Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average length of time was for an apprenticeship programme undertaken by (a) women and (b) men in each sector subject area in 2016-17.
Answered by Anne Milton
The average length of stay on apprenticeship programmes in England in the 2016/17 academic year is as follows:
| Average length of stay (days) | ||
Sector Subject Area | Male | Female | All learners |
Agriculture, Horticulture and Animal Care | 570 | 558 | 565 |
Arts, Media and Publishing | 492 | 470 | 482 |
Business, Administration and Law | 432 | 425 | 428 |
Construction, Planning and the Built Environment | 617 | 640 | 617 |
Education and Training | 452 | 454 | 454 |
Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies | 643 | 490 | 631 |
Health, Public Services and Care | 462 | 465 | 464 |
Information and Communication Technology | 455 | 450 | 454 |
Leisure, Travel and Tourism | 450 | 416 | 437 |
Retail and Commercial Enterprise | 409 | 442 | 427 |
Science and Mathematics | 779 | 702 | 744 |
Not Applicable/Not Known | 491 | 608 | 502 |
Overall average | 520 | 448 | 483 |
Notes:
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will consider supporting the provision of machines that are hand operated and make low cost sanitary pads to keep girls and young women at school during their periods in developing countries.
Answered by Lord Bates
Access to affordable sanitary products is a key barrier to women’s full participation in society. The UK is supporting a number of innovative projects to enhance sanitary product access and choice, including a technology transfer initiative with the Indian company Aakar (https://www.aakarinnovations.com/) to enable them to take their women’s enterprise and simple technology model for the local production of quality, low-cost, environmentally-friendly sanitary pads to Kenya and Tanzania. Through funding from the Girls Education Challenge fund, World Vision have been training women’s groups in Zimbabwe to make reusable sanitary pads as part of a wider programme to support 95,000 vulnerable girls to stay in school.
We also support menstrual hygiene management more broadly through health, girls’ education and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
The UK is committed to enabling all girls and women to manage menstruation safely, hygienically and with dignity, allowing them to stay in school and participate in society during their period. This includes ensuring that schools, workplaces and public places cater for the needs of menstruating women, that they are free from stigma and discrimination and have access to low-cost appropriate sanitary products.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support the provision of hand-operated machines that make sanitary pads across (1) India, (2) Nepal, (3) Bangladesh, (4) Afghanistan, (5) South Africa, and (6) Zimbabwe.
Answered by Lord Bates
Access to affordable sanitary products is a key barrier to women’s full participation in society. The UK is supporting a number of innovative projects to enhance sanitary product access and choice, including a technology transfer initiative with the Indian company Aakar (https://www.aakarinnovations.com/) to enable them to take their women’s enterprise and simple technology model for the local production of quality, low-cost, environmentally-friendly sanitary pads to Kenya and Tanzania. Through funding from the Girls Education Challenge fund, World Vision have been training women’s groups in Zimbabwe to make reusable sanitary pads as part of a wider programme to support 95,000 vulnerable girls to stay in school.
We also support menstrual hygiene management more broadly through health, girls’ education and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
The UK is committed to enabling all girls and women to manage menstruation safely, hygienically and with dignity, allowing them to stay in school and participate in society during their period. This includes ensuring that schools, workplaces and public places cater for the needs of menstruating women, that they are free from stigma and discrimination and have access to low-cost appropriate sanitary products.
Asked by: Baroness Tonge (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they support any innovative projects relating to sanitary products in developing countries.
Answered by Lord Bates
Access to affordable sanitary products is a key barrier to women’s full participation in society. The UK is supporting a number of innovative projects to enhance sanitary product access and choice, including a technology transfer initiative with the Indian company Aakar (https://www.aakarinnovations.com/) to enable them to take their women’s enterprise and simple technology model for the local production of quality, low-cost, environmentally-friendly sanitary pads to Kenya and Tanzania. Through funding from the Girls Education Challenge fund, World Vision have been training women’s groups in Zimbabwe to make reusable sanitary pads as part of a wider programme to support 95,000 vulnerable girls to stay in school.
We also support menstrual hygiene management more broadly through health, girls’ education and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
The UK is committed to enabling all girls and women to manage menstruation safely, hygienically and with dignity, allowing them to stay in school and participate in society during their period. This includes ensuring that schools, workplaces and public places cater for the needs of menstruating women, that they are free from stigma and discrimination and have access to low-cost appropriate sanitary products.
Asked by: Yvette Cooper (Labour - Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what formal powers the Equality and Human Rights Commission has to investigate breaches of equality legislation.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)’s powers to investigate breaches of equality legislation are set out in Section 20 of the Equality Act 2006. The Commission may investigate whether or not a person has committed an unlawful act; has complied with a requirement imposed by an unlawful act notice under section 21 of the act; or has complied with an undertaking given under section 23 of the Act.
More generally, EHRC’s enforcement powers, which include these investigatory powers, are set out in sections 20 – 32 of the Act as amended by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has plans to fund the manufacture and provision of period pants in developing countries; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Alistair Burt
The UK is committed to enabling all girls and women to manage menstruation safely, hygienically and with dignity, allowing them to stay in school and participate in society during their period. Access to affordable sanitary products is central to this and the UK is supporting a number of innovative projects to enhance access and choice. This includes a technology transfer initiative with the Indian company Aakar (www.aakarinnovations.com) to enable them to take their women’s enterprise and simple technology model for the local production of quality, low-cost, environmentally-friendly sanitary pads to Kenya and Tanzania. In Zimbabwe, we are supporting women’s groups to make reusable sanitary pads as part of a wider programme to support 95,000 vulnerable girls to stay in school. In Uganda, we have supported the testing and development of sustainable market models for distributing menstrual hygiene cups at scale. We also support menstrual hygiene management more broadly through health, girls’ education and water, sanitation and hygiene programmes across sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans the Government has to develop tax incentives and economic support to expand entrepreneurial opportunities for women in micro-businesses or who are self-employed.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
The government supports women entrepreneurs, including those running micro-businesses, and has a number of tax incentives that they benefit from, including Entrepreneurs’ Relief and the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme. The government has also supported women who are self-employed by raising the personal allowance to £11,850 in 2018-19, with a commitment to reach £12,500 by 2020-21. In 2018-19, compared to 2015-16, over 700,000 women will be taken out of income tax altogether and 13m women will see their income tax bill reduced.
We are working to ensure we have the right support for everyone, including women, to set up and grow a business.
As part of the Industrial Strategy, we are identifying ways to tackle barriers faced by female-led businesses in accessing venture capital through new behavioural research commissioned by the British Business Bank.
Start-Up Loans (SUL) provide funding and intensive support to new entrepreneurs. As at the end of October 2017, there were over 20,130 loans issued to women totalling over £132.5m. To date 39% of start-up loans have been issued to women.
Government has also supported and invested in the creation of a network of 38 Growth Hubs (one in each Local Enterprise Partnership area), providing businesses across England with tailored advice and support. The Business Support Helpline also provides information and guidance to people across England - 49% of users in the last year (2016-17) were women.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of behavioural changes among adult males in reporting their own medical health issues over the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
No such assessment has been made. However, there are a number of programmes funded by the Government which are likely to have a differential impact on men’s health, given evidence that men may be less likely to seek help with health problems. For example, the Government has funded the Time to Change anti-stigma campaign, which challenges attitudes towards mental health. Time to Change launched the ‘In your corner’ campaign this year which is specifically aimed at encouraging men to talk about mental health. Another example is heart disease: the British Heart Foundation states that men are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease at an earlier age than women.
In 2016 NHS RightCare launched the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Optimal Value Pathway, which aims to reduce unwarranted variation to improve people's health and lessen inequalities in health access, experience and outcomes. In addition, local authorities offer the NHS Health Check to all adults aged 40-74 who do not have certain pre-existing health conditions; the Health Check therefore offers an opportunity to engage with men who might otherwise not be seen by health services. Public Health England’s One You campaign aims to improve health by encouraging adults to change their lifestyles and adopt healthier behaviours. In addition, the Men’s Health Forum are a member of the voluntary, community and social enterprise Health and Wellbeing Alliance, a group of 21 organisations and consortia which aims to bring the voice of the sector into policy making in the Department, NHS England and Public Health England.
The life expectancy of both males and females continues to rise; whilst there remains a gap between female and male life expectancy, this gap is closing.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what processes her Department has put in place to (a) monitor, (b) collate cost information on, (c) review and (d) respond to requests to amend or revoke regulations introduced by her Department.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The following sets of regulations have been introduced by the Minister for Women and Equalities since May 2010:
The Impact Assessments for the first three sets of regulations, setting out in detail the net costs or benefits, can be found at:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/2260/impacts
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2014/202/pdfs/ukia_20140202_en.pdf
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2017/9780111152010/resources.
A separate impact assessment was not prepared for SI 2017/353 because the scope of the regulations was public sector only. However, the average annual recurring cost of complying with the new gender pay gap reporting requirements for employers in the public sector was estimated to be less than £500 per annum, in line with the impact assessment for SI 2017/172. The table below sets out answers to the other aspects of the question:
SI | Month of Commencement | One in one out | One in two out | Revoked | Amended |
2011/2260 | September | No | No | Yes | No |
2014/2559 | October | No | No | No | No |
2017/172 | April | No | No | No | No |
2017/353 | March | No | No | No | No |
The changes to regulations affecting business during the 2010-15 Parliament are recorded in Statements of New Regulation that were published every six months. These are available on https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/one-in-two-out-statement-of-new-regulation. For the 2015-17 Parliament, the government will shortly publish its final report on the savings to business delivered during that Parliament. For the current Parliament, the government is committed to maintaining a proportionate approach to regulation to enable business growth while maintaining public protections.
The government has published guidance for departments on the statutory requirements that all new regulations contain a requirement for a review at a suitable point after their implementation. This can be found at:
The impact assessment for a new regulation should set out the plan for a post-implementation review of the measure, typically within five years of it coming into force. The review should assess if the objectives of the regulation were achieved, remain valid and relevant, and whether they could be achieved in a less burdensome way.
Asked by: Priti Patel (Conservative - Witham)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what the title was of each set of regulations introduced by her Department in each month since May 2010; which of those regulations have been (a) subject to the (i) one in one out and (ii) one in two out procedure and (b) (i) revoked and (ii) amended; and what the net cost to (A) the public purse; and (B) business of those regulations is.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The following sets of regulations have been introduced by the Minister for Women and Equalities since May 2010:
The Impact Assessments for the first three sets of regulations, setting out in detail the net costs or benefits, can be found at:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/2260/impacts
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2014/202/pdfs/ukia_20140202_en.pdf
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2017/9780111152010/resources.
A separate impact assessment was not prepared for SI 2017/353 because the scope of the regulations was public sector only. However, the average annual recurring cost of complying with the new gender pay gap reporting requirements for employers in the public sector was estimated to be less than £500 per annum, in line with the impact assessment for SI 2017/172. The table below sets out answers to the other aspects of the question:
SI | Month of Commencement | One in one out | One in two out | Revoked | Amended |
2011/2260 | September | No | No | Yes | No |
2014/2559 | October | No | No | No | No |
2017/172 | April | No | No | No | No |
2017/353 | March | No | No | No | No |
The changes to regulations affecting business during the 2010-15 Parliament are recorded in Statements of New Regulation that were published every six months. These are available on https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/one-in-two-out-statement-of-new-regulation. For the 2015-17 Parliament, the government will shortly publish its final report on the savings to business delivered during that Parliament. For the current Parliament, the government is committed to maintaining a proportionate approach to regulation to enable business growth while maintaining public protections.
The government has published guidance for departments on the statutory requirements that all new regulations contain a requirement for a review at a suitable point after their implementation. This can be found at:
The impact assessment for a new regulation should set out the plan for a post-implementation review of the measure, typically within five years of it coming into force. The review should assess if the objectives of the regulation were achieved, remain valid and relevant, and whether they could be achieved in a less burdensome way.