Live Women and Equalities Questions House of Commons

reporting these sorts of offences is not that they are not encouraged to

do so. Quite the reverse, they are. We need to make sure those lessages

are clear. Questions to the Minister for Women and Equalities, Vhcky

Foxcroft. Question number one, Mr Speaker.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. We w`nt to provide all young people with a

curriculum that prepares thdm to succeed in modern Britain, that is

why we want to make sure th`t sex and relationship education really is

fit for the world the children live in today and I agree we need to look

at how schools deliver high,quality and age-appropriate sex and

relationship education. We `re carefully considering all the

options including updating our guidance and I will give an update

shortly. The women's and eqtalities select committee has recommdnded

that the government and meant that keeping children safe in edtcation

guidance, to include the issue of sexual harassment and sexual

violence in schools. When does the government plan to release the

updated guidance? And will the government consults with spdcialists

working in the field of sextal harassment and violence agahnst

women and girls? I agree we need to look at how we

make sure this guidance is up-to-date. From my perspective the

key thing is making sure our young people have the right inforlation

that they need, that they gdt the right advice. And that throtgh this

guidance and quality of teaching we have in schools, we have thd right

attitudes of a young generation growing up in our country. She is

absolutely right to highlight the need to get that done effectively.

That is what I intend to do. The select committee report the

honourable lady referred to uncovered a shocking truth that most

girls in secondary education had suffered physical or verbal sexual

abuse. Four select committeds are now calling for sex and rel`tionship

education to be made compulsory what more evidence is the mhnister

looking for? Minister. Again, I don't disagree with the points she

makes. The women and equality select committee report into this `rea was

an excellent report that will - we will shortly be responding to. I

talked about the nature of what we will need to look at. There are also

questions in relation to wh`t this comprises, how it is taught, high

quality, and how she suggests, where it is taught and the breadth of

schools we expect it to be taught in. Nine out of ten secondary school

teachers say they have seen children bullied in relation to sexu`l

harassment. It is totally unacceptable. But we do need to make

sure that as we take the next step forward on this that we do ht in a

thoughtful, measured approach that responds to today's problem. Thank

you Mr Speaker, I would likd to thank the women parliamentarians and

campaigners that come beford us to get equality and justice in this

country. I am sure all of us want to take this forward. Good. Thd

secretary of state has an Adam Rumble record in her support of sex

and relationship education `nd I welcome the comments today ,- has an

admirable record. Having healthy friendships hs the

cornerstone, with others, in preventing a abuse, hate crhme and

violence. This is supported by five separate committees and all of the

leading charities. Could be secretary of state tell us when she

will introduce sex and relationship education for all children, from Key

stage one, regardless of whdre they are educated?

I would like to welcome her to her role, particularly as she is the MP

who represents my hometown of Rotherham, and I can assure her it

is important we make sure the different ages that children need to

start understanding about relationships, means that what we

are teaching them in schools is age-appropriate. It is mand`tory for

all maintained secondary schools to do sex and relationship education.

Primary schools have more flexibility, but she is right to

highlight that if we want to get this right, we need to look at

starting at an earlier age. Some women might be forgiven for thinking

that every day is actually International Men's Day. But this

year, it is in fact on the 09th of November and the theme is m`king a

difference for men and boys. This year, there will be focused on the

important issue of men's suhcide. It will be up to backbenchers to bid

for Parliamentary time on this, I would encourage them to do this and

support any initiatives to support gender equality. The absolute she

has no plans. Perhaps, her department should take International

Men's Day as seriously as the Prime Minister does. The Prime Minister

says, I recognise the importance of this event, including men's suicide,

men's health and under underperformance of boys in schools.

Why is International Men's Day not as important to the equalithes

minister as it is to the Prhme Minister? He is being a little bit

unfair in his comments. The role of the government equalities office is

to tackle inequality where dver we find it and as parents of sons are

condoned this country, incltding myself, will all be concerndd about

these issues, but I am award that there are parts of the world where

girls are routinely subjectdd to genital mutilation, forced larriage

and sexual violence and for me, equality is not a 0-sum gamd. Would

the Minister agree with me that International Men's Day would give

an opportunity for men who were fathers and daughters to express

concerns such as mothers datghters might have to wait another 30 years

for equal pay or to give melber platform to express concerns as to

why there continues to be a problem in this country and abroad of

violence against women and girls? He is absolutely right, but

International Men's Day in the UK does take a very gender inclusive

approach and therefore belidves that issues affecting women and girls are

also resolved. He makes an hmportant point about the gender pay gap and

we welcome reports that the gender pay gap has fallen again and is at

the lowest rate it has ever been. But he is right to say that, while

focusing on the important issues that International Men's Dax

reasons, we must never forgdt all the women around the world who are

suffering every single day. In seeking ways to celebrate

International Woman's Day, no doubt the Minister has looked at countries

around the world to see how they do that best. Which countries celebrate

International Men's Day best and will she take the example? There are

many countries that celebrate International Men's Day and there

are various different ways they do that, focusing on health and

well-being, highlighting tstnami screaming Asian against men and

promoting gender equality. This creates a safer world for everybody

and it is always to be commdnded. -- high racing discrimination `gainst

men. Women are killed by thdir partners every week and we need

action to tackle inequality. Does the Minister agree that we need

campaigns to tackle misogynx and sexist attitudes and that mdn have

crucial roles to play in thhs? She is absolutely right to point out

that last year, 81 women were killed by violent partners are ex-partners

and in fact, 19 men were killed by violent partners are ex-partners as

well. That is why this government is absolutely committed to tackling

violence against women and girls. We have put more money into thhs than

ever before and we will not rest until this happens. The govdrnment

will make no further changes to the pension age or pay financial redress

in lieu of pension. ?1.1 billion has already been committed to ldssen the

impact of changes on those who will be most affected so that no one will

experience a change of more than 18 months. It is clear that thd pension

campaigning women and the m`ny supporters agree that the government

has not done enough. Will you publish the impact of these changes

and any transitional changes at the time of the 2011 act and in the

period since? This government has made ?1.1 billion worth of

transitional arrangements available because of these changes. It is

really important to recognise that this is about and doing a hhstoric

unfairness, equalising the state pension age. I think that is

something both men and women should be welcoming. The SNP commissioned

independent research which found that the inequality is facing many

women could be rectified if the UK implements the recommendations in

this report for the sum of 8 billion, rather than the UK

Government previously cited 30 billion. Will seek out her

colleagues in the Treasury to private roads this ahead of the

Autumn Statement? There havd been a range of potential options put

forward by a number of diffdrent campaigns. What is clear is that

hasn't been anything signifhcantly aims at those who are suffering

under the changes. None of these have been affordable at unacceptable

costs of the taxpayer. We h`ve said we will issue a public constltation

on how best to provide legal protection against caste

discrimination later this ydar. I know my honourable friend t`ke this

seriously and has representdd his position as a's views in thhs. Thank

you. In excess of 85% of Brhtish Hindus consider having castd as a

protected characteristic in equality legislation unnecessarily, hll

considered and divisive. But he confirmed that in the forthcoming

legislation, you will look `t all measures, including abolition of

caste? This will be an open consultation. We know and understand

how very sensitive and emothve this subject areas and also that there

are very strong opinions on either side of it, so we need to look at

how we can provide the best and the necessary level of legal protection

against caste discrimination. That result will help us in form what we

do to provide the appropriate legal protection. Within the procdss, can

the Minister further outlind what steps have been taking

diplomatically to combat caste discrimination and is there an

explanation of how successftl these steps have been? My own Dep`rtment

for International Development, working hand-in-hand with the

Foreign Office, does huge work not only to advocate, but also take

action on the ground to help groups who are fighting for equality,

including fighting against caste discrimination. We do that hn

countries where it is most prevalent. As he will be aw`re,

these are generational issuds that take time to slowly shift, but we

are aware we need to keep ptshing. A diverse boardroom that refldcts its

customers and wider society is likely to perform better and make

better decisions. The government is supportive of the private ldd

initiative cheered by Sir John Parker, who is currently considering

how to increase ethnic diversity in FTSE 100 companies and we expect the

group to report on their findings next month. Less than 4% of

directors in 150 FTSE largest companies have ethnic minorhty

background. Other government support a target of increasing the

percentage of board members or directors with BAME backgrotnds to

10% by 2021? My honourable friend is right to point out this unsdttling

statistic, but as with the fantastic work to get more women on board we

support the principles of increasing the ethnic diversity of FTSD largest

companies. We think there is a really strong business keys were

better board diversity, but we need to tackle the root cause, which is

why we have established a rdview to look at the obstacles faced by

business in developing BAME talent across the board. It is a lhttle

disappointing that the government hasn't put as much resources into

developing the review, but there has been a significant drop in diversity

on board since the government commissioned the Park Review. Many

organisations, such as execttive leadership Council, has board

members of ethnic minorities ready to hit the board running. Whll the

Minister work with me to reverse the trends? We're happy to work with

anybody who wants to see grdater board diversity, but greater

diversity in business right the way through the pipeline. The government

is clear we want absolutely everybody to reach their full

potential in life, no matter what background, gender or race they come

from. Valuing diversity in the workplace is it's just the right

thing to do, our economy can afford to waste the talents of any

individual. Increasing the number of women in STEM industries isn't just

vital for our economic growth, is also part of our mission to

eliminate the gender pay gap, so we supporting girls to choose STEM

subjects and careers, by improving the quality of teaching of STEM Star

projects and also raising awareness of just how exciting and valuable

STEM careers can be for our young people, through STEM ambass`dors and

publish online guidance to xour daughters' future. The East Coast

energy internship is a new scheme supported by the Royal Acaddmy of

engineering. As a result of undertaking one of their

internships, Felicity, a sttdent at Lowestoft sixth form Collegd, is now

pursuing a career in offshore renewables. Would she agree that

such schemes should be promoted more widely, so that everyone, rdgardless

of gender and background, c`n realise their career ambitions? I

strongly support what he has just said and done well aware of all the

work that has been going on in his local community to encouragd girls

to get into STEM, and his own constituents, who is a shinhng

example of the great steps girls can make ones they follow this path I

agree with them and will be promoting a range of fantastic

opportunities to encourage lore young people, particularly girls, to

follow her example. Men continue to dominate fields with the best

earning potentials. In 2013, nearly 13,000 men started engineerhng

apprenticeships, while only 400 women did. Will the Minister commit

to achieving 50% of girls for STEM apprenticeships? We have sedn an

improvement in getting girls to take STEM subjects at GCSE. It's only get

to a level that we see boys still do more maths and girls. We nedd to

make sure we improve those statistics but also make sure that

the careers advice girls ard getting that can encourage them to follow

these parts is strengthened as well. The UK the government continues to

spend ?50 million a year to support sick and disabled people. This is

more than other countries stch as Germany, France and the USA. There

has been no publication on ` long-awaited Green paper to map out

what employment support will be made available for those with

disabilities, therefore, can the Minister provide an expirathon for

this continued delay and dods she agree that this does not look like

the actions of the government providing, and I quote, an dconomy

that works for everyone. As he will know, we are soon publishing the

Green paper that will explore a whole range of options for long term

reform across different sectors The disabilities Minister is working

hard to make sure that is coming soon. We're going to target the

factors that contribute to the disability employment gap and engage

with disabled people, their representative organisations and a

wide range of stakeholders. There will be the opportunity for members

to feed into the consultation process and I urge them to do so.

Thank you. Disabled people `re twice as likely to live in povertx as a

result of their condition, lade worse by this government's ?28

billion Social Security cuts, to 3.7 million disabled people since 2 12.

Sick and disabled people ard more likely to be hit by Social Security

sanctions and forced to use food banks, as Ken Loach's latest film

has shown. The link between the punitive sanctions and the rise in

food bank use has been shown. What action is the Minister taking the

DWP colleagues to tackle thdse injustices? As she knows, this

government is committed to providing support for people who need it,

reflected in the fact that spending in this TV will be higher in real

terms every year by 2020 th`n in 2010. She raises the subject of the

film, and I have to say my first visit as minister was to a job

centre in Newcastle. I have seen the film and the people I met at the job

centre, the front line workdrs, they have no recognition of the portrayal

in the film. It raises important issues, which we shall debate, but I

actually think we have to rdmember that was a dramatic interprdtation

and I have to say I recognise none of the portrayal is of the DWP staff

shown. Number one, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker,

this government has been cldarly want to build a country that works

for everyone and that is whx we are determined to close the gender pay

gap. I am very pleased that the office for National statisthcs has

released figures recently showing that the gender pay gap has narrowed

significantly from 19.3% to 18. %. It reflects the hard work on this by

so many people, not least the business community itself. Ht

reminds us that if we will be closing the gap and closes

completely, and to drive forward more progress. We have extended

flexible working, a new system of parental leave and we are

introducing a mandatory gender pay gap reporting for large employers

from April next year. Barondss as and painful injury councils to be

abolished because of the unfair way people are treated. Will thd

government support and Cox `nd make sure that Muslim women enjox the

same protection under the l`w that other women do and do not fdel

pressurised to having their cases determined by a sharia council

rather than a court? I want to reassure him that this is of the

utmost importance. Now therd are concerns about sharia counchls

including those raised by v`n Cox. We take and Sam Suzi -- by Baroness

Cox. We will continue to consider the issue. You will be award the

review was launched in May by the previous Home Secretary, now Prime

Minister. Mr Speaker, figurds just out from NHS digital have found that

28% of women aged 16-24 havd a mental health condition. Al`rmingly,

the faults of self harm amongst this age group have travelled between

2007-2014, to 20% -- have trebled. A survey of 35 mental health trust,

Harry -- carried out by Agenda show that just one of them had a very

specific women's only mental health strategy, what action is thd

Minister taken to address this issue? All of us as constittency MPs

perceive these issues locally. It is actually why I think it is very

worthwhile that the house is having a backbench debate later on the

broader topic of young people and mental health. We have a long

journey to go on this country in delivering on this ambition that we

all have of making sure that mental health provision is on a par with

the rest of our health care provision in this country. @s she

highlights, that will include understanding the specific,

different levels of mental health challenges the different part of our

communities face. Women and girls being 50% of that. Thank yot, Mr

Speaker. Report this week indicate that e-mail entrepreneurs stch as

clover Lewis struggled to access start-up capital where as m`le

entrepreneurs the bar to 90$ of all start-up funding available. The

entrepreneurs' return on investment is much better than men on `verage,

what steps are -- is she taking to address this anomaly? Thank you Mr

Speaker, am pleased that Clover Lewis was mentioned, she grdets

swimwear for women who have undergone surgery as a result of a

mastectomy that she creates for Amaya. We are committed to

supporting women growing, businesses. -- that she cre`tes

swimwear. Start-up loans colpany, 40% of those loans have givdn being

given to women, providing ftnding to 13,500 women and over ?30 mhllion.

Will the Secretary of State welcome the women into tech initiathve,

which shows how many women can get into business in Iraq? Will she help

our campaign to improve the humorously girls and young women? --

improve the humorously. That is you get. You numeracy. You have a

question about STEM, making sure that girls do those sorts of

subjects. It is not just important for engineering, these are subjects,

in particular, that open up all sorts of tools for that is what it

is initiatives have thought of that are in place to live on those

aspirations are seen as a l`ck of progress in gender violence across

the scientific community in business and academia. What are you `nd your

department doing to remove barriers faced by women and to make short

work is integrated with ongoing efforts in the university sdctor,

particularly if the Lynn Sw`nn? He is right. Business needs to work

hand-in-hand with government on this business Council has been enhanced

by this government now incltdes representatives and memberships in

science, engineering and construction industries. Th`t is

linked in with not only my departments of the Department for

business energy and industrhal strategy. We particularly wdlcome

the silver finish this like Athena SWAN. They doing so much to steadily

and progressively move agenda forward. Gypsies and travellers

suffer physically ill outcoles across a whole range of measures

that too many government departments and agencies are still not

recognising them as distinct ethnic groups in accordance with the 2 11

census categorisation. What can the secretary of state do to encourage

the use of the 2011 categorhsation right across government, national

Honourable Lady is really lhke to Honourable Lady is really lhke to

raise is really important issue I know that the Women and Equ`lities

select committee has announced they will look at this precise issue and

they will do it with their customary vigour and intensity. We look very

forward very much to and wh`t they come up with. On my misogynx and

other use of online behaviotr is damaging young people's self-esteem

and has undermined their mental health. Does the Minister agree with

neither social media platforms must face up to their responsibilities to

keep young users safe onlind? The honourable gentleman makes an

absolutely excellent point, something all parents worry about

and social media platforms lust take some responsibility for this. We

invested almost half ?1 million in the safe internet Centre to provide

advice on how to keep children safe from this year. We are developing

cyber bullying guidance to schools cyber bullying guidance to schools

which will be published shortly The Secretary of State may be aware of

the closure of the UK LGBT showers, Broken Rainbow in August thhs year,

mirroring his company -- LGBT charity. Will she worked with me to

put pressure on the public administration committee and the

charities commission to havd a full review of this and make surd that

the LGBT community in this country have access to domestic abuse

support? I am sure I am verx happy to talk to the honourable l`dy

further about the specific hssue that she has just raised, which is

of concern. Last night I was at the Pink News awards which celebrates a

huge amount of work going on on LGBT writes. This work can continue.

The new head of John Lewis, the head of the National crime agencx, the

Prime Minister as with any luck the next president of the United States

of America, all women at thd top of their field. With my honour`ble

friend agrees with strong women at the head of organisations is one of

the best ways to encourage women into professions and what is she

doing to promote this? -- would my honourable friend agrees. I am

delighted to do so, we cannot overestimate the value of all models

at every level and sexy filhng girls and the women to follow. We now have

more women on board than evdr before -- every level and offering girls

and women. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Coming back

to the STEM subjects and thd fantastic work in west Cumbria to

encourage women into the media industry. If you recognise ht as an

absolutely level and I am the only woman in the room, sometimes only

one or two of us. What can xou encourage women to do to get the

senior level? It is about btilding the ladder at all levels. Wd talked

about the importance of STEL subjects of the National College,

one of them will be focusing on skills for the nuclear industry in

particular, that is the next stage of. Many of us have these mdetings

where we are one of the onlx women sat around the table. As has just

been set, used to play our role as role models encouraging that next

generation to aim high. Questions to the leader