Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Wood Excerpts

Thursday 23rd November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Anne Milton]

My apologies, Mr Speaker. I will, with your permission, group this question with question 4.

[Mike Wood (Dudley South) (Con)]

4. What steps the Government are taking to support women back into work when they have had time out of the workplace to look after children or other relatives.

--- Later in debate ---

[Anne Milton]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising what is actually a very important point. It should be remembered that 89% of people who take time off work for caring responsibilities are women. Closing the gender pay gap is extremely important. Analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has shown that women earn 2% less on average for every year spent out of paid work, and the figure is even higher for highly paid women. We are talking to employers, evaluating all the programmes and gathering evidence of what works, and we hope to publish guidance on best practice for small and medium-sized employers next spring.

[Mike Wood]

Will my right hon. Friend tell the House what measures the Government are taking to help employers to support women who have taken career breaks to care for children or other relatives?

[Anne Milton]

The £5 million available for returns programmes will also be aimed at employers. We must understand that a complex set of reasons put people off returning to work, and the evidence that will be gathered will be important in ensuring that the best practice guidance published in spring gives a clear direction to employers, to ensure that they can harness the skills of those who take time off work.