Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to support young people to pursue careers in the logistics sector.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP is working to make logistics a sector of choice for young people by promoting awareness and creating clear entry routes. We support Generation Logistics, an industry-led campaign match-funded by the Department for Transport to promote careers in the sector to young people and other underrepresented groups.
Campaigns like Generation Logistics aim to change perceptions and highlight opportunities in the industry, while partnerships with trade bodies such as Logistics UK and UKWA help strengthen employer engagement.
DWP also supports schools through its adviser network and collaborates with organisations like the Careers & Enterprise Company to build a talent pipeline. These efforts focus on attracting young people, women and underrepresented groups to address skills shortages and improve diversity in a traditionally male-dominated sector.
DWP is also a member of the Freight Workforce Group, chaired by the Department for Transport, which provides a forum to share evidence, align activity and support initiatives that strengthen the long-term supply of skilled workers into the sector. Guidance will soon be published by the Department for Transport to support employers with coordinating work experience and recruiting from hard-to-reach groups.
DWP is currently piloting Road to Logistics training in the East Midlands to raise aspirations particularly in young people and those in less advantaged communities.
More generally, this Government is investing in young people’s futures. At the Budget, we announced more than £1.5 billion of investment over the next three years, funding £820 million for the Youth Guarantee to support young people to earn or learn, and an additional £725 million for the Growth and Skills Levy. Further details of the announcement can be found in the Written Statement from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 8 December 2025 HCWS1137.
Asked by: Andrew Mitchell (Conservative - Sutton Coldfield)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to encourage more girls into STEM subjects in (a) further and (b) higher education.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
High and rising school standards are central to the government’s mission to break down barriers and provide every child with the best start in life. As part of this, the department supports various initiatives to encourage more girls into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
The ‘I Belong’ programme, part of the National Centre for Computing Education, helps schools understand barriers to girls’ engagement with computing and aims to increase computer science qualification uptake in primary and secondary schools.
To build a strong mathematics foundation for all children, the Maths Hubs programme improves teaching in publicly funded schools. Supported by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, the programme addresses attainment gaps linked to disadvantage, gender or other factors.
The STEM Ambassadors programme features over 28,000 volunteers from more than 7,500 employers, inspiring over 3 million young people annually by sharing personal experiences in STEM careers. 48% of the volunteers are women.
To provide careers information and guidance, the Careers and Enterprise Company, supported by £30 million of government funding, coordinates a careers hub network covering 95% of secondary schools and colleges, involving 400 employers and 4,000 business volunteers, many in STEM roles.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to increase the uptake of breast screenings in Slough.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All breast screening services in England are commissioned by regional commissioning teams.
In Slough, there are several steps that the East Berkshire Breast Screening Service has taken to increase the uptake and coverage of breast screening, in conjunction with key partners. These include: working with the NHS England Thames Valley Screening and Immunisation Team to complete a formal Health Equity Audit and identify actions to improve uptake in Slough; working with local general practices in Slough to ensure relevant information about their patients is shared with the breast screening services, in order to provide an accessible service that meets the needs of the local Slough population and to maximise the uptake of breast screening; engaging local voluntary, community, and social enterprise organisations to promote breast screening, provide materials in languages used by the local community, and to actively seek to work in areas where uptake is lower with the aim of understanding reasons for non-attendance; working with NHS England to produce a video promoting their screening programme, with voice overs presented in various different languages that are spoken locally; conducting patient surveys to ensure feedback from women is being captured, and where appropriate, making necessary changes; sending leaflets in an individual’s spoken language to accompany the invitation, where the service holds this information; allowing women to rebook for a day/time that is more suited if necessary; andsending text reminders to women before their appointment is due to take place.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to increase the uptake of perinatal mental health services among ethnic minority communities.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The National Health Service is committed to addressing unwarranted variation and health inequalities and promoting equality, including for Perinatal Mental Health services. This includes supporting services to ensure appropriate access for Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, to ensure that women from all backgrounds who need specialist Perinatal Mental Health support receive it.
NHS England’s Perinatal Mental Health programme is taking steps to ensure: training and development are available to ensure the workforce is culturally competent, diverse and representative of communities; equalities ambitions are embedded into strategic plans and governance arrangements; coproduction is embedded in service design, development and governance structures; regions and local health systems are supported to develop and achieve equality ambitions for their populations; data is available to understand trends in inequality in access, experience and outcomes to specialist Perinatal Mental Health services; third sector groups and the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors are included to support groups at risk of health inequalities.
In addition, NHS England published its first Advancing Mental Health Equalities Strategy in October 2020, laying out plans for addressing inequalities in access, experience and outcomes in mental health care.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to Government grants statistics 2020 to 2021, published on 31 March 2022, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the funding entitled Enterprise and Assets Growth Programme.
Answered by Leo Docherty
The Enterprise and Assets Growth Programme (EAGR) financed facilities that have supported over a million jobs including 600,000 jobs for women, and has supported nearly 850,000 beneficiaries to access financial services in Pakistan. This programme was designed to give micro, small and medium enterprises improved access to appropriate financial services, resulting in higher economic benefits for poor and marginalised groups. EAGR will also contribute to the UK government commitment to respond to the challenges and opportunities of climate change by making green investments in Pakistan.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of female-founded high-growth businesses.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
We are committed to harnessing the skills, innovation and talents of female entrepreneurs.
That’s why this Government launched a Women-Led High-Growth Enterprise Taskforce in July 2022, led by Anne Boden of Starling Bank and with a membership which includes some of this country’s most successful female entrepreneurs.
The Taskforce is working to support women entrepreneurs, tackle investment barriers, and challenge outdated gender stereotypes. It also has a strong regional focus and members are looking at ways to diminish regional disparities using robust, regional data and drawing in local support.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to help close the gender pay gap in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The national gender pay gap has fallen significantly under this government - and by approximately a quarter in the last decade. In the West Midlands specifically, the gap has gone from 19.7% in 1997, to 10.8% in 2022.
In 2017, we introduced regulations requiring large employers to publish the differences in average salaries and bonuses for men and women every year. The regulations have helped to motivate employers, and focus attention on improving equality in the workplace.
However, in order to continue making progress we need to understand the real barriers people face in the workplace, and ensure everyone is empowered to fulfil their potential. This includes ensuring that we spread opportunity throughout the country. That is why initiatives like our Women-led high-growth enterprise taskforce have a specific focus on looking outside of London.
Should you wish to look further at gender pay gap data for your area, the Office for National Statistics does provide a breakdown of their annual gender pay gap data by constituency, geographic area, and region: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/annualsurveyofhoursandearningsashegenderpaygaptables
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on improving accessibility to entrepreneurship and business ownership for people with protected characteristics in Dulwich and West Norwood constituency.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Government is fully committed to supporting businesses and creating the best conditions for enterprise so that everyone, whatever their background, has the means and know-how to start and grow a business. <br/> We are supporting early-stage entrepreneurs from all backgrounds through the Start-Up Loans Company which provides funding and intensive support to new entrepreneurs. Since 2012, 40% of Start Up Loans have gone to women, worth over £341m and 20% of loans worth 183m have gone to Black, Asian, and Ethnic-minority business (as at October 2022). 411 SMEs in Dulwich and West Norwood have received loans to the value of £3,364,909 as of November 2022.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on taking steps to improve accessibility to entrepreneurship and business ownership for people with protected characteristics in Warwick and Leamington constituency.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Government is fully committed to supporting businesses and creating the best conditions for enterprise so that everyone, whatever their background, has the means and know-how to start and grow a business.
We are supporting early-stage entrepreneurs from all backgrounds through the Start-Up Loans Company which provides funding and intensive support to new entrepreneurs.
Since 2012, 40% of Start Up Loans have gone to women, worth over £344m and 20% of loans worth 187m have gone to Black, Asian, and Ethnic-minority businesses. 142 SMEs in Warwick and Leamington have received Start Up Loans to the value of £1,487,362 as of November 2022.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham North)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on potential steps to help improve accessibility to (a) entrepreneurship and (b) business ownership for people with protected characteristics in Lewisham, Deptford constituency.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Government is fully committed to supporting businesses and creating the best conditions for enterprise so that everyone, whatever their background, has the means and know how to start and grow a business.
We are supporting early-stage entrepreneurs from all backgrounds through the Start-Up Loans Company which provides funding and intensive support to new entrepreneurs.
Since 2012, 40% of Start Up Loans have gone to women, worth over £344m and 20% of loans worth 187m have gone to Black, Asian, and Ethnic-minority businesses. 501 SMEs in Lewisham, Deptford have received Start Up Loans to the value of £3,595,932 as of November 2022.