Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce regional disparities in the women’s employment rate.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This government is committed to reducing regional disparities in the women’s employment rate.
We recognise that women face additional barriers that can compound employment issues – in particular, childcare costs can affect parents’, and disproportionately women’s, decisions to take up paid work or increase their hours. We are taking action to address these barriers including ensuring that eligible Universal Credit claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs, while working parents may access up to 30 hours a week of funded childcare.
For too many people, labour market opportunities are shaped by where they live. Through our Get Britain Working strategy, we are aiming to improve employment outcomes at a national level and reduce regional disparities in unemployment rates for everyone, including women. As a part of this, we are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new Jobs and Careers Service across Great Britain, bringing together employment, careers and skills. The service will work with local employers and partners to ensure it reflects and addresses the different needs of local labour markets.
We are introducing programmes to tackle region-specific issues. We are delivering Local Get Britain Working plans in all areas of England, which are led by local government and co-developed with local stakeholders, and will identify local labour market challenges and priorities, and support the integration of locally delivered services. We are delivering 17 Economic Inactivity and Youth Guarantee Trailblazers led by Mayoral Strategic Authorities and the Welsh Government which are testing local approaches to support people who are hardest to reach to move towards work.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of trends in the levels of gender disparities in the unemployment rate.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The unemployment rate in Jan-Mar 2026 was 5.0%. This has fallen by 0.2%pts on the quarter.
The unemployment rate for men in Jan-Mar 2026 was 5.3% and was 4.7% for women. The gender unemployment rate gap is 0.6%pts and has increased by 0.3%pts on the year.
The government is committed to tackling the challenges women face in the labour market, whether they want to find a job, return to work, or progress in work, regardless of their background or stage of life. To support this commitment, the Government has appointed Mariella Frostrup as the Women’s Employment Ambassador, building on her work as the Menopause Employment Ambassador over the past 18 months.
The Department offers a range of employment support that women can benefit from. This includes the ‘Find a Job’ website, financial support through the Flexible Support Fund to help with interviews or starting work, and tailored, flexible support through Jobcentre Plus. Alongside targeted job-search support, Work Coaches offer personalised advice to help individuals secure roles which reflect their skills, qualifications and prior experience.
Where appropriate, Work Coaches identify any skills gaps and signpost jobseekers to relevant training and provision, such as Skills Bootcamps, apprenticeships, sector-based work academy programmes, and free courses for jobs, as well as essential English, maths and digital skills.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many times Ministers from his Department have attended UK conferences, trade shows and exhibitions since 7 February 2023.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Details of the meetings held by Ministers of the Department for Business and Trade are available on transparency pages of gov.uk and are released as part of the Government's transparency agenda.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times Ministers from her Department have attended UK conferences, trade shows and exhibitions in each year since 2023.
Answered by Rachel Blake - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government Ministers regularly engage with businesses including by attending UK conferences, trade shows, and exhibitions. The requested information is not held centrally and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times Ministers from his Department have attended UK conferences, trade shows and exhibitions in each year since 2023.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Information on this is published online quarterly within the Transparency Returns and is available on GOV.UK
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the maintenance backlog for Royal Air Force Air Cadets Unit Headquarters.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As defined in previous responses to the hon. Member, I am interpreting 'headquarters' to be Royal Air Force (RAF) Air Cadet Squadron buildings. It is taking time to collate the entirety of all maintenance requirements for each RAF Air Cadet Squadron, and I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of staff affected by the ending of the reciprocal staff rail pass for Brighton and Hove Buses and Metrobus staff on 31 May 2026.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Information on the number of Brighton & Hove and Metrobus staff affected by the ending of reciprocal rail passes will be held by those companies.