Oral Answers to Questions
Sarah Owen Excerpts(1 day, 17 hours ago)
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Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
We all want to break down barriers to opportunity. However, it seems that one sizable part of our workforce is being ignored, and that is women. Women missing work due to endometriosis, ovarian cysts and other complications cost the economy £11 billion a year. Fixing this would save more than double the amount that is to be spent on the unpalatable proposed welfare cuts for disabled people. Does the Minister agree that improving women’s health will break down a huge barrier to work, and if so, how is she working with other Departments to fix this?
Bridget Phillipson
I agree with my hon. Friend the Chair of the Select Committee, and I pay tribute to her for all her campaigning work in the important area of women’s health. The Government recognise the terrible impact that these conditions can have on women’s ability to work and live their lives as they should. That is why we are committed to implementing a women’s health strategy as part of the 10-year plan, and I know that the Health Secretary is determined to bring down waiting lists, which have all too often affected women, including those with conditions such as endometriosis. We are making progress, but there is much more to do.
Oral Answers to Questions
Sarah Owen Excerpts(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
The Minister and many colleagues in this place will be aware of the groundbreaking new Netflix programme “Adolescence”. It is chilling, but is rightfully forcing a national conversation about the dangerous content seen by young men and boys, with fatal consequences. Given the important role that schools play in preventing violence against women and girls, will the Minister provide an update on what is being done with the Department for Education to counter misogyny and extreme violence, in order to enable a safe future for young boys and girls?
Jess Phillips
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that including men and boys in the conversation about how we prevent future violence against women and girls will be absolutely fundamental. A huge portion of the new violence against women and girls strategy is focused on prevention, and what we can do in our schools, our workplaces and elsewhere to reach men and boys, in order to change the future.
Oral Answers to Questions
Sarah Owen Excerpts(2 months ago)
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Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
Georgia Gould
We have been absolutely clear that there are huge opportunities for AI to support the public sector to better personalise services and save money, but we have to keep up with the speed of innovation in how we buy. I have heard from SMEs specialising in AI and digital transformation that the way we are doing procurement is too slow and too inflexible to keep up with that pace. That is why I am working with the Minister for AI and Digital Government, my hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Feryal Clark), to set up a new digital commercial centre for excellence to make sure that that changes, and that we have the best innovation from my hon. Friend�s constituency and across the country in Government.
Sarah Owen
Last year, Luton airport invested �110 million in local businesses. It knows the value of businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, in places like Luton. Every weekend, I do a small business Saturday shout-out. What can we do to ensure that small businesses in Luton get a fair crack of the whip when it comes to public sector procurement?
Georgia Gould
It is brilliant to hear about my hon. Friend�s leadership in supporting small businesses and the work they are doing in her constituency. We are absolutely determined that SMEs should have that fair crack. The new national procurement policy statement asks us to maximise spend with small businesses. It also sets stretching and transparent targets for each Department, which will be brought to the House. We will be held to account for delivering on them.
Oral Answers to Questions
Sarah Owen Excerpts(3 months ago)
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Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
It is the beginning of LGBT History Month. Trans people across the UK are struggling to access healthcare and finding it difficult to go about their lives with dignity. As their identity comes under constant attack from powerful people across the world, progress cannot be taken for granted. Will the Minister reconfirm the Government’s commitment to the entire LGBTQ+ community and outline what steps are being taken to engage with LGBT people in the UK? [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. Please do not do that, because I have to get—[Interruption.] No, it is no use shrugging your shoulders at me. I have to get all the Members in. If you do not want other colleagues to get in, please tell them. I do.
Oral Answers to Questions
Sarah Owen Excerpts(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
Let me start by recognising the hon. Lady’s dedicated work and campaigning on this issue for many years. NHS England is expanding eating disorder treatment services, including crisis care and intensive home treatment, and, as she knows, the Online Safety Act 2023 will prevent children from encountering harmful content that promotes eating disorders to services. Obviously, we will look very carefully at the report and consider its recommendations.
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
The Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend for raising this case. She and I have met far too many families who have been devastated by this senseless violence. We are taking urgent action to ban zombie-style knives, and we are regulating the online sale of knives. It is unacceptable that these murder weapons can be bought with two clicks. Technology is there to stop it and we are going to take action. As for resources, we are putting an additional 13,000 police into neighbourhood roles and allocating £85 million to Bedfordshire Police to keep my hon. Friend’s constituents safe.
Oral Answers to Questions
Sarah Owen Excerpts(4 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
Merry Christmas, Mr Speaker.
Following this summer’s racist riots, the Runnymede Trust reported that Islamophobia is reaching fever pitch, with mosques attacked and threatened, and cars vandalised with Nazi swastikas. All that has left many Muslims feeling unsafe, but it is especially true for women, who have reported having hijabs pulled off, suffering racist abuse and being threatened with physical violence. We will all have heard of such incidents from our constituents, but the extent to which Islamophobia and misogyny are systemic in the structures that we rely on mean that Muslim women bear the brunt of the intersectional hatred of the far right and sometimes, sadly, the mainstream media. Does the Minister see the need for an agreed definition of “Islamophobia” that understands its impact on Muslim women?
Seema Malhotra
Islamophobia, sexism and racism have no place in our society, and my hon. Friend will be aware that we have committed to strengthening protections against dual discrimination. The Minister for safeguarding, my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Yardley (Jess Phillips), is working on addressing hate crime against Muslim women. I am also pleased that my hon. Friend’s Committee will be undertaking work on the specific challenges facing Muslim women in the UK today, and I look forward to following that work.
Oral Answers to Questions
Sarah Owen Excerpts(5 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
The Minister for Social Security and Disability (Sir Stephen Timms)
Our manifesto committed us to championing the rights of, and working with, disabled people, putting their views and voices at the heart of all we do. We want a more inclusive society, removing the unnecessary barriers that have too often held disabled people back.
Sarah Owen
I am sure that many of us will welcome commitments from the Government to remove barriers to work for disabled people, but disability charities have outlined concerns about the Government’s plans for work capability assessment reform and changes to personal independence payments and the Access to Work scheme. Will the Minister please commit to working with disability charities to ensure that any changes to those schemes, including any proposed by the previous Government, are made alongside consultation with the people those policies will affect?
Sir Stephen Timms
I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. As I have said, we are committed to putting the views and voices of disabled people at the heart of everything we do and, in looking at these issues, to consulting properly and amply with disabled people and with their organisations.
Oral Answers to Questions
Sarah Owen Excerpts(6 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Ms Oppong-Asare
The right hon. Member is right to raise that question. We will ban China’s economic engagement, and make sure we strengthen our national security.
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
Adam Thompson (Erewash) (Lab)
The Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Nick Thomas-Symonds)
Last week, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority issued a small number of invitations to begin testing a new claims service. Furthermore, I can announce today that applications for interim payments to the estates of people whose death has not yet been recognised have now opened. This is an important step in getting money into the hands of victims of the infected blood scandal.
Sarah Owen
My constituent Sharon Moore has been a fierce campaigner for victims of the infected blood scandal and their family members. After decades of Government negligence, Sir Brian Langstaff was clear that the community of infected and affected people should be included to enact his inquiry recommendations. However, the previous Government engaged in little to no communication with patients or organisations such as the Haemophilia Society and the Terrence Higgins Trust. I am delighted that those recommendations are being enacted today, but could the Minister please tell us how he will be working with the Department of Health and Social Care and his colleagues in that Department to make sure that people get the compensation they deserve?
Nick Thomas-Symonds
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend’s constituent Sharon Moore for all her campaigning. As I have said to the House, I have now given the instruction for interim payments to the estates of the deceased infected to open today, and I expect the Infected Blood Compensation Authority to make its first payments before the end of the year. Subject to the House’s processes, I would hope that regulations for those who are affected—the second set of regulations—will be completed by the end of March next year, and I expect that payments to the affected to begin next year as well.
Pat McFadden
I very much share my hon. Friend’s concern. In fact, the only economic policy we have had so far from the Conservative leadership contest has been the suggestion that we reduce maternity pay. That will do nothing for families, nothing for mothers and children, and nothing for the good operation of our economy. I hope they think twice about that suggestion.
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
Ahead of any Budget, there is always talk about tough decisions. Could the Minister remind us why we are in this difficult position in the first place, and will he please update us on progress on clawing back covid fraud, where we saw taxpayers’ money being handed over to former Ministers’ mates?
Pat McFadden
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We knew we would inherit a difficult position, but it was much more difficult than we thought when we came into office. Anybody who objects to difficult decisions announced in the Budget next week should know where the responsibility for those lie: squarely on the shoulders of the Conservative party. It falls to us to clean up the mess we have inherited from the Conservatives. That you will hear more about when the Chancellor gets to her feet next week.
Black History Month
Sarah Owen Excerpts(6 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to follow the first black Liberal Democrat MP, the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Josh Babarinde). We have talked about historical trailblazers, but we are all privileged to serve alongside trailblazers like him.
I want to talk about another trailblazer. It is such a joy to see the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Erith and Thamesmead (Ms Oppong-Asare), take her place and her space at the Government Dispatch Box. I congratulate her on making such an awesome speech. We were long overdue seeing a woman of Ghanaian descent at that Dispatch Box. I think we can all agree: what a woman! [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear.”]
We are surrounded by inspirations. It was a real honour to be able to listen to and learn from my hon. Friend the Member for Brent East (Dawn Butler). Yes, black fashion should be shown at its best and in all its glory, which is why I was happy to offer my very limited skills with an iron today.
It has been a privilege to hear the powerful contributions of colleagues so far. Black History Month is always a time when I know I will learn something new, hear something from a different perspective and share a fire and a renewed commitment to right far too many wrongs. Yes, Black History Month is a celebration—of course it is—but black history has been scarred by injustice. Sadly, that injustice is not confined to the history books; it is the lived experience of many of our colleagues and the people we represent. If we do not act, it will be the experience of future generations as well.
Not only are these disparities not confined to the history books, but they are not confined to one area of life. From work to pay, from education to health, all areas of society need to improve to ensure that we stop history repeating itself and ensure that equality is consistently aimed for and one day, hopefully in our lifetime, actually delivered.
We know of many brilliant black campaigners who have devoted their lives to campaigning for equality in this country, from the Bristol bus boycott campaigners Paul Stephenson and Roy Hackett to Baroness Lawrence, but we also know that far too many have died waiting to see the change that they need and deserve. At least 53 people who were victims of the Windrush scandal have died waiting for compensation for the injustice that saw the Home Office wrongfully deny British citizens, mostly from the Caribbean, access to work, healthcare and benefits. In the worst cases, people were threatened with deportation despite not only having the right to live in the UK but, as has been mentioned, playing an integral part in rebuilding our country after the war.
As the Minister said, our history and black history are intertwined. The Windrush generation should have been cause for gratitude, not scandal and hostility. Commitments to re-establish the Home Office’s Windrush unit and appoint a Windrush commissioner are incredibly welcome, but we also need assurances that lessons have genuinely been learned and that any future changes to immigration law will ensure that we never see another iteration of the Windrush scandal. I would welcome further detail on how the Home Office is working with victims to speed up the delivery of compensation to those who are still waiting.
As my hon. Friend the Member for Brent East excellently outlined, black people face inequalities throughout their lives, in healthcare, employment, access to services and opportunity, to name just a few examples. That has been a focus of the Women and Equalities Committee, and I hope it will continue to be. In 2023, the Committee reported on black maternal health inequalities following the release of data showing that black women were more likely than white women to die in childbirth. Worryingly, the Committee found that black women were more likely to experience treatment that fell below acceptable levels and lacked dignity and respect, and that the needs of the patient were often ignored.
I have been lucky to meet inspirational campaigners such as Tinuke and Clo from Five X More. They continue to work with black families and healthcare providers to secure improvements, but change is too slow. In his recent review, Lord Darzi found that inequalities in maternity care persist, noting that black women are still almost three times as likely as white women to die in childbirth. That is not to mention the racism that many black healthcare workers have reported facing in their jobs and institutions. It sadly comes as no surprise to anyone that in any workplace, if you are black, you have to work much harder to progress and face additional burdens and discrimination.
Fear of discrimination can prevent black women from seeking support from their employer during times such as the menopause, making it difficult for women to access appropriate support or have their symptoms taken seriously. There is a double whammy of being an older woman and a black woman, and the Committee found that, as a result of that intersectionality, the difficulties faced by women undergoing the menopause were compounded for black women.
In September, I participated in a panel event organised by the Labour African Network discussing healthcare inequalities in the UK. I was struck by many of the contributions, but particularly by those of Davina Brown, a race ambassador in the GMB union—I declare an interest as a member—and a leader in the area of empowering black women in the workplace. She noted that black women face more criticism and insecurity in work than their white colleagues. In the NHS, the largest employer of women in the public sector, depending on the NHS trust, black women can be up to four times more likely to be involved in disciplinary proceedings.
Healthcare is not the only industry where the intersectionality of gender and race means that women sadly face additional barriers to protections, support and progress. As has been mentioned, black women are woefully under-represented in popular Olympic sports such as swimming, diving and cycling, as are black men, leading to a vicious circle where children grow up finding it hard to envisage themselves competing in those areas. As we heard from the Minister, if we do not see ourselves in others in positions of power or success, how can we envisage that for ourselves? We must have stronger pathways that specifically encourage black girls and young women to realise their potential and follow their ambitions in sport.
In football, we see a much more diverse picture; many of the current England men’s team are from black or mixed heritage backgrounds. However, the way they are treated by the press and the public—a notable example being the players who missed penalties in the 2021 men’s Euros final—shows the huge risk posed to those who play at the highest and most visible level. In women’s football, the diversity in English players leaves much more to be desired. I am grateful for the Football Association’s investment in reaching girls from diverse backgrounds, including through its Discover My Talent programme. However, with black and mixed race players held to much higher standards of behaviour than their white counterparts, and at greater risk of online hate, many of us worry how their future talents will be received.
The music industry is another area where equality is desperately lacking. In its report “Misogyny in music” last year, the Women and Equalities Committee heard evidence that black women are often overlooked for promotions and have their qualifications questioned. How many times have brilliant black MPs in this Chamber had to justify why they are here, been told that they are in the wrong lift, been confused with other MPs or even been handed a handbag to carry? I would have hoped that things would be different in areas such as sports and the arts that are so much more diverse and so much younger than politics, but even there, progress is far too slow. Data from Black Lives in Music shows that black women in the music industry are on average paid the least, and that they are paid 25% less than white women—that is shocking, but wait for the next one—and 52% less than white men. Nearly half of the black women the group corresponded with said that their mental wellbeing had significantly worsened in the music industry, and a fifth sought counselling because of racial abuse.
As a result of the inquiry, the Committee called for section 14 of the Equality Act 2010, which provides protection from discrimination on the basis of a combination of two relevant protected characteristics, to be brought into force, as well as for the introduction of ethnicity pay gap reporting. It is very welcome that the new Labour Government have committed to introducing both measures. We look forward to scrutinising progress in the year ahead, but any update the Minister has on those two vital commitments—ethnicity pay gap reporting and intersectionality protections—would always be welcome.
That is where I want to end, on hope—on the hope that things will not always stay the same, and that we can move forward together. As Charisse Beaumont, chief executive of Black Lives in Music, told the Committee,
“Unless we break or tackle racial discrimination, we cannot really tackle everything else”.
Oral Answers to Questions
Sarah Owen Excerpts(6 months, 4 weeks ago)
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Anneliese Dodds
I absolutely agree. It is extremely concerning whenever we hear of what happens to women in the home, in the workplace or on the streets. Women deserve to be safe, as do girls. That is why this Government are acting at pace to ensure that, for example, we have domestic abuse specialists in emergency rooms and specialist rape crisis centres. We are working across the whole of the United Kingdom on these shared concerns for the sake of women and girls.
Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
Today marks the start of Baby Loss Awareness Week. It is a difficult but important time for many of our constituents and those of us who have experienced baby loss or miscarriage. Many private sector employers, and now the NHS—the largest public sector employer of women—have led the way in offering paid bereavement leave for those who miscarry. Does the Minister agree that all workers could and should benefit from the right to bereavement leave following baby loss?
Anneliese Dodds
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that question, and I congratulate her on her election as Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee. She has campaigned for many months—indeed, years—on the issue of baby loss, as have other Members across the House. I am very pleased to see that progress among some major employers, and I know that she will want to work with us on ensuring that those who experience baby loss are supported and protected, particularly at the most difficult times.