Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Jim Cunningham

Thursday 11th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

T1. If she will make a statement on her departmental responsibilities.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Penny Mordaunt)]

All workers should be safe and able to thrive at work. Workplace harassment reflects an unacceptable sense of power, entitlement and disrespect towards others. Today I have launched a consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace. I am seeking views on whether the law is fit for purpose and how we can ensure that we have the right processes in place to keep people safe at work. We want to hear from people affected by this issue and design solutions that work for them. I urge everyone with an interest to go on to gov.uk and help us in this exercise by filling out the consultation questionnaire.

[Mr Cunningham]

According to the Home Office, only 15 police forces have had training in relation to domestic abuse and violence. What discussions has the Minister had with the Home Office to ensure that all police forces receive that training?

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question. There is work going on to build further capacity in police forces across the four nations. The UK is also making a major contribution to deliver that capacity in the police forces of other nations. I will get my hon. Friend the Minister for Women to write to him with the specifics.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Jim Cunningham

Monday 8th July 2019 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I acknowledge the work that the Under-Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood) has done on veterans support, including through the gateway and the veterans strategy, on which we are currently consulting. I have also been doing work in the Department, looking at our obligations and how we are constituted.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

2. What discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for armed forces veterans in receipt of universal credit.

Use of Torture Overseas

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Jim Cunningham

Monday 20th May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. We do not condone torture, we will not be implicit in it and we are fully aware of our obligations in terms of third parties.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

To follow on from what the right hon. Member for Sutton Coldfield (Mr Mitchell) said about the United Nations criticism, was the review prompted by that criticism, or by something else? Lots of my constituents are concerned about this issue and the direction in which it is going. Does the Secretary of State have a date for when she will come forward and tell us what the proposals are?

[Penny Mordaunt]

Just to clarify, it was the Prime Minister who asked the commissioner to review the Government’s guidance, which our MOD guidance follows—it is absolutely in line with that. I am told that it will be a couple of weeks before the commissioner is ready to report. When they do report, the Government will review it and I will review the MOD’s policy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Jim Cunningham

Thursday 20th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue. Carers do a huge amount and are often unsung heroes. Both they and other economically inactive women may be entitled to support of up to 85% of their eligible childcare costs, through universal credit. That is in addition to the Government’s 15 hours’ free childcare entitlement for three and four-year-olds and disadvantaged two-year-olds. Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs is currently running a campaign to raise awareness of tax-free childcare, including through a new marketing strategy launched in September this year.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

T2. Will the Minister for Women and Equalities speak to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions about how they can mitigate the difficulties and hardship that women who were born in the early 1950s are experiencing?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Jim Cunningham

Thursday 28th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

6. What steps the Government are taking to increase the number of women in FTSE 100 finance chief roles.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Penny Mordaunt)]

We are supporting the Hampton-Alexander review targets for women to hold 33% of all senior leadership and board positions in the FTSE 100 by 2020. Some 29% of the FTSE 100 board positions are now held by women, which is up from 12.5% in 2011.

[Mr Cunningham]

I thank the Minister for that answer, but I am sure that she would agree with me that, lower down the scale, a lot more needs to be done in terms of pay equality for women. Will she also have a discussion with her colleague at the DWP regarding the 11,000 WASPI women in Coventry who were born after 1951 and who are living in poverty to a certain extent because they cannot get their pension?

[Penny Mordaunt]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. I am keen to look at a broader range of women than the Government Equalities Office has perhaps previously focused on, including the category of older women. We are really trying to look at everything facing women at that point in their life, including their caring responsibilities, their financial fragility and the options they have to stay economically active.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Penny Mordaunt and Jim Cunningham

Wednesday 23rd May 2018 Commons Chamber

[Penny Mordaunt]

When I speak to my opposite numbers in other nations, they tell me that one barrier to their making further progress is that they are starting from a low base. It is important that the summit is not just about the UK showcasing what it does; we can learn from other organisations, which is why we are co-hosting it with Kenya. My new role as Minister for Women and Equalities affords me the chance to make a difference in both the UK and the developing world.

[Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)]

6. What funding her Department has allocated to humanitarian assistance programmes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.