Wednesday Volume 696 26 May 2021 No. 10 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Wednesday 26 May 2021 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2021 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 355 26 MAY 2021 356 as well as announcements in the Budget on the kickstart House of Commons scheme and so on, he will see that all these things are addressing the issues on employment for young people Wednesday 26 May 2021 and especially for those young women. Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North) The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock (Con) [V]: Evidence shows that mothers have been harder hit by the pandemic than fathers in terms of PRAYERS redundancies and their employment opportunities. Does my hon. Friend support the words of the Secretary of State for International Trade yesterday when she was [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] advocating flexible working in order to overcome some Virtual participation in proceedings commenced (Orders, of these problems? Would the Minister, like me, support 4 June and 30 December 2020). seeing job sharing as part of a forthcoming employment Bill? [NB: [V] denotes a Member participating virtually.] Kemi Badenoch: I always support the Secretary of BUSINESS BEFORE QUESTIONS State for International Trade. It is a pleasure to work with her, and we definitely want to see more flexible HIGHGATE CEMETERY BILL working and more job sharing. I cannot say for certain Bill read a Second time. what will be part of the employment Bill, but we will speak to colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions and across government. Oral Answers to Questions Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP) [V]: The December 2019 Queen’s Speech promised an employment Bill that would extend “redundancy protections to prevent pregnancy and maternity WOMEN AND EQUALITIES discrimination”. Despite ministerial assurances of action during my The Minister for Women and Equalities was asked— Westminster Hall debate on this issue last month, the employment Bill and that promise are nowhere to be seen. Covid-19: Equal Economic Recovery If the UK Government are not going to deliver on their promise to prevent pregnancy and maternity discrimination, Chris Elmore (Ogmore) (Lab): What steps she is will they devolve employment law to Scotland so that taking with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to help the Scottish Parliament can deliver this much-needed ensure an equal economic recovery from the covid-19 reform? outbreak for women. [900670] Kemi Badenoch: This is a very serious issue. We are The Minister for Equalities (Kemi Badenoch): We have having a roundtable with the Department for Business, targeted economic support at those who need it most, Energy and Industrial Strategy to look at pregnancy including with unprecedented levels of support in sectors discrimination. I reiterate that covid-19 and the new that are big employers of women, such as retail, hospitality employment Bill do not change the fact that there is a and leisure, with the public sector also being a large law on pregnancy and maternity discrimination—there employer of women. For private firms, the suspension is no place for it in any circumstances. Employers should of business rates until June will save employers almost be regularly reviewing their risk assessments for all £10 billion, helping to protect these jobs. pregnant workers and implementing any controls needed. Chris Elmore: I thank the Minister for her answer. CharlotteNichols(WarringtonNorth)(Lab):Theeconomic Analysis by the Women’s Budget Group has highlighted impact of covid has hit women disproportionately hard. that young women aged 18 to 25 are the largest group to According to the Women’s Budget Group, 52% of people be furloughed, by age and gender. Will the Minister set who have been furloughed are women, despite their out what discussions she is having with the Chancellor making up only 47% of the workforce. The Government to ensure that those women are supported, so that we have promised to strengthen pregnancy and maternity do not have a lost generation of young women even protections “when parliamentary time allows”. Does the further adversely affected by the pandemic? Minister not agree that this is an urgent priority given that the end of furlough is approaching and there is grave Kemi Badenoch: I thank the hon. Gentleman for his concern about unequal job losses in the autumn? observation. The economic impact of the pandemic by gender is not clearcut. Furlough take-up and redundancy Kemi Badenoch: I refer the hon. Lady to my answer to impacts are affecting men and women differently.Weknow the earlier question; this is not what the evidence tells that women are slightly more likely to have taken up the us. I have seen the Women’s Budget Group report. What furlough scheme, but the latest employment figures we are seeing is that men are more likely to be made continue to show a higher redundancy rate for men. So redundant and women are more likely to be furloughed. our economic package of support is to address everyone, The furlough is part of the economic package of support and if he looks at the support for jobs package, the we have put in place. It is not right to say that women summer economic update that the Chancellor announced, are more economically impacted when they are still 357 Oral Answers 26 MAY 2021 Oral Answers 358 having their jobs, but we do recognise that when the assumed their identity. Personation is very difficult to furlough scheme ends, we may see some changes. We are prove and prosecute, but it is not a victimless crime and working to protect everybody in this crisis, both men it is absolutely right that we resolve the matter. and women. Wehave made a statement on the employment Bill, which is that the Government are committed to Gender-targeted Pricing bringing it forward to protect and enhance workers’ rights. But given the profound impact that the pandemic Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD): Whether is having on the economy and on the labour market, the Government are taking steps to tackle gender-targeted now is not the right time to introduce the employment pricing. [900672] Bill. In the interim, the Government have taken the unprecedented but necessary steps I mentioned to support The Minister for Equalities (Kemi Badenoch): Prices business and protect jobs. in the UK are set by competition, not the Government, but it is unlawful to offer goods or services to women Voter ID: Equalities Impact Assessments and men at a range of different prices. The Equality Act 2010 provides that a retailer must not discriminate Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/ against the customer either by failing to provide goods Co-op): What equalities impact assessments the or services, or by providing them on different terms, on Government have conducted on their proposals to introduce the basis of someone’s sex. voter ID. [900671] Christine Jardine: It is more than two years since I The Minister for Equalities (Kemi Badenoch): The first raised this issue in this place and very little has Government take their public sector equality duty extremely changed: women still pay, on average, 20% more for seriously. In 2021, the Cabinet Office commissioned a basic goods and services. We have heard already today nationally representative survey on the ownership of photo that women have been hardest hit in this pandemic and identification. The findings from that research and our we know there is a gender pay gap. If someone comes, ongoing engagement with the Electoral Commission like me, from a single-parent family with three daughters, and other stakeholders, including a wide range of charities that family faces a much bigger challenge in the current and civil society organisations, will continue to inform circumstances. The Minister has said that it is unlawful; our plans to ensure that voter identification is rolled out will the Government please take steps to ensure that the in a way that is inclusive for all voters. 2010 Act is enforced when it comes to gender-targeted pricing? Meg Hillier: I could probably write an essay on identity documents, having been responsible for the Kemi Badenoch: It is probably worth my letting the matter when I was in government a decade ago. I am hon. Lady know that I understand what she says but particularly concerned about constituents of mine who disagree with the premise and the argument she makes. are Commonwealth citizens, who are often seeking to It is important to recognise that in a legal sense there is achieve status in the UK but whose identity documents no discrimination involved in gender pricing, as there is are with the Home Office—they do not have those identity nothing to stop a woman buying a product marketed documentstoprovethattheycanvote.WhatistheMinister’s towards men, or vice versa. The Government want a solution for those individuals? society in which women and men are free to make the choices that suit them, regardless of rigid stereotypes. I Kemi Badenoch: The legislation will make it clear that am afraid I think that the Bill the hon. Lady wanted to local authorities must provide a voter card free of charge enact would actually have had the unintended consequence if an elector does not have one of the approved forms of of reinforcing stereotypes. photographic identification. STEAM Subjects: Gender-balanced Representation Marsha De Cordova (Battersea) (Lab): Research by the Royal National Institute of Blind People shows that Stuart Anderson (Wolverhampton South West) (Con): one in 10 blind voters and less than half of partially What steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for sighted voters could vote independently and in secret at Education on increasing gender-balanced representation the most recent general election.