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1671503

registered interest
date	20/11/2023
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	Conversion Therapy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on the adequacy of existing legislation to tackle conversion practices affecting LGBT people.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	2688
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2023 answer text <p><br>No one in this country should be harmed or harassed for who they are and attempts at so-called ‘conversion therapy’ are abhorrent. That is why we are carefully considering this very complex issue. We will be setting out further details on this in due course</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 28/11/2023 17:55:08 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson

1670766

registered interest
date	17/11/2023
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	Veganism: Catering
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the Vegan Society's report entitled Catering for Everyone: How far are councils catering for vegans, published in September 2023.
tabling member constituency	Glasgow North
tabling member printed	Patrick Grady
uin	2405
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2023 answer text <p>I refer the Honourable Member to my response to UIN 1516 on 21 November 2023.</p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 27/11/2023 10:40:31 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	4432 label Biography information for Patrick Grady

1670139

registered interest
date	14/11/2023
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	Equal Pay: Ethnic Groups
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 21 March 2022 where she stated that they reserve the right to introduce legislation for mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting "at a future point, if and when the reporting tools are sufficiently developed, effective in driving positive change and accessible to more businesses" (HL Deb col 722), whether they still remain open to doing so.
tabling member printed	Lord Shinkwin
uin	HL321
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2023 answer text <p>The Government published guidance in April which sets out how employers can measure, report on, and address any unfair ethnicity pay gaps within their workforce. This was an action from our ambitious Inclusive Britain strategy, published in March 2022.</p><p>We have no plans to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay reporting. Instead, we want to encourage and support employers who want to use ethnicity pay reporting to improve transparency and build trust among their employees. We are engaging with employers and representative bodies to promote the new guidance. We will also seek case studies from those that are already reporting on their ethnicity pay data, so that others can benefit from their experience.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gascoigne question first answered 29/11/2023 16:45:13 answering member 4986 label Biography information for Lord Gascoigne
tabling member	4557 label Biography information for Lord Shinkwin

1669373

registered interest
date	13/11/2023
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	Candidates: Disability
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to restore funding to enable parliamentary candidates with a disability to contest the general election on equal terms.
tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
uin	HL208
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2023 answer text <p>This Government is committed to increasing representation of disabled people in elected office. Earlier this year, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work wrote to political parties represented in the House of Commons to seek support in ensuring that disabled candidates and people in elected office have the support they require.</p><p>The Government has been clear that political parties have a responsibility to support disabled candidates.</p><p>The UK Government Disability Action Plan consultation did include a proposal to review funding of elected office support and explore the merits of a long-term funding solution. The responses to this consultation are currently being analysed with a response to be published in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Gascoigne question first answered 27/11/2023 17:19:58 answering member 4986 label Biography information for Lord Gascoigne
tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1669504

registered interest
date	13/11/2023
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	Veganism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to page 22 of the Vegan Society’s report entitled, Catering for Everyone: How far are councils catering to vegans, published in September 2023, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the report's findings on the level of recognition by local authorities of veganism as a protected characteristic.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	1516
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2023 answer text <p>Ethical veganism has previously been found to be a philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010 by an employment tribunal, in an employment context. While this is not binding in other cases, all employers and service providers, including local authorities, should have regard to the differing dietary needs of people who they provide meals to, whether these are determined by health considerations, religious or philosophical belief. They should be aware that employees or service users may bring claims under the Act, where they consider they have been treated less favourably because of their belief in ethical veganism.</p><p>In addition, councils are subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty which requires them, in carrying out their functions, to have due regard to the need to achieve the objectives set out under s149 of the Equality Act 2010 to:</p><p>(a) eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010; (b) advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it and (c) foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. Specific duties, set out in regulations, ensure transparency, and assist in the performance of this duty.</p><p>A person who believes that they have experienced discrimination because of a philosophical belief can take their case to a tribunal or court. Before doing so, they may wish to contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), a Government-funded helpline, which is the initial point of contact for anyone with discrimination concerns. The EASS provides free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns. The EASS also supports individuals to resolve issues using alternative informal dispute resolution and can advise you on what are the next steps to take when you feel you have been discriminated against. The EASS can also advise people on their options and can be contacted through their website at www.equalityadvisoryservice.com, by telephone on 0808 800 0082 or text phone on 0808 800 0084.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew question first answered 21/11/2023 14:25:01 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1669077

registered interest
date	09/11/2023
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	Women and Equalities: Theft
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what data her Department holds on the (a) number and (b) total cost of replacing (i) laptops, (ii) mobile phones, (iii) memory sticks and (iv) external hard drives that have been (A) lost and (B) stolen in the last year.
tabling member constituency	Richmond Park
tabling member printed	Sarah Olney
uin	1222
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2023 answer text <p>For management and staffing purposes, the Equality Hub is an integrated part of the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office provides laptops and mobile phones to over 10,000 users in 2023-24. The Cabinet Office supplies fully security encrypted mobiles and laptops. We do not issue memory sticks or external drives.</p><p>There are occasional incidents where equipment is reported lost or stolen. Staff are required to report such incidents, and cases are investigated. Any loss is unfortunate and should be avoided, but invariably reflects that such devices may be taken out of a workplace environment.</p><p>The following table includes the numbers and costs related to the lost/stolen devices for the Cabinet Office as a whole.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Laptops</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Mobile Phones</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Memory Sticks</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>External Data Drives</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number Lost</strong></p></td><td><p>28</p></td><td><p>108</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Cost of Lost Replacement</strong></p></td><td><p>£23,911.20*</p></td><td><p>£40,280*</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number Stolen</strong></p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Cost of Stolen Replacement</strong></p></td><td><p>£23,010.52*</p></td><td><p>£3,585*</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td><td><p>N/A</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>*Some devices not approved for replacement</p><p> </p><p>Given steps taken to secure information, we do not believe there has been any data loss or compromise as a result of these losses.</p><p /><p /> answering member constituency Lewes answering member printed Maria Caulfield question first answered 17/11/2023 13:50:57 answering member 4492 label Biography information for Maria Caulfield
tabling member	4591 label Biography information for Sarah Olney

1668661

registered interest
date	08/11/2023
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	HIV Infection: Discrimination
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are considering any proposals to protect individuals living with HIV from discrimination in various sectors, including healthcare, education, employment and housing; and, if so, what are their plans.
tabling member printed	Lord Black of Brentwood
uin	HL98
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/11/2023 answer text <p>The Equality Act’s definition of disability automatically covers people with HIV when they are in or seeking employment or seeking to access services, whether in the public or private sectors.</p><p> </p><p>As well as providing protection from discrimination, the Act requires employers and service providers to make reasonable adjustments for people living with HIV. For example, an employer would be expected to allow such an employee reasonable time off work to visit hospital in connection with their condition. Employers and service providers who fail to meet their legal obligations can face legal action, should the disabled person opt for this.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the public sector equality duty (section 149 of the Act - 'PSED') requires public authorities, in the exercise of their functions, to have due regard to the need to:</p><ul><li><p>eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other unlawful conduct prohibited by the Act;</p></li><li><p>advance equality of opportunity between people who share and people who do not share a relevant protected characteristic; and</p></li><li><p>foster good relations between people who share and people who do not share a relevant protected characteristic.</p></li></ul><p> </p><p>A raft of guidance and codes of practice are available to help employers and service providers comply with their legal obligations under the Act. People with HIV who think they have experienced discrimination may contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), the government helpline established to provide free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns. The EASS can be contacted via their website - <a href="http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/" target="_blank">http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/</a>, by telephone on 0808 8000082 or text phone on 0808 8000084. The EASS has the ability to intervene on an individual’s behalf with a service provider to help resolve an issue. The EASS can also advise people who wish to take their complaint further on their options.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Swinburne question first answered 22/11/2023 15:33:51 answering member 4985 label Biography information for Baroness Swinburne
tabling member	4171 label Biography information for Lord Black of Brentwood

1667974

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Conversion Therapy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether it remains her policy to ban conversion therapy.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Elliot Colburn
uin	507
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2023 answer text <p>No one in this country should be harmed or harassed for who they are and attempts at so-called ‘conversion therapy’ are abhorrent. That is why we are carefully considering this very complex issue. We will be setting out further details on this in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew grouped question UIN 482 question first answered 14/11/2023 15:05:53 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	4775 label Biography information for Elliot Colburn

1668085

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Cars: Hire Services
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by some car hire companies not to hire out cars to drivers aged 75 or over.
tabling member printed	Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town
uin	HL33
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/11/2023 answer text <p>Age discrimination in the provision of services is generally unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. There are, however, situations where a service provider can show that differential treatment between, for example, adults aged under and over 75 is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, which the 2010 Act permits.</p><p>Whilst the Government does not comment on particular cases, it is for individuals to consider whether they wish to take action where they feel they are being unlawfully treated on age grounds. Where a company cannot show that their leasing age policy is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, the individual affected can bring a claim to the County Court, or Sheriff’s Court in Scotland. The court may determine whether the “objective justification test” has been satisfied, and may award costs and compensation if the claimant wins their case.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Swinburne question first answered 23/11/2023 15:56:24 answering member 4985 label Biography information for Baroness Swinburne
tabling member	4159 label Biography information for Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town

1668126

registered interest
date	07/11/2023
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	Conversion Therapy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to tackle conversion practices affecting LGBT people.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Peter Gibson
uin	482
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2023 answer text <p>No one in this country should be harmed or harassed for who they are and attempts at so-called ‘conversion therapy’ are abhorrent. That is why we are carefully considering this very complex issue. We will be setting out further details on this in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Pudsey answering member printed Stuart Andrew grouped question UIN 507 question first answered 14/11/2023 15:05:53 answering member 4032 label Biography information for Stuart Andrew
tabling member	4754 label Biography information for Peter Gibson