Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mims Davies and Caroline Dinenage

Wednesday 7th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work (Mims Davies)]

The hon. Lady joined me yesterday at the disability action plan event, where many stakeholders welcomed the changes and opportunities in disabled people’s lives. Many disabled people want to work, and we at the Department for Work and Pensions will always ensure that we listen to their wants and needs and that they will never be forced into anything that is not suitable for them.

[Dame Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)]

At 5 pm today, women’s groups and other community groups in Gosport will be staging a peaceful protest about the Lib Dem council’s decision to completely end all live CCTV monitoring. They are worried about the impact on people’s safety. Does the Minister agree with them?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mims Davies and Caroline Dinenage

Monday 13th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mims Davies (Eastleigh) (Con)]

1. What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for Gurkhas in the welfare system.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Caroline Dinenage)]

The Department for Work and Pensions has regular discussions with colleagues across Government about the treatment of Gurkhas in the benefit system and its responsibilities under the armed forces covenant. Additional support is already in place for members of the armed forces community, to take account of their needs and circumstances.

[Mims Davies]

Gurkhas put themselves on the line for our country. I recently met members of the Gurkha community in Eastleigh. They have travelled a long distance from home and they are phenomenal soldiers. Will my hon. Friend continue to ensure that their unique circumstances are recognised in both our pensions and benefits systems?

[Caroline Dinenage]

As you will be aware, Mr Speaker, I am married to a former Gurkha, so I fully understand and share my hon. Friend’s gratitude for their bravery and service. No member of our armed forces should be disadvantaged by their service to our country. I would like to reassure her that the DWP takes very seriously our commitment to the armed forces covenant. We will do everything we can, and work as hard as we can, to help them get the best possible support.

Women and the Vote

Debate between Mims Davies and Caroline Dinenage

Wednesday 8th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

Absolutely. The right hon. and learned Lady is also very much to be celebrated. It is a shame that she is not here so that I can thank her personally.

[Mims Davies (Eastleigh) (Con)]

Will the Minister give way?

[Caroline Dinenage]

May I make a bit of progress? I really want to talk about the lasting change that starts with education. Girls are now outperforming boys at school and outnumbering boys at university. We really need to ensure that success in school translates into career success. To do that, we need to free women and girls from the pressure to conform to restricted choices in aspirations. There are no longer such things as boys’ jobs and girls’ jobs; there are just jobs. That is why the Government are working so hard to broaden girls’ career choices by encouraging more of them to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and maths. Those are the skills that our economy needs and those are the career choices that will narrow the gender pay gap, which, I am proud to say, is now narrower than it has ever been, and it is the Prime Minister’s ambition to eliminate it altogether within a generation.

[Caroline Dinenage]

I will make a little bit more progress. We have published regulations that will increase transparency around the gender pay gap, and we expect employers to start publishing the required information from next April. We have been working closely with business on these regulations at every stage, and we will provide a package of support to help employers calculate, understand and address their gender pay gap areas.

It is also vital that we continue to gain positions of leadership and influence in business. I am delighted that Lord Davies’s target of 25% of women on the boards of FTSE 100 companies has been met and exceeded. Across the whole FTSE 350, the proportion of women is more than double what it was in 2011. Backed by the Government, this business-led approach is working. The work is not over. We need to promote the business-led 33% target for FTSE 350 boards. I am delighted that Sir Philip Hampton and Dame Helen Alexander will be bringing their wealth of business experience to a new review into the executive pipeline.

Many of the initiatives I have mentioned have been led by the Government Equalities Office. I am immensely proud to be a GEO Minister alongside my colleague the Secretary of State for Education, and to continue the work that has been done by making sure that in everything we do we make the UK a better place for women to live and work.

I am also proud of how the Government lead the way internationally on promoting women’s rights. I was honoured to lead the UK delegation to the convention on the status of women in New York earlier this year, which involved delegates from across the world. It was striking how many common issues were raised that affect women globally. Economic empowerment, the violence against women and girls mentioned by the hon. Member for Wirral South, and political representation are all issues for women across the world.

The progress we have made on these issues has not simply been given to us. It has been fought for every single step of the way and there is still such a long way to go to achieve the genuine equality we all want to see. The hon. Member for Wirral South spoke powerfully about the speech made by the hon. Member for Birmingham, Yardley (Jess Phillips) earlier in the year. Two women a week still die at the hands of an ex-husband or partner, and although we have made so much progress in increasing the number of convictions and prosecutions for domestic violence, every single one of those women is a woman too many.

[Mims Davies]

I speak as the 380th woman elected to Parliament; we all have our number. We heard about American politics, and, as we heard from Madeleine Albright, there is a special place in hell for women who do not support other women. In this wonderful debate, the hon. Member for Wirral South (Alison McGovern) made a point about the safety of women in the context of refuge, of homes and of having a voice. Will my hon. Friend, as women’s Minister, ensure that we as a Government will take that very seriously?

[Caroline Dinenage]

Absolutely. Protecting those who are vulnerable or under threat is fundamentally one of the most important things we can do as a Government, but it is not just about women. As the hon. Member for Oldham West and Royton (Jim McMahon) said earlier, men are powerful agents for change in gender equality. It was a man who presented the petition to Parliament 150 years ago and men can still be part of the solution.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mims Davies and Caroline Dinenage

Tuesday 26th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mims Davies]

Victims of domestic violence need a modern family court system that provides special, well considered safety measures for people who are directly facing the perpetrators of those horrific crimes. Can the Minister assure me that the Department is doing everything possible to ensure that we have a modern family court system that protects vulnerable individuals at those times?

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

Yes, the Government are absolutely committed to supporting all vulnerable and intimidated witnesses, especially those who have been subjected to domestic abuse, to help them to give the best possible evidence so that offenders can be brought to justice. That is why we have put measures in place including, as I said earlier, the ability to give evidence while screened from the accused in the courtroom, by live video link from a separate room within the court building or from a location away from the court building altogether. Our changes to the courts will only help this.

International Women’s Day 2016

Debate between Mims Davies and Caroline Dinenage

Tuesday 8th March 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mims Davies (Eastleigh) (Con)]

Given that the previous business concluded earlier than expected, will the Minister please clarify, for the benefit of the House, whether it is her intention for the present debate to continue beyond 7.30?

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

It is not our intention to keep the House beyond 7.30.

[Mims Davies]

Thank you.

I beg to move,

That this House expresses its solidarity with International Women’s Day; notes with concern that, despite women making up 51 per cent of society as a whole, more progress needs to be made in electing women to Parliament, as well as in establishing equal pay and parity between men and women in positions of leadership; and calls for greater action against FGM and other practices that are harmful to women.

It is a great honour to open this debate. I begin by thanking the Backbench Business Committee for granting the debate and the hon. Member for Gateshead (Ian Mearns), who lobbied the Leader of the House—

Women and the Economy

Debate between Mims Davies and Caroline Dinenage

Wednesday 9th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mims Davies (Eastleigh) (Con)]

The Government have a fine record on supporting women at work. Will the Minister welcome meetings I have had with the Department for Work and Pensions and other Departments about supporting carers with responsibilities beyond children? Will the Government ensure that people can stay in work by working more flexibly and continue to support local communities and local government with the work they do alongside their employment?

[Caroline Dinenage]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. These people make an incredible contribution to our economy and need to be supported in everything they do.

Not only are more women in work than ever before, but we are taking steps to ensure that work always pays. The national living wage, beginning next April and reaching more than £9 by 2020, will disproportionately benefit women. We expect that 65% of the beneficiaries made financially better off will be women. Further increases in the personal allowance will lift 660,000 people out of income tax by 2018, and 60% of them will be women. This reform, too, will make women financially better off.

We also have more women than ever right at the top of business. These fantastic role models are inspiring others to follow in their footsteps. Thanks to the business-led, Government-backed approach and the passion of business leaders such as Lord Davies, we have doubled the number of women on FTSE 100 boards since 2011.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mims Davies and Caroline Dinenage

Tuesday 8th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

We are monitoring closely the impact of any changes—we keep this constantly under review—and we would be very concerned if there was any evidence that vulnerable children were not getting the help they needed.

[Mims Davies (Eastleigh) (Con)]

14. What plans he has to reform legal aid; and if he will make a statement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mims Davies and Caroline Dinenage

Thursday 15th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Dinenage]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I know that he is no mean marathon runner himself. Running is a fantastic form of exercise and parkrun has been particularly effective at encouraging inactive people and those from all age groups to get involved in sport. In recognition of that, Sport England is investing £400,000 in parkrun to support its work. The primary PE and sports premium has been really effective in allowing schools to tailor this offer to pupils, giving them suitable opportunities to target particular groups, especially girls.

[Mims Davies (Eastleigh) (Con)]

2. What steps she is taking to tackle the causes of the gender pay gap (a) in general and (b) in STEM careers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mims Davies and Caroline Dinenage

Thursday 2nd July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mims Davies (Eastleigh) (Con)]

18. What steps the Government are taking to continue to ensure greater participation of women across all areas of public life.

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

Following the general election we now have the highest number of women in Parliament in our history, although we recognise that we still have further to go. I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Mrs Miller) who has been elected as the first chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee. That Committee will play a pivotal role, and we are sure that it will take a close interest in increasing the number of women in public life.

[Mims Davies]

I thank my hon. Friend for that fine reply and look forward to seeing that work in action. I am proud to support the Government in their steps to increase the representation of women in Parliament and to give local communities more power to shape their future. What steps is the Minister taking to encourage women to stand for their local councils?

[Caroline Dinenage]

I welcome my hon. Friend to her place and as the new chair of the all-party group for women in Parliament. How can we get more women to be local councillors? I know that my hon. Friend served as a local councillor, as have many colleagues across the House, and she will know that women are under-represented on local councils, making up only 31.7% of members. That is why schemes such as the Be a Councillor campaign, which has been run by the Local Government Association since 2012, are important. We want to encourage new candidates from all walks of life to come forward and represent their local community.