Oral Answers to Questions

Jo Swinson Excerpts

Thursday 26th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck (South Shields) (Lab)]

1. What steps she is taking to tackle homophobic bullying.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women and Equalities (Jo Swinson)]

Homophobic bullying is absolutely unacceptable, and we are committed to eliminating it. That is why we have announced £2 million of grant funding to support schools to address the issue more effectively. That complements the £4 million that the Department currently provides to charitable organisations to tackle all forms of bullying.

[Mrs Lewell-Buck]

Is the Minister aware that Mr Gay World, Stuart Hatton, lives in my constituency? He recently launched a fantastic anti-bullying campaign called “So What?”. His message is simple: some of us are straight, some of us are gay, so what? With Stonewall reporting that nearly a quarter of lesbian, gay or bisexual pupils miss school because of homophobic bullying, his message is sorely needed. Labour’s shadow Ministers are backing Stuart’s campaign. Will the Minister?

[Jo Swinson]

I very much welcome the hon. Lady setting out her constituent’s campaign, and I will be happy to look at it as it sounds excellent. We all agree that tackling homophobic bullying must be a real priority for the reasons that she outlined in her question, and because of the impact that it has on LGBT young people, and indeed other young people, as this issue also affects those who are not LGBT.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

Homophobic bullying in schools is completely unacceptable. Will the Minister ensure that Ofsted is getting the message through to head teachers and schools that they must do everything in their power to eradicate that wicked thing?

[Jo Swinson]

The short answer is yes, and the national professional qualification for headship contains information on how to tackle bullying, including homophobic bullying.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

2. What estimate she has made of the number of women who have been unemployed for over one year.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

3. What steps she is taking to deliver equal pay for men and women.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Jo Swinson)]

The gender pay gap has fallen to its lowest level ever and has been entirely eliminated among full-time workers under the age of 40, but our goal must be to eliminate it entirely. We are tackling systemic pay inequalities through a range of measures: the Your Life initiative to get more girls into science, technology, engineering and maths; improved child care; extending flexible working; and introducing shared parental leave.

[Mr Hanson]

Forty four years after Labour’s Equal Pay Act 1970, sadly women earn on average 81p for every £1 that men earn. Tomorrow, my hon. Friend the Member for Rotherham (Sarah Champion) has a Bill providing for transparency in larger companies. Will the Government support it?

[Jo Swinson]

The Government’s position is not to support that particular Bill, but we are encouraging much more transparency through the Think, Act, Report initiative, to which more than 270 employers, covering 2.5 million employees, have signed up. Nearly half of them have done an equal pay audit in the last year and two thirds are publishing more information on gender equality. I agree that this is a hugely important issue on which we need to make more progress, and we are committed to doing so.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

Which employment sector has the greatest gender pay gap, which has the least and what is the Minister doing to get representatives of the one to talk to the other?

[Jo Swinson]

That is a fantastic question, and I shall write to the hon. Gentleman with the specific statistics for different sectors. Sectoral differences are a significant part of the gender pay gap. We know that occupational segregation—the congregation of women in much lower paying sectors—is a significant driver of about one third of the pay gap, which is why the initiatives to get more girls studying STEM subjects are so important.

[Chris Bryant (Rhondda) (Lab)]

Will the Minister cheer on Patricia Arquette’s Oscar acceptance speech, in which she called for equal pay in the arts, particularly in the film industry?

[Jo Swinson]

indicated assent.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Nicky Morgan)]

indicated assent.

[Chris Bryant]

If so—I see that both Ministers are nodding—what will Ministers do to ensure pay equality in the British film industry?

[Jo Swinson]

I wholeheartedly endorse the speech by Patricia Arquette—I have already welcomed it on Twitter because I think it needed to be brought to a wider audience. In the UK arts industry, as in all industries, it is important that there be greater transparency and support for women in the workplace in terms of promotion and seniority. That is what we will continue to promote.

[Oliver Colvile (Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport) (Con)]

I am sure that like me my hon. Friend is pleased that the Work programme is helping the long-term unemployed, both men and women, back into work. Will she confirm that the number of long-term unemployed people has fallen to its lowest in five years and that the claimant count in my constituency has fallen by 42%?