Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Elizabeth Truss Excerpts
Wednesday 17th June 2020

(3 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Craig Tracey Portrait Craig Tracey (North Warwickshire) (Con)
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What assessment she has made of the potential effect on the economy of increased levels of female entrepreneurship after the covid-19 outbreak.

Elizabeth Truss Portrait The Minister for Women and Equalities (Elizabeth Truss)
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The Government’s Rose review into female entrepreneurship found that £250 billion of new value could be added to the UK economy if women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men. We must take the opportunity, as we recover from the covid crisis, to help make this happen.

Craig Tracey Portrait Craig Tracey
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I recently highlighted to my right hon. Friend that very point about the £250 billion, and, as part of that solution, I have been working to try to deliver a set of women’s business hubs across the UK, which I know the British Library is also working on. What other steps can she take to ensure that part of the covid recovery benefits women across the UK and encourages more female entrepreneurs?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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I congratulate my hon. Friend on his work for the all-party group on women and enterprise. He is absolutely right: we need to make sure that, as part of our levelling-up agenda, this is a cross-UK phenomenon. We have growth hubs across the country. We are also working on mentoring schemes and on trying to ensure that investment is available right through the UK to help those start-up businesses get going.

Lindsay Hoyle Portrait Mr Speaker
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I call the Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, Caroline Nokes.

Caroline Nokes Portrait Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North) (Con)
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My right hon. Friend has shown real passion and commitment to female entrepreneurship, which will be absolutely crucial as we seek to recover from covid. Unfortunately, those same women will not be able to start up their own businesses or to be assisted to go back into the wider workforce unless they can have reliable, accessible, available childcare. What specific discussions is she having across Government to ensure that that childcare is available? We recognise that there are challenges around social distancing and the hours that schools can operate, but will she please enlighten us on what she is doing?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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My right hon. Friend is absolutely right about the vital importance of childcare. We also need to ensure that the flexible working practices that have developed during this covid crisis are available to both women and men following the crisis. We are making sure that educational settings are open as soon as possible. More than 90% of nursery schools and colleges were open on 4 June, and I am working very closely with the Secretary of State for Education and his Ministers to ensure that we reform childcare and make more places available.

Owen Thompson Portrait Owen Thompson (Midlothian) (SNP)
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What recent assessment she has made of the implications of the Black Lives Matter movement for the priorities of the Government Equalities Office.

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Christian Wakeford Portrait Christian Wakeford (Bury South) (Con)
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What steps she is taking to end conversion therapy.

Elizabeth Truss Portrait The Minister for Women and Equalities (Elizabeth Truss)
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Conversion therapy is a vile, abhorrent practice that we want to stop. We have commissioned research to look at the scope of the practice in the UK, and we will publish our plans shortly after we receive that research.

Christian Wakeford Portrait Christian Wakeford
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I thank the Minister for her words on this abhorrent practice. Will she consider taking specific steps to protect under-18s from conversion therapy?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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I am particularly concerned about under-18s being coerced into so-called conversion therapies, and that is one of the specific points that we will address when we launch our plans shortly.

Alexander Stafford Portrait Alexander Stafford (Rother Valley) (Con)
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What steps the Government are taking to ensure equality of economic opportunity after the covid-19 outbreak.

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Peter Gibson Portrait Peter Gibson (Darlington) (Con)
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What steps she is taking with the Foreign Secretary to promote global LGBT equality.

Elizabeth Truss Portrait The Minister for Women and Equalities (Elizabeth Truss)
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We want LGBT people across the world to be free to live their lives without discrimination or persecution. I am working closely on that with the Foreign Secretary and, as we launch trade negotiations with Australia today, I am delighted to have worked with high commissioner George Brandis, who played a leading role in Australia’s legalisation of same-sex marriage. We will continue to work with close allies to lead the world on this issue.

Peter Gibson Portrait Peter Gibson
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In the month of Pride, being celebrated around the world, and looking forward to the rescheduled global LGBT conference being hosted here under the chairmanship of the right hon. Nick Herbert, does the Minister agree that it is essential for us to deliver on our 2018 LGBT action plan in order to preserve our place as a co-chair of the global Equal Rights Coalition?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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I take this opportunity to wish everybody the very best for a happy Pride. I am sure that we will be doing a lot of things virtually rather than on the streets, but it is very important that we celebrate, and I am delighted that we are hosting the LGBT conference on the theme of “Safe to be me”. In response to my hon. Friend’s question, we will be updating our plans for LGBT rights for 2020 and we want to continue to lead the world on this issue.

Kate Kniveton Portrait Kate Griffiths (Burton) (Con)
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What steps she is taking to help ensure that BAME key workers are protected during the covid-19 outbreak.

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Mary Kelly Foy Portrait Mary Kelly Foy (City of Durham) (Lab)
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What assessment she has made of the potential effect on the gender pay gap of the suspension of gender pay gap reporting during the covid-19 outbreak.

Elizabeth Truss Portrait The Minister for Women and Equalities (Elizabeth Truss)
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To ease the burdens on businesses due to coronavirus, we suspended enforcement of the gender pay gap reporting in March. Despite that, more than 5,500 companies have reported to date, and employers continue to do so.

Mary Kelly Foy Portrait Mary Kelly Foy
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Gender pay gap reporting was removed in March, yet even then, just two weeks before the deadline, only around half the businesses expected to report had done so. This cannot become a lost year for narrowing the gender pay gap. Eliminating pay inequality, especially for those women in low-paid, insecure work, must be at the heart of the recovery. Will the Minister tell me exactly when gender pay gap reporting will be restored and how the information will be used as part of the coronavirus recovery?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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We are in a serious economic situation due to covid-19, and my priority, as the Minister for Women and Equalities, is to make sure that women stay in employment where possible and are able to get jobs where possible. That is where I am putting all my efforts.

Neil Gray Portrait Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts) (SNP)
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If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

Elizabeth Truss Portrait The Minister for Women and Equalities (Elizabeth Truss)
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As we recover from the covid-19 pandemic, the Government will ensure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed, which is why the Prime Minister announced that we are setting up a new commission on race and ethnic disparities, and why we will be hosting an international LGBT conference once international travel allows. We will work to support businesses to maintain some of the positive changes we have seen, such as greater flexible working, which benefits women, men and their families.

Neil Gray Portrait Neil Gray [V]
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In the light of that answer, I refer the Minister to the latest report by the Social Mobility Commission, which highlights that in the past seven years there was little or no action by successive Governments on a third of its recommendations, including on ensuring that child poverty is not exacerbated by universal credit, which received the lowest, red rating, based on evidence showing that 72% of children living in poverty live in households where at least one adult is in work and that black, Asian and minority ethnic children are more likely to be in poverty. Given the total lack of leadership by the Minister’s UK Government, as highlighted by the report, will she take ownership so that her Government can finally step up and ensure that that report, and the millions of children in poverty, are not ignored?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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The most vital tool in social mobility is education, which is why we are absolutely determined to get children back to school and to support children who are not in school through virtual lessons. I encourage the Scottish Government to follow the leadership that we are showing.

Mike Wood Portrait Mike Wood (Dudley South) (Con)
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Nobody’s chances in life should be limited by the colour of their skin or their ethnic background. What progress is the Prime Minister’s race disparity commission, and when might we start to see results?

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Cherilyn Mackrory Portrait Cherilyn Mackrory (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)
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Will my right hon. Friend join me in celebrating the good news that the so-called “rough sex gone wrong” defence will now be outlawed?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It was a disgrace that that was being used as a defence in criminal cases of murder. I pay tribute to Members from all parties who have run an effective campaign and congratulate the Ministry of Justice on taking action on the issue.

John Spellar Portrait John Spellar (Warley) (Lab)
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I am pleased that the Prime Minister is in the wings to hear this question. We know that the Disclosure and Barring Service sometimes bars people from work for decades and is, frankly, unfair and discriminatory; we know that the Windrush scandal is still ongoing, and there is dither and delay in the Home Office; and we know that in health and care services there has been a disproportionate impact on those from BME communities, especially among women in nursing and care roles. We do not need another commission to decide this; what we need is some action. What is the Minister going to do about it?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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The right hon. Gentleman makes a fair point about the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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The right hon. Gentleman makes a fair point about the Disclosure and Barring Service. It is something we are looking at, but it is important that we look at this across the board, and that is why we have set up the commission.

Mark Harper Portrait Mr Mark Harper (Forest of Dean) (Con)
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I have a short question. Being out of school really impacts on children’s opportunities. Can the Minister commit to getting every single child back to school in September?

Elizabeth Truss Portrait Elizabeth Truss
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My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is vital we get our children back into school. My right hon. Friend the Education Secretary is working very hard on this, and we are doing everything we can to make it happen.

The Prime Minister was asked—