:00:00. > :00:00.have confirmed in a referendum. But of course, our commitment to human
:00:00. > :00:08.rights will be maintained, and it will be maintained not just
:00:09. > :00:17.domestically, but also abroad. Questions to the Minister for women
:00:18. > :00:21.and equality is. Question number one, Mr Speaker. The Minister for
:00:22. > :00:27.women and equality is, Justine Greening. Careers guidance should
:00:28. > :00:30.help all young people to get the inspiration and advice and guidance
:00:31. > :00:36.they need for success in working life. We want to see schools getting
:00:37. > :00:40.impartial guidance, but also high-quality guidance. That's why
:00:41. > :00:47.we're investing ?90 million over this Parliament to improve careers
:00:48. > :00:51.provision for young people. She is right, good quality career advice is
:00:52. > :00:55.essential. Neither further plans for the government to remove barriers
:00:56. > :01:00.from women when they progress with their careers, particularly when
:01:01. > :01:04.they have young children? He is absolutely right to highlight this.
:01:05. > :01:09.When we look in detail at the gender pay gap, it is often starting a
:01:10. > :01:14.family that is the biggest challenge we face in reducing that pay gap
:01:15. > :01:18.further. We have given more than 20 million employees the right to
:01:19. > :01:23.request flexible working. We are also using shared parental leave,
:01:24. > :01:32.because childcare is not just an issue for women. We have doubled the
:01:33. > :01:37.free hours of childcare provided the appearance. Will the government
:01:38. > :01:42.commit today to publish its response to the women's and equality select
:01:43. > :01:47.committee report on the gender pay gap, before this house prices for
:01:48. > :01:52.the Christmas recess, the report that was published in March this
:01:53. > :01:56.year? This is an important report, and we have taken time to consider
:01:57. > :02:02.it carefully. She will be aware that we laid gender pay gap regulations
:02:03. > :02:08.in recent days and we will be publishing that report shortly. Is
:02:09. > :02:11.the government as committed to eliminating the part-time gender pay
:02:12. > :02:17.gap as they are to be eliminating the full-time gender pay gap? We do
:02:18. > :02:19.want to see that take place. Indeed, the full-time gender pay gap has
:02:20. > :02:24.never been lower than it is today, but it is important that we look
:02:25. > :02:28.beyond that and understand that people working part-time also have
:02:29. > :02:34.the same rights to know gender pay gap. Does the Secretary of State
:02:35. > :02:39.agree that while the gender gap has been reduced as it has, the fact
:02:40. > :02:49.that the full-time workers pay gap is that a differential of 13.9%. Has
:02:50. > :02:54.the Minister considered a system for employers that do not comply? We try
:02:55. > :02:58.to work with employers on a voluntary basis. This is not about
:02:59. > :03:05.forcing employers, although we have laid gender pay gap regulations on
:03:06. > :03:09.transparency. It's also about business understanding this is an
:03:10. > :03:13.issue they have an interest in fixing. We laid regulations on
:03:14. > :03:19.reporting the last few days. We also want to see business generally
:03:20. > :03:25.grasping the nettle of why this issue matters so much. Female
:03:26. > :03:29.part-time workers enjoy 6% more pay than their male equivalents, and at
:03:30. > :03:33.a time when we are encouraging more men to take their fair share of
:03:34. > :03:41.childcare responsibilities. As she is concerned as I am that the gap is
:03:42. > :03:46.increasing in the long term? What is interesting is that we have seen
:03:47. > :03:50.people's work habits and routines change over recent years. They want
:03:51. > :03:57.to see Noel gender pay gap, irrespective of which gender is
:03:58. > :04:00.disadvantaged. Historically, this has been a significant issue for
:04:01. > :04:11.women rather than men, but we do want to see now gender pay gap,
:04:12. > :04:13.irrespective of gender. The provision of an audiovisual
:04:14. > :04:18.passenger information system is mandated for all new trains and has
:04:19. > :04:23.been since 1999. For older trains, operators have until the 30th of
:04:24. > :04:35.January 2020 to fit an AV passenger system. The rest of the fleet will
:04:36. > :04:39.be upgraded or replaced by 2020. I thank him for his reply, but how can
:04:40. > :04:42.we encourage staff on a to make announcements on the trains to help
:04:43. > :04:47.visually impaired passengers, when either of those visual displays are
:04:48. > :04:54.not fitted on the trains or as is the case most of the time, they're
:04:55. > :05:00.actually not working. She raises a very important issue. It is actually
:05:01. > :05:06.a condition of an operator's licence conditions to publish a disabled
:05:07. > :05:12.passenger protection policy. That includes in times of delay or
:05:13. > :05:17.disruption and the plans have to be approved by the office of rail and
:05:18. > :05:24.road. Additionally, disability awareness training is mandated
:05:25. > :05:28.referral customer service staff will stop this week, the all party
:05:29. > :05:32.Parliamentary group on disability published uninformative report into
:05:33. > :05:37.measures to close the disability employment gap. One of the issues
:05:38. > :05:41.raised by disabled people are benefits being cut, which reduced
:05:42. > :05:49.their independence, reducing in the removal of the mobility vehicles.
:05:50. > :05:58.When will the government reverses policy? That is a very important
:05:59. > :06:02.question, I will have to look into it. It is an important question, but
:06:03. > :06:11.it is different and that's which is on the paper, which explains why the
:06:12. > :06:15.Minister will have to look into it. Having a disabled access train
:06:16. > :06:18.service is important, but disabled people need to get to the train
:06:19. > :06:22.station in the first place. What is the Minister doing to make sure
:06:23. > :06:27.local authorities have a more persistent approach to making our
:06:28. > :06:34.built environment more disability accessible, particularly having more
:06:35. > :06:37.consistency on shared space schemes. Shared space schemes are very
:06:38. > :06:42.controversial area and the title doesn't really help people. What we
:06:43. > :06:46.are trying to do, local authorities are trying to do, is remove visual
:06:47. > :06:50.clutter and improve the built environment, but it can't be done at
:06:51. > :06:55.the expense of disabled people. What we're doing within the department is
:06:56. > :06:59.having a work group looking at what good practice is within this area
:07:00. > :07:05.and we will be publishing that shortly.
:07:06. > :07:13.In terms of video visual information. Can the Government
:07:14. > :07:16.confirm they will make an amendment to the Buses Bill that's going
:07:17. > :07:21.through the Lords? The Government put forward an amendment to
:07:22. > :07:25.introduce AV displays on buses in the Lords and the Bill has finished
:07:26. > :07:28.its passage and it will be introduced here in the New Year and
:07:29. > :07:32.we are keen to see that amendment come forward. I was very pleased to
:07:33. > :07:38.get that into the Bill. Number three, Mr Speaker.
:07:39. > :07:42.Thank you, Mr Speaker. When companies have a senior team that
:07:43. > :07:47.better reflect the customers they serve it is better for business and
:07:48. > :07:51.it makes good business sense. Since 2010 we have more than doubled the
:07:52. > :07:56.number of women on boards in the FTSE 350 and we have committed to
:07:57. > :08:00.33% on those boards and the executive committees of these
:08:01. > :08:07.companies by 2020. Can I thank my honourable friend for her answer. I
:08:08. > :08:11.work that Plymouth University has been doing to ensure there are more
:08:12. > :08:16.women on its governing body. As well as the work that the Government is
:08:17. > :08:20.doing with the FTSE companies, what steps is her department to make sure
:08:21. > :08:24.that women are on boards of universities across the country?
:08:25. > :08:30.Clearly, Plymouth is always a trail playser as we know, one of his
:08:31. > :08:37.predecessors is Nancy Aster and Plymouth University is no exception.
:08:38. > :08:40.Female leaders in universities and colleges are powerful role models.
:08:41. > :08:51.We supported the last women count report on higher education which
:08:52. > :08:56.thoughed a third of Government bodies. I welcome the female
:08:57. > :09:00.representation on boards is rising, however the number of female
:09:01. > :09:04.executive directorships are still ridiculously low. Accounting for
:09:05. > :09:11.less than 10% of the total in the FTSE 100 and less than 6% of the
:09:12. > :09:16.FTSE 250 directorships. How are these companies being encouraged to
:09:17. > :09:18.promote diversity within their executive pipelines by the
:09:19. > :09:23.Government? The honourable lady makes an excellent and very
:09:24. > :09:29.important point. We do want to see more women executive on boards which
:09:30. > :09:33.is why the Hampton Alexander requirement for work on the pipeline
:09:34. > :09:38.is so vitally important and that's why that target of 33% female
:09:39. > :09:42.executive committees and those that report to them by 2020 is so
:09:43. > :09:47.important. Thank you mrrks speaker. What steps
:09:48. > :09:55.is the minister taking to ensure that successful women entrepreneurs
:09:56. > :10:01.and I think of people of Leah Totten is projected as a role model for
:10:02. > :10:07.young females who aspire to follow in their food steps. It is vital
:10:08. > :10:12.that we celebrate those successful female entrepreneurs, there are more
:10:13. > :10:15.female listen head businesses than ever before, but if women were
:10:16. > :10:23.starting up their businesses at the same rate as men, there would be one
:10:24. > :10:32.million more. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Number four.
:10:33. > :10:37.Thank you, Mr Speakerment the sex and relationship education guidance
:10:38. > :10:40.was issued in 2000 and ministers from, MPs from all parties and
:10:41. > :10:44.indeed those here who have been ministers in my role previously over
:10:45. > :10:48.the last 16 years know that it is complex as an area, but updating it
:10:49. > :10:51.means we need a thoughtful and measured approach. However, I was
:10:52. > :10:55.clear at the Education Select Committee that we are looking at the
:10:56. > :10:58.SRE guidance to ensure that all young people are supported to
:10:59. > :11:04.develop healthy and respectful relationships.
:11:05. > :11:08.Thank you, Mr Speaker. As the Secretary of State outlined, five
:11:09. > :11:13.common Select Committee chairs, countless children's charities, MPs
:11:14. > :11:17.across this House, experts and academics agree that good quality,
:11:18. > :11:20.statutory, age appropriate relationship education in schools
:11:21. > :11:24.will provide children with the knowledge and resilience they need
:11:25. > :11:29.to develop healthy, and respectful relationships. And ensure they are
:11:30. > :11:34.less vulnerable to sexual harassment and violence. The Government's
:11:35. > :11:38.finally accepted that currently equality and availability of SRE is
:11:39. > :11:43.not good enough. Will the Government look to amend the children and
:11:44. > :11:48.social work Bill to introduce good quality statutory SRE that applies
:11:49. > :11:52.to every school? We've already set out that we are
:11:53. > :11:57.actively looking at the SRE guidance. It was first brought in 16
:11:58. > :12:00.years ago and I think we all recognise that the world that
:12:01. > :12:05.children are growing up in now is very different to that world. She
:12:06. > :12:09.particularly raises in her questions irk use of LGBT issues and sexual
:12:10. > :12:14.harassment and these are important areas where I think we can do
:12:15. > :12:18.better. I'm proud of this Government's record on LGBT issues
:12:19. > :12:25.and bringing forward same-sex marriage. But this is an important
:12:26. > :12:30.area and one we're looking at. A young trans person in England is
:12:31. > :12:37.more likely to have self-harmed and twice as likely as to have attempted
:12:38. > :12:46.suicide than their peers. More should be done to improve LGBT and
:12:47. > :12:52.sex and relationships in schools to reduce the shocking statistics which
:12:53. > :12:58.have heartbreaking outcomes for these young people? She is right and
:12:59. > :13:02.no child should suffer the kind of discrimination and harassment that
:13:03. > :13:07.she mentions in her question. Earlier this year in September we
:13:08. > :13:14.actually set out ?2.8 million of funding over the next three years to
:13:15. > :13:16.particularly focus on tackling homophobic, but trans phobic
:13:17. > :13:19.bullying that takes place in schools. It is important alongside
:13:20. > :13:25.the education and we're clear that we need to change attitudes as well.
:13:26. > :13:28.I appreciate the answers given by the Secretary of State around the
:13:29. > :13:31.guidance for sex and relationship, it is 17 years out of date. At the
:13:32. > :13:39.last women and equalities, she said last women and equalities, she said
:13:40. > :13:45.she would provide an update shortly. Now she is carefully looking. It
:13:46. > :13:49.doesn't include the internet and online grooming, it doesn't mention
:13:50. > :13:53.grooming full stop. The wrote to the minister last month and she has not
:13:54. > :13:58.replied. Children in this country are waiting as for a reply when they
:13:59. > :14:03.will get proper sex and relationship guidance. She wrote to me on 17th
:14:04. > :14:07.November and I will be respond to go her. We have been very clear that we
:14:08. > :14:11.do want to see how we can some progress on this area, but as many
:14:12. > :14:14.of the questions here have underlined this is a very complex
:14:15. > :14:18.area with many different aspects that we need to work carefully to
:14:19. > :14:21.get right whilst I know that within this House, there have been
:14:22. > :14:24.excellent reports that have underlined the areas where the
:14:25. > :14:27.guidance should be looked at for being updated. There is also a
:14:28. > :14:32.broader debate about what is the right way to do that and this does
:14:33. > :14:35.need to be handled very sensitively and that's why we're going to make
:14:36. > :14:41.sure we take the time to get process right and then set it out to MPs.
:14:42. > :14:45.Number five, please, Mr Speaker. Thank you, Mr Speaker. With
:14:46. > :14:48.permission I will answer questions five and 11 together. The Secretary
:14:49. > :14:52.of State is aware of this issue and we had a debate on it in this
:14:53. > :14:56.chamber just last week. He has clearly stated that the introduction
:14:57. > :15:01.of further transitional arrangements cannot be justified given the
:15:02. > :15:07.imperative need to focus public resources on helping those in most
:15:08. > :15:09.need. There are no plans to go past the ?1.1 billion concession when
:15:10. > :15:14.Parliament introduced the changes. I thank the Minister for That
:15:15. > :15:18.response, disappointingly predictable as it was. Can she tell
:15:19. > :15:22.me if anyone in Government has done an analysis of how much it will cost
:15:23. > :15:31.to implement transitional measures in comparison to how much it will
:15:32. > :15:35.cost the Government financially when the WASPIE women take them to court
:15:36. > :15:39.and went they win? Consistent is the way I would prefer to describe it.
:15:40. > :15:42.The Government looked at a variety of different proposals which have
:15:43. > :15:46.come forward in many forms both from the campaign and opposition parties
:15:47. > :15:49.and as I clearly stated, we are not going to make any further
:15:50. > :15:54.transitional arrangements. Thank you, Mr Speaker. The minister
:15:55. > :15:58.must know that the lack of transitional support is causing real
:15:59. > :16:04.hardship to women in her constituency as it is in mine. If
:16:05. > :16:08.there are proposals, that have come up since 2011 Act, will she publish
:16:09. > :16:13.all of those? Will she publish the research the Government has done so
:16:14. > :16:17.they can see what they've done? As the honourable gentleman will
:16:18. > :16:20.know, the welfare system provides a safety net for those who are
:16:21. > :16:25.experiencing hardship and we have made it clear we have provided ?1.1
:16:26. > :16:29.billion in transitional concessions alreadiment the Government has
:16:30. > :16:32.published as many great deal figures on this and indeed, it is very
:16:33. > :16:37.difficult for the Government to publish further statistics on
:16:38. > :16:40.proposals that have come forward from both the WASPIE campaign and
:16:41. > :16:43.opposition parties when it is unclear what provisions are going to
:16:44. > :16:47.be included around those transitional arrangements for women
:16:48. > :16:54.as well as men. With the effects of austerity being
:16:55. > :16:58.felt, by women, another Government policy affecting women is the 4% tax
:16:59. > :17:01.on child maintenance. Does she accept this places an additional tax
:17:02. > :17:06.on survivors of domestic violence and will she ensure this is
:17:07. > :17:13.addressed? Well, I thank the honourable lady for that question.
:17:14. > :17:16.I'm not sure how it relates to the WASPIE campaign. I answered
:17:17. > :17:19.questions on this yesterday and at that point no mention was made about
:17:20. > :17:23.the charges made to those parents who are in the collect and pay
:17:24. > :17:28.system. Of course, what we want to encourage and are determined to do
:17:29. > :17:35.so, is as many families as possible to have family based arrangements
:17:36. > :17:40.and indeed, in cases of domestic violence, bank details can be passed
:17:41. > :17:46.safely, including bank accounts that don't have a geographic location so
:17:47. > :17:51.we protect women and have as few families pay in the collect and pay
:17:52. > :17:56.arrangements. Six. Thank you, Mr Speaker. It is vital that we earn
:17:57. > :18:04.courage talented women into scientific careers and those working
:18:05. > :18:11.in stem earn 19% on average which is helping to tackle the gender pay gap
:18:12. > :18:16.if we can make sure those are women. We have stem ambassadors, 40% of
:18:17. > :18:20.those wum and Mr Speaker can I take this opportunity to put on record my
:18:21. > :18:26.thanks to Tim Peake who did an amazing job of working with schools
:18:27. > :18:34.whilst he was on his space trip earlier in the year and I have met
:18:35. > :18:38.many, many schoolchildren who have their interest in stem stimulated
:18:39. > :18:45.from the work he did whilst on his trip. In a free-market the shortage
:18:46. > :18:52.of science teachers to inspire young women would be addressed by a rising
:18:53. > :18:58.wage. It's worth a try! Well, we are trying to make sure
:18:59. > :19:02.that some of the very best graduates with stem subjects do go into
:19:03. > :19:06.teaching and that's why we have our bursary schemes to help encourage
:19:07. > :19:09.that and we are seeing some fantastic teachers now coming into
:19:10. > :19:15.the profession and that's going to help us build the stem pipeline
:19:16. > :19:19.further. Research from the institution of engineering and
:19:20. > :19:23.technology shows that science, technology, engineering, and maths
:19:24. > :19:29.based toys are three times more likely to be targeted at boys than
:19:30. > :19:34.at girls. Now I should declare an interest as a chartered engineer,
:19:35. > :19:38.will she declare her support for the let toys be toys campaign in the
:19:39. > :19:41.run-up to Christmas give girls and boys real choice as to the kind of
:19:42. > :19:46.toys that they can enjoy and the careers that they can have.
:19:47. > :19:50.Well, I do think she is right to highlight this. There are no boys
:19:51. > :19:54.careers and girls careers anymore. These are careers that should be
:19:55. > :19:57.open to all children. It shouldn't matter what your gender is and as we
:19:58. > :20:02.have talked about, part of how we fix this challenge is by working in
:20:03. > :20:08.schools and I was proud last month when my own, one of my own schools
:20:09. > :20:13.won one of the stem inspiration awards for its stem club that it
:20:14. > :20:16.runs on a Tuesday lunch time. These are small initiative, but they have
:20:17. > :20:20.a profound effect on improving children's interest in taking stem
:20:21. > :20:25.forward. Number seven, please, Mr Speaker.
:20:26. > :20:29.The Government is undertaking a post implementation review of the
:20:30. > :20:33.introduction of fees for proceedings and employment tribunals. The review
:20:34. > :20:37.is considering the impact of the fees have had on both women and
:20:38. > :20:40.indeed those with other protected characteristics and the type of
:20:41. > :20:42.cases they bring. The Ministry of Justice will announce the
:20:43. > :20:46.conclusions of the review in due course.
:20:47. > :20:51.The minister will surely be aware of a wealth of evidence being submitted
:20:52. > :20:55.to that review that tribunal claims have fallen by 80%. Only 1% of women
:20:56. > :21:00.who have been discriminated against at work brought a claim to tribunal.
:21:01. > :21:06.There has been a raft of evidence suggesting that tribunal fees are
:21:07. > :21:10.denying women access to justice. Is she going to make representations
:21:11. > :21:15.about this? There is no doubt the number of tribunals have gone do you
:21:16. > :21:20.think but there is good news. People have been aderted away from
:21:21. > :21:25.acrimonious hearings and into mediation and ACAS have given people
:21:26. > :21:28.the opportunity to resolicitor their differences through conciliation and
:21:29. > :21:35.that scheme was used by over 92,000 people last year.
:21:36. > :21:40.It is well-documented that the Minister has been sitting on her
:21:41. > :21:44.government's equality impact assessment since October 2015, and
:21:45. > :21:52.although I have made several requests to have of this document, I
:21:53. > :21:56.have been consistently told, in due course. I'm still waiting for an
:21:57. > :22:01.explanation of how long that means. Given that this week, the minister
:22:02. > :22:04.was able to publish and equality analysis of further changes it wants
:22:05. > :22:09.to make to employment tribunal is, will the Minister now committed to
:22:10. > :22:16.publishing the document announced and on her desk in 2015, before we
:22:17. > :22:20.break the Christmas? The honourable lady has made her point very
:22:21. > :22:23.clearly. I will speak to the Ministry of Justice and we will get
:22:24. > :22:34.back to as soon as they possibly can. Last month, the government
:22:35. > :22:38.welcomed the first report of the independent review by Sir Philip
:22:39. > :22:42.Hampton and Dame Helen Alexander into women in the executive pipeline
:22:43. > :22:44.and were pleased to welcome their recommendation that FTSE 100
:22:45. > :22:51.companies should have at least 33% of the executive pipeline editions
:22:52. > :22:57.filled by women by 2020. In addition, this week, the government
:22:58. > :22:59.leaked draft gender regulations, to give unprecedented pay transparency
:23:00. > :23:05.to everyone working for a private or voluntary sector employer of 250
:23:06. > :23:11.staff or more, and that means these regulations will affect 8000
:23:12. > :23:17.employers and over 11 million employees. On the topic of the human
:23:18. > :23:21.rights commission, how can the Minister believe the budget
:23:22. > :23:25.reduction will enable them to fulfil their functions and why has the
:23:26. > :23:36.government continued to refuse to make an impact assessment. The
:23:37. > :23:41.commission perform an important role in the chair is well-equipped for
:23:42. > :23:46.the task. The commission will receive sufficient funds permit to
:23:47. > :23:53.fulfil its full range of statutory duties. Research from guide dogs has
:23:54. > :23:56.shown that 42% of surveyed assistant dog owners were refused carriage in
:23:57. > :24:03.a taxi in the past year, despite it being illegal. Ministers and the
:24:04. > :24:10.Department for Transport have shown an effort to do something about
:24:11. > :24:14.this. What will her department do to support those efforts? Assistant
:24:15. > :24:20.dogs are of course vital to the independence of many disabled people
:24:21. > :24:26.and their continued refusal by taxi drivers is inexcusable. I'm very
:24:27. > :24:29.grateful to him for his commitment in addressing this issue and
:24:30. > :24:35.eliminating this discrimination. He makes his case very profoundly, and
:24:36. > :24:42.my department will do all it can to support his important work. We
:24:43. > :24:46.commissioned research revealing that as of the Autumn Statement, 86% of
:24:47. > :24:50.net savings to the Treasury since 2010 through tax and benefit
:24:51. > :24:56.measures, have come from women, an increase from the last Autumn
:24:57. > :25:00.Statement at 81%. At what point will the Minister deem this serious
:25:01. > :25:08.enough to warrant action from the Treasury? When the figure reaches
:25:09. > :25:14.90%, 100%? Will you publish a cumulative gender impact analysis of
:25:15. > :25:17.their policies? One of the best things we can do to help women
:25:18. > :25:22.financially is to have a strong economy and that is precisely what
:25:23. > :25:29.we have done, which is why there are record employment levels for women
:25:30. > :25:32.now. That is good news, and I think her question misses the raising of
:25:33. > :25:37.personal loans, which is disproportionately helped lift women
:25:38. > :25:40.out of tax altogether. One of the changes to the state pension, which
:25:41. > :25:44.everyone should welcome, but isn't as well-known as it should be, was
:25:45. > :25:48.the recognition given for the year is spent by women in bringing up
:25:49. > :25:53.children, which now counts as a national insurance credit towards a
:25:54. > :25:57.full state pension. Gucci update the house today on a number of women are
:25:58. > :26:04.starting to benefit from this and what the estimated value during the
:26:05. > :26:10.mother's retirement is? That could she update? Over 3 million women
:26:11. > :26:22.stand to benefit from these changes. For women who reach pension age in
:26:23. > :26:26.2016/17, this should benefit them ?207,000. This is more on average
:26:27. > :26:31.than women have ever received. According to age UK, that is good
:26:32. > :26:35.evidence that older people with cancer, are too often undertreated
:26:36. > :26:39.due to judgments made on the basis of their age rather than their
:26:40. > :26:43.overall health and fitness. Age discrimination in NHS is illegal, so
:26:44. > :26:47.can the Minister tell us what discussion she has had with
:26:48. > :26:50.colleagues in the Department of Health about plans to increase
:26:51. > :26:57.cancer survival rates for people of all ages? As she will know, the DWP
:26:58. > :27:03.has recently published a Green paper and we're looking at working very
:27:04. > :27:06.closely to make sure all the people and pensioners are treated fairly by
:27:07. > :27:13.all government departments and services. Earlier, she stated she
:27:14. > :27:16.didn't wish to see a gender pay gap, so what steps are the government
:27:17. > :27:23.taking to reduce that gender pay gap? Eliminating the gender pay gap
:27:24. > :27:27.remains an absolute priority for this government. Transparency is one
:27:28. > :27:31.of the most important and powerful tools for shaping behaviour and
:27:32. > :27:35.driving change. That's why we will be requiring large employers to
:27:36. > :27:39.publish the gender pay gap, and draft regulations were laid on
:27:40. > :27:42.Tuesday the 6th of December. If parliament approves this
:27:43. > :27:49.legislation, regulations will commence in April 20 17. Does the
:27:50. > :27:59.Minister agree with the Resolution Foundation that cuts to universal
:28:00. > :28:03.credit risk undermining disabled people and shouldn't those cars be
:28:04. > :28:08.reversed now? As he will know, changes were announced in the Autumn
:28:09. > :28:13.Statement to the taper rate of the universal credit. The reality of
:28:14. > :28:16.changes to the welfare system is that universal credit is encouraging
:28:17. > :28:21.more people into work, but once in work, it is helping them to make
:28:22. > :28:29.sure they get more work and better work. In research, nine out of ten
:28:30. > :28:32.parents tell us they want sex and relationship education in our
:28:33. > :28:40.schools to be compulsory. Does the government agree with them? I very
:28:41. > :28:43.much welcome to the report that her own committee published on this, and
:28:44. > :28:47.this is precisely why we want to look very actively at this issue.
:28:48. > :28:54.She will know from our meeting we had recently that I do think it's
:28:55. > :28:59.important we have sex education networks in the 21st-century. It is
:29:00. > :29:02.time that we look at this and I'm very conscious of the overall view
:29:03. > :29:13.of the house that this is a matter we should take on board. As she will
:29:14. > :29:16.move from her own previous role as a Minister for women and equality is,
:29:17. > :29:20.it is a complex issue and we are looking to address it. The United
:29:21. > :29:27.Nations committee on the rights of Persons with disabilities have found
:29:28. > :29:32.that this government's pursuits of cuts to benefits don't meet the
:29:33. > :29:35.threshold. What will the government do to rectify this? The government
:29:36. > :29:40.has committed to provide support for disabled people who need it, as is
:29:41. > :29:43.reflected by the fact that spending does support disabled people and
:29:44. > :29:50.people with health conditions will be higher in real terms in every
:29:51. > :29:53.year to 2020. The intention of the recommendations set out by the
:29:54. > :30:00.United Nations are already incorporated into UK policies. She
:30:01. > :30:06.has committed that by the end of the year she will issue a consultation
:30:07. > :30:09.document on the future of caste discrimination of legislation. Gucci
:30:10. > :30:14.update the house and when that document will be released? I am
:30:15. > :30:20.grateful for his question. He is right that we do intend to issue a
:30:21. > :30:23.full consultation on how best to provide the legal protection that we
:30:24. > :30:28.want to see against caste discrimination. When we do that, we
:30:29. > :30:33.know that he and his community will want to take part only in that
:30:34. > :30:38.consultation. It took the government must adhere to come up with these
:30:39. > :30:48.then review on the management of transgender offenders. There were
:30:49. > :30:52.deaths of two transgender women held in men's prisons. Can the Minister
:30:53. > :30:55.tell us why the government failed to acknowledge those tragedies in the
:30:56. > :31:03.review and why their proposals are so meagre? I would absolutely
:31:04. > :31:08.question any of those statements that he has made. The response is
:31:09. > :31:13.not meagre, it is thorough. The government is firmly committed to
:31:14. > :31:15.ensuring that transgender offenders are treated lawfully and decently
:31:16. > :31:23.and the rights are respected. A revised instruction, following a
:31:24. > :31:26.review of transgender offenders, was published in November. It is already
:31:27. > :31:31.being applied with school implementation by the 1st of
:31:32. > :31:37.January. In the two months between the 14th of September on the 15th of
:31:38. > :31:41.November, over 20,000 families has their tax credits reinstated after
:31:42. > :31:48.they were unfairly removed. Can I ask what work you have done to find
:31:49. > :31:55.out the impact on women, particularly single parents, who
:31:56. > :32:00.were disproportionately affected? My colleague the financial secretary
:32:01. > :32:03.took the decision not to renew the contract precisely because of those
:32:04. > :32:06.challenges. I will make sure the financial secretary gets back to her
:32:07. > :32:21.with further details on what she has specifically asked about. Every
:32:22. > :32:24.member has the opportunity to vote in the Estimates process. The
:32:25. > :32:28.liaison committee is the body which has been chosen by this house to
:32:29. > :32:33.represent the interests of the house in selecting topics for debate on
:32:34. > :32:40.Estimates days. If members wish to examine a particular estimate with
:32:41. > :32:42.regard to devolved administrations, they are free to make
:32:43. > :32:47.representations to the liaison committee in order to do so and in
:32:48. > :32:53.fact, encouraged to do so. The procedures committee is conducting
:32:54. > :32:54.an enquiry into the Estimates process, to which