Maria Miller

The UK Youth Delegate to the UN Commission on the Status of Women was not appointed through a selection process. The delegate was male. This was a trial appointment and we are currently evaluating the success of this initiative.

The Minister for Women and Equalities has overall responsibility for the Government’s participation in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), supported by ministers across government particularly those from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

For the first time, in 2023, the Government appointed a young person as a UN Women Youth Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women. This was a trial appointment and we are currently evaluating the success of this initiative.

The priority theme for CSW68 is Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. The Government will continue to promote gender equality internationally at CSW and elsewhere in line with the priorities set out in the International women and girls strategy 2023 to 2030 published in March.

The Minister for Women and Equalities has overall responsibility for the Government’s participation in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), supported by ministers across government particularly those from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

For the first time, in 2023, the Government appointed a young person as a UN Women Youth Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women. This was a trial appointment and we are currently evaluating the success of this initiative.

The priority theme for CSW68 is Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. The Government will continue to promote gender equality internationally at CSW and elsewhere in line with the priorities set out in the International women and girls strategy 2023 to 2030 published in March.

The Minister for Women and Equalities has overall responsibility for the Government’s participation in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), supported by ministers across government particularly those from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

For the first time, in 2023, the Government appointed a young person as a UN Women Youth Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women. This was a trial appointment and we are currently evaluating the success of this initiative.

The priority theme for CSW68 is Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. The Government will continue to promote gender equality internationally at CSW and elsewhere in line with the priorities set out in the International women and girls strategy 2023 to 2030 published in March.

The Minister for Women and Equalities has overall responsibility for the Government’s participation in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), supported by ministers across government particularly those from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

For the first time, in 2023, the Government appointed a young person as a UN Women Youth Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women. This was a trial appointment and we are currently evaluating the success of this initiative.

The priority theme for CSW68 is Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. The Government will continue to promote gender equality internationally at CSW and elsewhere in line with the priorities set out in the International women and girls strategy 2023 to 2030 published in March.

The Government has published guidance on the use of confidentiality clauses and is clear that these types of clauses should not be used to stifle or discourage staff from raising concerns, and that they should only be used when necessary and not be included in settlement agreements as a matter of course.

All Government departments are expected to follow this guidance which can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-settlement-agreements-special-severance-payments-and-confidentiality-clauses.

The Government has published guidance on the use of confidentiality clauses and is clear that these types of clauses should not be used to stifle or discourage staff from raising concerns, and that they should only be used when necessary and not be included in settlement agreements as a matter of course.

All Government departments are expected to follow this guidance which can be found at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-settlement-agreements-special-severance-payments-and-confidentiality-clauses.

During the pandemic, up to 47% of the workforce have worked from home. While this is not the only form of flexible working, we hope this will have a positive impact on attitudes towards greater flexibility in when and where work is done. We will build on this as we look to make flexible working the default.

A new hospital for Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust forms part of the Government’s commitment to deliver 40 new hospitals by 2030.

Delivery of the new hospitals is grouped into cohorts based on an assessment of readiness to progress and the extent to which new hospitals can benefit from advantages of delivery through a national programme. The new hospital for Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is in a later cohort, with delivery expected in the latter half of the decade. We are working with Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and currently anticipate a consultation to begin at the end of 2022, which will be subject to standard processes and timings.

The UK is deeply committed to the Commonwealth. We provide significant bilateral aid to Commonwealth countries, totalling over £608 million in 2022. We continue to support a range of Commonwealth initiatives, as the largest donor to many Commonwealth inter-governmental organisations. Our focus is on increasing intra-Commonwealth trade & investment, building resilience to climate change and promoting our shared values.

We are committed to deepening our ties with all Commonwealth countries, including on trade. Since April last year, we have signed free trade agreements with Australia and New Zealand and are negotiating further FTAs with India and Canada.

We are also working with Commonwealth partners to deliver on the commitments made at CHOGM, including on climate, health and human rights.

2021 is a year of UK leadership. With the G7, we agreed new targets to get 40 million more girls in school and 20 million more girls reading by 2026.

We raised $4 billion [£2.9 billion] for the Global Partnership for Education, boosting the world’s poorest countries’ COVID recovery. At COP26, we will show girls’ education is essential for responding to the climate crisis.

Commissioner Ian Dyson, City of London Police and Chair of IMORCC (Information Management & Operational Requirements Coordination Committee), is the senior police officer who led on the development of the National Policing Digital Strategy (Digital, Data and Technology Strategy 2020-2030).

One key ambition of the Strategy is investment to ensure policing, from leadership through to the front line, are equipped with the right digital knowledge, skills and tools to deal with increasingly complex crimes. A further ambition of the Strategy is to harness the power of digital technologies and behaviours to identify the risk of harm and protect the vulnerable in both the physical and the digital world.

The department publishes an annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply, with estimates of new homes delivered in each local authority, in each financial year since 2001-02, shown in Live Table 122 at the following link.

For earlier years, the department publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’, which includes estimates of new build completions, by local authority, in each financial year since 1980-81, shown in Live Table 253 at the following link.

Estimates of the number of houses completed by are not centrally collected by the department. However, approximately half of the data used to produce the house building statistics are supplied by the National House-Building Council. These data contain additional detail on the size and type of new homes being completed and can be used to provide annual estimates of the proportion of new build dwellings that are houses as opposed to flats. Annual estimates of the proportion of building control reported new build dwelling completions, in England that are purpose built houses, are shown in Live Table 254, at the following link.

Estimates of the number of local authority areas that have built homes for more than 100,000 people in the last 30 years are not centrally collected by the department.

The department publishes an annual release entitled ‘Housing supply: net additional dwellings, England’, which is the primary and most comprehensive measure of housing supply, with estimates of new homes delivered in each local authority, in each financial year since 2001-02, shown in Live Table 122 at the following link.

For earlier years, the department publishes a quarterly release entitled ‘Housing supply: Indicators of New Supply, England’, which includes estimates of new build completions, by local authority, in each financial year since 1980-81, shown in Live Table 253 at the following link.

Estimates of the number of houses completed by are not centrally collected by the department. However, approximately half of the data used to produce the house building statistics are supplied by the National House-Building Council. These data contain additional detail on the size and type of new homes being completed and can be used to provide annual estimates of the proportion of new build dwellings that are houses as opposed to flats. Annual estimates of the proportion of building control reported new build dwelling completions, in England that are purpose built houses, are shown in Live Table 254, at the following link.

Estimates of the number of local authority areas that have built homes for more than 100,000 people in the last 30 years are not centrally collected by the department.

In 2018, we introduced a standard method for assessing local housing need. The standard method uses a formula to identify the minimum number of homes expected to be planned for, in a way which addresses projected household growth, affordability and historic under-supply.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out an expectation that the standard method will be used by local authorities to assess local housing needs, while recognising there may be exceptional circumstances that justify the use of an alternative approach.

The Framework does not set out an exhaustive list of what may or may not constitute an exceptional circumstance, but it does explain that this can include issues relating to the particular demographic characteristics of an area. It is for the local authority to determine if there are exceptional circumstances, and to then justify the use of an alternative method when bringing its plan forward for examination.

The National Planning Policy Framework sets out an expectation that the standard method will be used by local authorities to assess local housing needs, while recognising there may be exceptional circumstances that justify the use of an alternative approach.

The Framework does not set out an exhaustive list of what may or may not constitute an exceptional circumstance, but it does explain that this can include issues relating to the particular demographic characteristics of an area. It is for the local authority to determine if there are exceptional circumstances, and to then justify the use of an alternative method when bringing its plan forward for examination.

Activities involving the taking and sharing of intimate images are captured by existing offences, for example those tackling revenge pornography, voyeurism, harassment, malicious communications, blackmail, and coercive or controlling behaviour.

To strengthen further the law in this area, the Government recently announced that the “revenge porn” offence will be extended to capture those who threaten to disclose such material. Provisions to extend the parameters of the offence in this manner were introduced in the Domestic Abuse Act.

The provisions will come into force two months after Royal Assent: on 29 June this year.

However, the Government recognises that there is concern over the growth of new technology and the impact on the law in this area.

We have asked the Law Commission to review the law in this area to ensure victims are properly protected. The Law Commission published a public consultation to this review on 26 February this year.

The consultation period ended on 27 May and I understand the Law Commission intends to publish its findings by Spring 2022.

The Government awaits the Law Commission’s findings with interest and shall consider them carefully.

Domestic abuse cases are amongst the highest priority work being dealt with by the courts. Domestic Violence Protection Orders and Non-Molestation orders have been placed in the highest category of work in the magistrates’ and family courts, and they continue to be listed for urgent hearings despite the current restrictions.

The magistrates’ courts have been focusing on cases where the defendant is being held in custody, but their work is now being extended to include bail cases where there is a vulnerable victim, such as domestic abuse cases, and these cases are being reviewed by the judiciary.

Domestic abuse cases will continue to be afforded a higher priority as social distancing restrictions are eased after the Covid-19 outbreak.

I recognise the Rt Hon Lady’s work on this important issue to date. We have worked hard for a year now to encourage progress from the Department of Health on proper commissioning of the services set out in the regulations a year ago but without success.

While over 1,100 abortions had been provided locally in Northern Ireland since April 2020, services have not been formally commissioned by the Department of Health.

That is why we recently laid further Regulations which provide the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with a power to direct the Department of Health and others to take the action necessary to implement the recommendations in paragraphs 85 and 86 of the CEDAW Report. Women and girls in Northern Ireland should have the same rights in this space as those across the rest of the UK.