure these gains are not lost as women move from education into employment, the Government has enhanced several legal protections which particularly benefit women, including; enhancing flexible working, extending redundancy protection for those on maternity leave, introducing carers leave, and strengthening the protections against harassment in the workplace.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 27/02/2024 13:50:07 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4871 label Biography information for Christian Wakeford

1689045

registered interest
date	16/02/2024
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	STEM Subjects: Employment
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 support women to return to their careers in STEM after maternity leave.
tabling member constituency	Huddersfield
tabling member printed	Mr Barry Sheerman
uin	13893
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2024 answer text <p>The Government is focussed on ensuring that all women who want to return to work following maternity leave are able to do so. Recent work in this area includes: extending rights to flexible working, enhancing protections from redundancy for new parents, and expanding free childcare entitlements.</p><p>We recognise that those who have taken extended time away from the workplace due to caring responsibilities can find it particularly difficult to return to work. Our STEM ReCharge pilot, delivered by expert organisations, Career Returners and STEM Returners, is currently supporting parents and carers back into STEM roles specifically.</p><p>The pilot is providing personalised employability support, sector-specific refresh training, and work opportunities to technology and engineering returners in the Midlands and the North of England. It is also providing support and training for STEM employers on supportive returner hiring and inclusive recruitment practices.</p><p>The findings of the pilot will help organisations to set up their own returners schemes, tailored to the specific needs of their workforce.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 26/02/2024 12:09:44 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	411 label Biography information for Mr Barry Sheerman

1688847

registered interest
date	13/02/2024
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	Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government why they will not nominate a candidate to the elections for the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and what assessment they have made of the risk for the United Kingdom's reputation as a champion for women.
tabling member printed	Baroness Hodgson of Abinger
uin	HL2433
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/02/2024 answer text <p>Ministers consider a range of factors when deciding whether to nominate a UK candidate for election to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, including the time and resources to mount a campaign, the potential benefits and the impact on other international elections.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>This Government is committed to championing the rights of women and girls both domestically and internationally. Our leadership is demonstrated through the progress we have made on tackling violence against women and girls, launching the Women's Health Strategy and our International Women and Girls Strategy, published last year.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 27/02/2024 15:14:40 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4301 label Biography information for Baroness Hodgson of Abinger

1688078

registered interest
date	01/02/2024
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	Guide Dogs: Business Premises
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 help tackle refusal of entry of guide dogs into business establishments.
tabling member constituency	Penrith and The Border
tabling member printed	Dr Neil Hudson
uin	901449
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2024 answer text <p>Under the Equality Act 2010, businesses and public bodies that provide goods and services to the public must not unlawfully discriminate against disabled people, including those with assistance dogs.</p><p>The Act places a duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises, buildings and services. This could include allowing the use of assistance dogs so that disabled customers are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled customers.</p><p>The Disability Action Plan published on 5th February 2024 includes an action to establish an assistance dogs and animals working group, which will consider issues including how to educate businesses on the rights of assistance dog owners and to help simplify reporting access refusals.</p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 07/02/2024 15:59:38 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	4853 label Biography information for Dr Neil Hudson

1688079

registered interest
date	01/02/2024
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 the Government is taking to help reduce the gender pay gap.
tabling member constituency	Sefton Central
tabling member printed	Bill Esterson
uin	901451
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2024 answer text <p>The gender pay gap has fallen by approximately a quarter in the last decade.</p><p>It was a Conservative government that introduced gender pay gap reporting, building on the robust equal pay protections we already have in the Equality Act.</p><p>To accelerate progress we have supported legislation to: enhance flexible working, extend redundancy protection for those on maternity leave, and introduce carers leave.</p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 07/02/2024 16:27:08 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4061 label Biography information for Bill Esterson

1688080

registered interest
date	01/02/2024
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	Surgical Mesh Implants: Compensation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, If she will make an assessment of the potential impact on women's health of the Government's progress on implementing the recommendations of the report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review entitled First Do No Harm, published on 8 July 2020.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle
tabling member printed	Emma Hardy
uin	901452
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2024 answer text <p>Patient safety and women’s health is a top priority for this Government.</p><p>That’s why since the ‘First Do No Harm’ report we have:</p><p>o Appointed England’s first Patient Safety Commissioner</p><p>o Setup specialist centres for women impacted by mesh</p><p>o Piloted ways doctors can declare their interests</p><p>o And launched a national mandatory Medical Device Outcome Registry.</p><p>Beyond this, we published the first Women’s Health Strategy for England, which set out our plans for improving how the health and care system listens to women.</p> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 07/02/2024 16:22:40 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4645 label Biography information for Emma Hardy

1688081

registered interest
date	01/02/2024
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	Menopause: Employment
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 with Cabinet colleagues to help support women experiencing menopause at work.
tabling member constituency	Mid Bedfordshire
tabling member printed	Alistair Strathern
uin	901453
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2024 answer text <p>In March 2023, we appointed Helen Tomlinson as the Government’s first Menopause Employment Champion.</p><p>We are working across Government and with employers to increase awareness and develop policies to support women experiencing the impact of menopause at work.</p><p>We recently launched new guidance on the Help to Grow portal, empowering businesses to educate their organisation about menopause.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 07/02/2024 15:56:53 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	5000 label Biography information for Alistair Strathern

1688082

registered interest
date	01/02/2024
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	Women: Unemployment
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 with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce economic inactivity among women between the ages of 45 and 64.
tabling member constituency	Luton South
tabling member printed	Rachel Hopkins
uin	901454
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2024 answer text <p>DWP supports people up and down the country to start, stay and succeed in work.</p><p>At Autumn Statement, we announced DWP’s Back to Work Plan alongside a suite of other measures to reduce economic inactivity. These included;</p><p>· Doubling the number of places on the Universal Support employment programme, to provide support for 100,000 people per year when fully rolled out;</p><p>· Formally launching WorkWell, which will bring together the NHS, local authorities and other partners, in collaboration with jobcentres, to provide light touch work and health support in approximately 15 pilot areas;</p><p>· Building on the extension of the certification of the fit notes to a wider range of healthcare professions, exploring new ways of providing individuals receiving a fit note with timely access to work and health support; and</p><p>· Establishing an expert group to support the development of the voluntary national baseline for Occupational Health provision.</p><p>This is alongside pre-existing support such as the Midlife MOT which was rolled out in Jobcentres from January 2023 to encourage individuals to optimise re-skilling prospects and improve health and longer-term financial resilience. The Mid-life MOT acts as a vital prompt to engage more people in planning more actively for later life – both for work and retirement. It provides individuals in their 40s, 50s and 60s with signposting to information and guidance on wealth, work and wellbeing, providing a holistic assessment to ensure that individuals can plan for the later life that they want. We continue to work with organisations, and with employers, on how they can offer the Mid-life MOT.</p><p>The DWP 50PLUS Champions network also provides dedicated support to Work Coaches to enable them to effectively direct suitable support to claimants who are aged 50 and over.</p> answering member constituency Mid Sussex answering member printed Mims Davies question first answered 07/02/2024 15:56:06 answering member 4513 label Biography information for Mims Davies
tabling member	4873 label Biography information for Rachel Hopkins