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1136241

	registered interest
	date	02/07/2019
	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	Assistance Animals
	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 effectiveness of the Equality Act 2010 in relation to assistance dogs.
	tabling member constituency	Rotherham
	tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
	uin	272198
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2019 answer text <p>I refer the Hon. Member for Rotherham to the answer I gave her today, UIN: 290801.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 01/10/2019 12:03:41 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

1145818

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	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	Assistance Animals
	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 effectiveness of the Equality Act 2010 in relation to assistance dogs.
	tabling member constituency	Rotherham
	tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
	uin	290801
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2019 answer text <p>The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on employers and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. In the case of service providers this reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty therefore those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.</p><p>In recent years, case law has strengthened the equalities law for people with assistance dogs. There have been a number of significant cases brought under the Equality Act involving assistance dogs, which have been successfully litigated, for example, <em>Bloch v Kassim</em> (assistance dogs in taxis); <em>Clutton and Williams v Pen</em>-<em>y</em>-<em>Bryn Group (assistance dogs in restaurants); and McCafferty v Miah (assistance dogs in shops).</em></p><p>The Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS), the equalities and human rights helpline, receives about 35,000 customer contacts a year, more than 60% of which concern disability issues. The EASS intervenes directly with or assists the complainant to take the problem up with the relevant service provider in many cases, including those involving assistance dogs.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 01/10/2019 12:01:55 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

1136240

	registered interest
	date	02/07/2019
	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	Assistance Animals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Equality Act 2010, what steps the Government is taking to inform businesses and the service sector of the rights of assistance dogs.
	tabling member constituency	Rotherham
	tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
	uin	272197
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2019 answer text <p>I refer the Hon.Member for Rotherham to the answer I gave her today, UIN: 290800.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 01/10/2019 11:59:04 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

1145817

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	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	Service Industries: Assistance Animals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Equality Act 2010, what steps the Government is taking to inform businesses and the service sector of the rights of assistance dogs.
	tabling member constituency	Rotherham
	tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
	uin	290800
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/10/2019 answer text <p>The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on businesses and other service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people.</p><p>The Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) statutory code of practice for services sets out examples of making reasonable adjustments for assistance dogs and in 2017, the EHRC published their updated guide for all businesses on assistance dogs. The guidance was produced in order to help businesses understand what they can do to comply with their legal duties under the Equality Act.</p><p>The Equality Advisory Support Service (EASS), the equalities and human rights helpline, receives about 35,000 customer contacts a year, more than 60% of which concern disability issues. The EASS intervenes directly with or assists the complainant to take the problem up with the relevant service provider in many cases, including those involving assistance dogs.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 01/10/2019 11:55:47 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

1136517

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2019
	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	Assistance Animals
	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 implications for her Department's policies of the recommendations in the report by the charity Guide Dogs entitled, Access denied: a report into the frequency and impact of access refusals on assistance dog owners in 2019, on the establishment of an equality ombudsman.
	tabling member constituency	Rotherham
	tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
	uin	272844
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The Equality Act 2010 places a duty on businesses and service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve disabled people’s access to goods and services so they are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to non-disabled people. This reasonable adjustment duty is an anticipatory duty therefore those who provide goods, facilities and services to members of the public are expected to anticipate the reasonable adjustments that disabled customers may require, including auxiliary aids.</p><p> </p><p>The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the public body responsible for enforcing the Equality Act. In 2017, the EHRC published two pieces of guidance - a guide to help businesses understand what they can do to meet their legal duties to assistance dog owners, and a guide to help tourism businesses welcome people with access requirements. The EHRC also supports disabled individuals who have experienced discrimination to take their cases to court. The EHRC has delivered a Legal Support Project to increase access to justice for people experiencing disability discrimination. In 2017/18 it offered disabled groups £189,000 for legal assistance across 94 cases in areas including employment, education and public services. The EHRC is also increasing its legal capacity to advise on discrimination cases.&quot;</p><p> </p><p>In the Government’s view, an equalities ombudsman as recommended by the Guide Dogs report would not usefully add to the EHRC’s functions.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 23/07/2019 14:57:02 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

1136242

	registered interest
	date	02/07/2019
	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	Assistance Animals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will take steps to amend the definition for assistance dog to ensure that it applies to the Equality Act 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Rotherham
	tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
	uin	272199
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>Section 173(1) of the Equality Act (the Act) already sets out a definition of an assistance dog in relation to those sections of the Act – applicable to taxis and private hire vehicles - which refer to assistance dogs, as follows:</p><p>a dog which has been trained to guide a blind person;</p><p>a dog which has been trained to assist a deaf person;</p><p>a dog which has been trained by a prescribed charity to assist a disabled person who has a disability that consists of epilepsy or otherwise affects the person's mobility, manual dexterity, physical co-ordination or ability to lift, carry or otherwise move everyday objects;</p><p>a dog of a prescribed category which has been trained to assist a disabled person who has a disability (other than one falling within paragraph (c)) of a prescribed kind;</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 23/07/2019 14:56:24 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

1007781

	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	Conversion Therapy
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the proposed timetable is for bringing forward legislative proposals to ban gay conversion therapy.
	tabling member constituency	Rotherham
	tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
	uin	191936
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2018 answer text <p>Conversion therapy is wrong. We are determined to bring an end to this abhorrent practice and, as we said in the LGBT Action Plan, we are considering all legislative and non-legislative options to do this.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise this is a complex issue that we need to get right. We want to engage widely, and listen carefully, so that we can develop a range of measures that end these practices for good. We are conducting more detailed research into the experiences of those that have undergone conversion therapy, and will task the LGBT Advisory Panel with looking into this issue as their first priority when they meet for the first time, in the new year.</p><p> </p><p>Ending these practices will take time. It is crucial we get our response right so that we protect people from harm.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 23/11/2018 13:51:55 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

993774

	registered interest
	date	23/10/2018
	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	Gender Recognition
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what plans she has to continue to consult with trans and non-binary people on reform of the Gender Recognition Act 2004.
	tabling member constituency	Rotherham
	tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
	uin	182780
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/10/2018 answer text <p>From 3 July to 22 October the GEO received responses from a range of individuals and organisations as part of the public consultation on the Gender Recognition Act 2004. We asked how we might reform the Act to make it less bureaucratic and intrusive to change legal gender and we received many responses from trans and non-binary people.</p><p>The GEO met over 100 organisations in the run up to, and during this public consultation. We are now preparing to analyse the written submissions and evidence collected so far.</p><p>We are aware there are a range of views on reform and that this is a complex issue that we want to get right. That is why we will continue to meet with stakeholders as we develop the Government’s response.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 31/10/2018 16:07:33 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

932196

	registered interest
	date	28/06/2018
	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	Conversion Therapy
	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 8 June to Question 148680 on LGBT people: surveys, whether she has carried out an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Memorandum of Understanding in stopping gay conversion therapy.
	tabling member constituency	Rotherham
	tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
	uin	158758
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2018 answer text <p>Our National LGBT survey shows that the abhorrent practice of conversion therapy is still alive in our country. The Government is clear that these activities are wrong, and we are not willing to let them continue.</p><p> </p><p>We worked with the main registration and accreditation bodies for psychotherapy and counselling practitioners to develop a Memorandum of Understanding to tackle conversion therapy. This is a voluntary code that is managed and led by the sector.</p><p> </p><p>In our LGBT Action Plan, we committed to further steps to stamp out this bogus treatment. Led by the Government Equalities Office, we will fully consider all legislative and non-legislative options to prohibit promoting, offering or conducting conversion therapy. Our intent is to protect people who are vulnerable to harm or violence, whether that occurs in a medical, commercial or faith-based context.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 03/07/2018 14:19:39 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

896533

	registered interest
	date	02/05/2018
	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	Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the timetable is for the ratification of the Istanbul Convention.
	tabling member constituency	Rotherham
	tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
	uin	140745
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2018 answer text <p>The Government signed the Istanbul Convention to signal the UK’s strong commitment to tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG). As the November 2017 progress report sets out, in most respects the UK already complies with, or goes further than the Convention requires. We have significantly strengthened the legislative framework; introduced new protective tools; and issued a range of guidance and support for frontline professionals.</p><p> </p><p>We have always been clear on our commitment to ratifying the Convention. The Domestic Abuse Bill will be another step towards meeting that commitment by extending extraterritorial jurisdiction over offences required by the Convention which, for England and Wales, is the final legislative step necessary for ratification. We are consulting widely as we develop the proposals for the draft Domestic Abuse Bill, and launched a public consultation on 8 March, International Women’s Day. We are keen to hear from experts, including charities, service providers and legal experts, to understand their views and ensure that the voices of domestic abuse victims and survivors are heard.</p><p> </p><p>As the criminal law and the majority of the areas covered by the Convention are devolved to Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Devolved Administrations are considering what legislative or other changes are necessary for compliance with the Convention in their territories. The Government liaises regularly with the Devolved Administrations on VAWG issues and we will continue working closely with the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to ensure we are taking a coordinated approach on this agenda.</p><p> </p><p>We are also in ongoing discussions with the voluntary and community sector on these issues, and in line with the requirement of section 2 of the Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017, we will set out a timetable for ratification in due course.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 14/05/2018 16:58:26 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion