Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Debate between Dai Havard and Meg Munn(9 years, 10 months ago)
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Meg Munn (Sheffield, Heeley) (Lab/Co-op)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton West (Julie Hilling) on securing the debate and thank her for allowing me to make a very short contribution. The link between OSA and road traffic accidents is well established, and I was alerted to that fact when the nephew of one of my constituents was killed by a lorry driver with undiagnosed sleep apnoea. According to medical experts, 10% to 20% of lorry drivers—that could be as many as 40,000 drivers—may suffer from sleep apnoea. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents estimates that one third of road accidents are caused by somebody at work. In 2012, the number of people killed in road accidents was 1,754, so we are talking about approximately 600 deaths involving people who drive for work. [Interruption.]
Mr Dai Havard (in the Chair)
Order. I am going to have to stop you, because we have a procedure issue here. The Minister did not understand that you were going to make a contribution.
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Norman Lamb)
I am happy for the hon. Lady to make a contribution, but it needs to be brief.
Engineering Skills (Perkins Review)
Debate between Dai Havard and Meg Munn(10 years, 7 months ago)
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Mr Dai Havard (in the Chair)
Order. Before I call Meg Munn, I should point out that I have been informed that we may have a Division fairly soon. If we do, I will have to suspend proceedings for 15 minutes. In the meantime, however, we will carry on.
Meg Munn
I thank my hon. Friend for his example of the importance of working across organisations in one geographical area.
In 2011, I edited a pamphlet on women in science, engineering and technology, and following on from that we have developed in Sheffield a STEM strategy group. One initiative has been to give young people the chance to try some hands-on activities with teachers, having the opportunity to talk to university experts about what they can do to support girls into STEM subjects post-16.
Over the last few years, engagement with employers has improved enormously and they have been integral in developing the apprenticeship programme at the advanced manufacturing research centre. Many employers are active supporters of our new university technical college.
Encouraging girls and women into these areas is not enough if the culture in the workplace does not change. The Perkins review rightly contends that employers must do much more to support people returning to engineering following a career break. Adopting measures such as flexible working and better managed career breaks for maternity leave also benefits employers. For example, Mott MacDonald, an engineering firm in Sheffield, benefited when it allowed Cathy Travers, its most senior female engineer, to work during term time only when her children were young. That adaptability rewarded the firm with loyalty, and it retained a talented and experienced employee.
The best performing companies are often those with diversity high on their agenda. Organisations with a strong diversity and inclusion culture reduce average employee turnover by half, quadruple work force innovation and double customer engagement. The Perkins review tells us that to fuel the long-term pipeline for skilled engineers, we must ensure that all state-funded schools actively promote engineering as a career option for women, but we should not stop there. We need an environment in the engineering sector that welcomes women. Only when all our young people have the opportunity to realise their potential can we ensure that Britain develops the very best of tomorrow’s engineers.
Mr Dai Havard (in the Chair)
Thank you for your forbearance with the interruptions. If no other Members wish to speak, I call Mr Iain Wright.