Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Dinenage and Maria Miller

Wednesday 7th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con) [V]]

Nine in 10 school-aged girls are being subjected to indecent exposure on their phones, iPads and computers, but they are told that that is not a crime. Often, the picture is of male genitalia. When will the Government make the non-consensual taking, making and sharing of all intimate sexual images a crime for adults and children? Surely, we do not need yet more review before action is taken.

[The Minister for Digital and Culture (Caroline Dinenage)]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to draw attention to this issue. As part of its review of harmful online communications, the Law Commission is considering offences around the sharing of intimate images, including things like cyber-flashing, which she mentioned, and is looking to identify whether there are any gaps in existing legislation. It will publish the results of the review very shortly, and we will consider them all very carefully.

Innovation in Hospital Design

Debate between Caroline Dinenage and Maria Miller

Tuesday 4th February 2020 Westminster Hall

[The Minister for Care (Caroline Dinenage)]

It is a huge pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Ms Nokes.

I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Mrs Miller) on securing this incredibly important debate about innovation in hospital design, which I know is an important subject for her. She has worked tirelessly to secure a new and better hospital to serve her constituents in Basingstoke, who I know are grateful for the enormous amount of work that she done. I also know that she will continue to hold our feet to the fire in the Department of Health and Social Care, to ensure that the new hospital is the very best that it can be.

As my right hon. Friend said, the Department has invested heavily in the NHS, providing large amounts of capital investment to hospitals, as announced last year by the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. Ensuring that this investment delivers innovation in health infrastructure is absolutely vital, as we move forward towards a health estate that is fit and able to face the challenges of the future.

We announced a new health infrastructure plan, or HIP, to deliver a long-term programme of investment in our NHS estate, buildings and equipment. This will be the biggest and boldest hospital-building programme in a generation, supporting our health service so that dedicated NHS staff, who are quite marvellous, can give patients world-class care in world-class facilities.

Under the new HIP, we have made a long-term commitment to build 40 new hospitals over the next decade, including to the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in my right hon. Friend’s constituency. As she knows, the trust will receive £5 million in seed funding to develop plans to renew the ageing estate and better align services at the hospitals in Basingstoke and Winchester.

The 20 hospital upgrades that we previously announced are already under way. That is on top of a capital commitment, amounting to around £3.3 billion, provisionally awarded to over 170 sustainability and transformation plans since July 2017. That capital investment is going into a wide variety of programmes right across the country, including new urgent care centres and integrated care hubs—which bring together primary and community services—and, of course, new mental health facilities.

This investment programme will totally transform the health infrastructure in this country. It presents a unique and exciting opportunity to implement the latest innovation in healthcare design, with all the benefits and advances of modern methods of construction. Getting this right will ensure that patients receive the right treatment—treatment that speeds up their recovery and makes the most of the working environment, ensuring that our wonderful NHS staff can work in facilities that support them to deliver the very best in patient care.

The impact of the built environment on patient outcomes and staff satisfaction is increasingly clear. My right hon. Friend has already referred to it, but academic research conducted by the University of Sheffield shows that patients make significantly better progress in new, purpose-built and designed buildings than in old ones. There are a range of impacts, including reductions in pain medication needs and shortening hospital stays. In the mental health sector, treatment times were reduced by 14%, and in the general medical sector, non-operative patient treatment times were reduced by a staggering 21%. That is the prize here.

There is also growing evidence that access to and visibility of green space is vital to promoting therapeutic environments that aid recovery, with positive health outcomes including reductions in stress and anxiety, increased social interaction and, of course, an improved healthcare experience.

There has been some really interesting recent work in this space, which the Department welcomes. For instance, the Royal Horticultural Society donated its feel-good garden from the 2018 RHS Chelsea Flower Show to Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust. Its permanent home is now at Highgate mental health centre, one of the trust’s two in-patient psychiatric sites, and it is dedicated to improving the care of older adults with acute mental illness.

As my right hon. Friend said, there is nothing new about that approach. Florence Nightingale—who I know is deeply ingrained in your constituency, Ms Nokes—had it right from the beginning. My constituency of Gosport houses Haslar, a military hospital built in 1756 that has long, well-lit buildings, beautifully landscaped gardens overlooking the Solent and, critically, many out-buildings—smaller structures where the war-wounded would be wheeled out to take the air and look at the beautiful views of the Solent that we still enjoy today. Buildings designed to maximise natural light and views of green space, with increased natural ventilation and reduced noise levels, make for a much more pleasant environment, not only for the patients, to aid recovery, but for the staff going about their work.

As my right hon. Friend said, there is mounting evidence that there are strong links between the design or layout of buildings and the job satisfaction of staff, thereby improving staff retention. Buildings should be designed in a way that makes it easier for staff to do their job. For instance, designing the layout of a health building in a way that aligns with patient flow and clinical pathways also contributes to increased staff satisfaction, which makes sense. Staff can dedicate more time to patients because the time spent walking between linked wards and clinical services is reduced.

Naturally, we want to ensure that the modern clinical design of buildings is also cutting-edge in the way it supports environmental sustainability. The large hospital projects selected for phases 1 and 2 of the Department’s health infrastructure programme have been instructed to ensure that they combine and contribute to the reduction in the NHS carbon footprint by following the framework developed by the UK Green Building Council on net zero carbon buildings.

As well as seeing innovation in hospital buildings, we want to see environmentally conscious design. The NHS has led a new-for-old programme, which improves delivery of local community-based infrastructure as well, so these things are not only for the big new acute hospitals. The new-for-old programme is adopting a variety of sustainability measures, including something called BREEAM, which stands for the Building Research Establishment environmental assessment method—that slips off the tongue. It will be incorporated as standard, as independent third-party verification of sustainability performance in infrastructure.

The design of estate has a massive part to play in achieving net zero carbon targets, and carbon efficiency measures can have a positive effect on both patients and staff. For example, installing energy-efficient LED lighting in every hospital will produce average energy cost savings of up to £33 million and, importantly, improve the clinical environment for patients and staff. Adopting renewable energy solutions in the design of clinical facilities also contributes to cleaner air for our communities and better health outcomes.

Our building programme will take advantage of innovative design and innovative construction methods, and we are encouraging the NHS to take advantage of a range of modern construction approaches, including off-site manufacturing and standardisation, such as repeatable room design. Such methods can enable new and better buildings to be built quicker than otherwise would be possible. They can open their doors to patients sooner.

[Mrs Miller]

The Minister rightly talks about new and innovative methods to build buildings quicker, and that is very important, but my concern about getting these things finished is not about the building; it is about the approvals processes. Given the benefits that she so eloquently outlines in having the additional 40 new hospitals—benefits to patients, but also to the taxpayer—what space is there for the NHS to speed up the programme? It is clearly long overdue and to the benefit of all our constituents.

[Caroline Dinenage]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that point, and I will come to it later in my speech. The key thing is to ensure that all the relevant stakeholders and partners are brought to the table very early so that everybody understands exactly what the plan is and has a feeling that they have bought into and invested in how that plan unfolds.

Earlier, I mentioned the importance of innovation, repeatable room design and standardised components, which very much lead to the flexibility that my right hon. Friend talked about. That means that the NHS can adapt to future advances in delivering modern patient care, and it delivers time, cost and efficiency benefits. For example, the Wrightington Hospital orthopaedic centre uses repeatable rooms, and that is already delivering benefits to patients and staff, but it also means that the rooms can be changed in future as modern innovation delivers changes. It is also critical that innovative building design integrates the benefits of technology and infrastructure to make full use of its transformative potential for service delivery and patient care.

As my right hon. Friend says, it is important to ensure that the designs are delivered fast. The schemes must be built in a way that works with the local community. The buildings must be easily accessible, sustainable and integrated with the local planning infrastructure, and scheme proposals and business cases developed in partnership and in alignment with sustainability and transformation plans, integrated care systems and clinical and estate strategies. They need written commissioner support, alongside evidence of engagement with local stakeholders and their support for the plans. We hope that will speed up delivery of the buildings.

I hope that goes some way towards reassuring my right hon. Friend that the Government are absolutely committed to maximising innovation in the high-quality hospitals that we are delivering. We are going to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity, and we will work tirelessly to ensure that the people of this country are receiving the care they deserve in buildings that are modern, functional and beautiful. I thank her for securing this debate, because it has given me an opportunity to outline how we intend to do that, but I am sure she will continue to hold us to account when it comes to delivering on that commitment.

Question put and agreed to.

Learning Disabilities Mortality Review

Debate between Caroline Dinenage and Maria Miller

Tuesday 8th May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

We are looking very carefully at the issue of sleep-ins, and are communicating with social care providers and others. It is important to recognise that we need to support not only the sector as a whole, but the many low-paid workers within it. We will present more proposals on sleep-ins shortly.

[Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

The biggest challenge that many learning-disabled people have is simply making their voices heard. Their legal entitlement to advocacy is not always upheld by health professionals, who often misunderstand that entitlement. Will the Minister look into the commissioning of advocacy services, and, indeed, the understanding of the Equality Act 2010 among NHS staff, to ensure that more learning-disabled people have access to organisations such as Speakeasy Advocacy in Basingstoke, which supports more than 600 people with learning disabilities in north Hampshire, helping to give them the voice that they so badly need?

[Caroline Dinenage]

My right hon. Friend is a fantastic champion for equality issues in her role as Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee. I take on board everything that she has said, and I will certainly look more closely at the issue that she has raised.

Visible Religious Symbols: European Court Ruling

Debate between Caroline Dinenage and Maria Miller

Wednesday 15th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

(Urgent Question): To ask the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities if she will make a statement on the recent Court of Justice of the European Union ruling allowing employers to ban workers from wearing religious dress and symbols in the workplace.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities (Caroline Dinenage)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for raising this important issue and for giving the Government an opportunity to inform and, I hope, reassure the House about the two Court of Justice of the European Union judgments issued yesterday. The Government are completely opposed to discrimination, including on grounds of gender or religion, or both. It is the right of all women to choose how they dress, and we do not believe that the judgments change that. Exactly the same legal protections apply today as applied before the rulings.

In both the Achbita case and the Bougnaoui case, the judgment was that there was no direct discrimination, but that there was some discrimination. A rule is directly discriminatory if it treats someone less favourably because of their sex, race, religion or whatever. A rule is indirectly discriminatory if, on the face of it, it treats everyone the same, but some people, because of their race, religion, sex and so on, find it harder to comply than others do. Indirect discrimination may be justifiable if an employer is acting in a proportionate manner to achieve a legitimate aim.

The judgments confirm the existing long-standing position of EU and domestic law that an employer’s dress code, where it applies to and is applied in the same way to all employees, may be justifiable if the employer can show legitimate and proportionate grounds for it. Various cases show that such an employer needs to be prepared to justify those grounds in front of a court or tribunal if need be. That will remain the case and that is the case with these judgments, which will now revert to the domestic courts.

I am aware of some concern that the judgments potentially conflict with the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, particularly in the case of Nadia Eweida, the British Airways stewardess banned from wearing a small crucifix but whose case the ECHR upheld. We do not believe that the different judgments are in conflict. Both the CJEU and the ECHR were trying to assess the balance in each case between the religious needs of the employee and the needs of the employer. In Eweida, the assessment favoured the employee; in another ECHR case, and also in the Achbita case, the assessment favoured the employer. We will still take action to ensure that the current legal position is set out. We will be working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission to update guidance for employers on dealing with religion or belief in the workplace. The guidance will be revised to take account of the CJEU judgments, too. We will make it absolutely clear to all concerned that the Equality Act 2010 and the rights of women and religious employees remain unchanged.

Like any judgment of the CJEU, for the time being, Achbita and Bougnaoui need to be taken into account by domestic courts and tribunals as they consider future cases. The law is clear and remains unchanged. However, because of our absolute commitment to ensuring that discrimination and prejudice are never encouraged or sanctioned, we will keep the issue under very close review.

[Mrs Miller]

In this country, we have a long tradition of respecting religious freedom and, frankly, many people will listen in disbelief to the Court’s ruling that a corporate multinational such as G4S risks having its corporate neutrality undermined by a receptionist in Belgium wearing a headscarf. At what point did the law decide that expressing religious belief through a cross, a turban or a headscarf is a threat to organisational neutrality? Here in the House of Commons, our staff pride themselves on their neutrality, but will such organisations be forced to consider this new ruling? If not, in what circumstances could an organisation legitimately require such neutrality from its workers? Surely there are serious potential implications for those who deliver public services.

One group is specifically affected—Muslim women, who already experience twice the unemployment rate of the general population. The Government need to monitor the situation carefully to ensure that employers do not use the ruling to effectively exclude thousands of Muslim women from the workplace.

We are leaving the EU soon, but the ruling will potentially continue to influence the way in which the Equality Act is interpreted by the courts. Parliamentarians need clarity, workers need clarity and employers need clarity, and we want to ensure that this ruling does not have damaging consequences for freedom of religious belief in our country.

[Caroline Dinenage]

My right hon. Friend is right to raise this case. As I said, the UK has some of the strongest equality legislation in the world and our laws give people robust protection from religious discrimination in the workplace. It is and remains unlawful to directly discriminate against someone because of their religion or to create spurious rules that would prevent them from wearing religious clothing or jewellery. Employers can enforce a dress code, but it must be for proportionate and legitimate reasons, and must apply equally to all employees. If an employer wants to have a neutral dress code with no religious symbols being worn, it must apply equally to all employees and all religions.

Dress codes are a matter for individual employers and will depend on the particular type of work involved, the environment and the safety considerations, above all. The CJEU has found that these cases would constitute indirect discrimination and has referred them back to the national courts to consider whether, based on the specifics, they would be unlawful. The UK’s legal position has not changed. The EHRC has already published guidance for employers on religion and belief in the workplace, and we will work with it to update that guidance to take account of these rulings and to carefully explain how they should be interpreted in UK workplaces. But I must reiterate that this Government are absolutely committed to supporting people into work whatever their background, making Britain a country that works for everyone and not just the privileged few.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Dinenage and Maria Miller

Monday 19th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

That is a rather churlish comment, if you do not mind my saying so, Mr Speaker. We are investing more money in this policy than any Government have ever spent on it before, some £6 billion. The hon. Gentleman needs to be a little more appreciative.

[Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

I assure the Minister that working parents in my constituency very much welcome 30 hours of free childcare for their children. Will she set out for them, and in particular for those with disabled children, how she will make sure there will be sufficient funding to give disabled children the best start in life through that 30 hours scheme?

[Caroline Dinenage]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. I was at Sheringham Nursery School in Newham last week, which is an early implementer and is already seeing the massive difference the scheme is making to working families. There is an inclusion fund that will go to children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Dinenage and Maria Miller

Thursday 26th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

The hon. Lady is absolutely right to point out this sort of irresponsible advertising, and I recently met the advertising industry to discuss the issue. She is also right to say that we need more women on boards. Currently, 26% of the people sitting on FTSE 100 boards are women—more than ever before. This is an issue on which we will continue to work—on boards, but in the executive pipeline as well.

[Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

10. What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Government’s revenge porn helpline.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Dinenage and Maria Miller

Thursday 14th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

The hon. Gentleman is, of course, absolutely right: this is a key issue. We know that anorexia kills more than any other mental illness. On Monday, the Prime Minister set out our commitment to investing in mental health services. We will invest nearly £1 billion in a revolution in mental health treatment throughout the country, which will include the first-ever waiting time target for teenagers with eating disorders. They will be able to obtain help within a month of being referred, or within a week in urgent cases.

[Mrs Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con)]

Young trans people can struggle greatly with their body confidence. Will the Minister, and her colleagues throughout the Government, undertake to look at the first report of the Women and Equalities Committee? It is published today, and it makes specific recommendations on how to improve the lives of young trans people.

[Caroline Dinenage]

Absolutely. I warmly welcome that report, and I thank the Chairman of the Select Committee—and, indeed, the whole Committee—for the valuable work that they have done. The report follows the Committee’s first inquiry, and it sends a clear signal about the importance of this issue. I look forward greatly to working through the report carefully and thoughtfully with those in other Departments, and looking closely at every one of my right hon. Friend’s recommendations.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Caroline Dinenage and Maria Miller

Thursday 31st October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

2. What progress has been made on increasing the number of women on boards of FTSE 100 companies.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Maria Miller)]

The Government support Lord Davies’s voluntary business-led strategy for increasing the number of women in UK boardrooms. Good progress is being made: women now account for 19% of board members in our FTSE 100 companies, up from 12.5% in February 2011.

[Caroline Dinenage]

I thank the Minister for that answer. Is she aware of the importance of the so-called mumpreneurs, who work from home and contribute approximately £7 billion a year to our economy? Will she join me in congratulating those inspirational women and pledge to support them?

[Maria Miller]

I absolutely join my hon. Friend in congratulating mumpreneurs and applauding their work. I know that she is a small business woman and knows a great deal about the sector. The figures speak for themselves: in the last quarter we saw a further 27,000 women taking up entrepreneurial roles in our economy, making 1.2 million in total. That is real progress indeed.