Speeches by Dodds.

“It is really important that there is clarity around particularly what service providers understand of the law. We have been seeking to try to ensure that, especially around the availability of single-sex services, where they are required. Of course, that applies in conditions like the one I mentioned—refuges—and other …”

“We are not committing to change the Equality Act on this issue. We have that industry-led initiative that I mentioned. We want to see that being effective and it is really important that it delivers, but we are of course going to be monitoring this really closely and will reserve the right to take action if we do not s…”

“The equality action plans within the Employment Rights Bill will be focused on gender pay gap-related action and menopause action plans. Those action plans will enable the opening up of space around a whole range of different issues. We are going to be working on ensuring that there is appropriate information for emplo…”

“I have seen the evidence that has been produced by the Committee, and we have all been very moved by a lot of the discussions that have gone on within the Committee. If I may say so, Chair, your leadership on this has been incredibly impressive. Obviously, the loss of a child is an incredibly difficult time; miscarriag…”

“We certainly want to see those diagnostic periods coming down; we think it is really important. We do not have a commitment to a target on that issue, but we do have a strong plan to be making sure that we are progressing on this. That covers a whole range of different areas: the measures that I mentioned; the overall …”

“Well, policies must be lawful rather than unlawful—that is, of course, important. In fact, there is now case law making it clear that belief is a protected characteristic, as we know, again going back to the Equality Act, which was produced by the previous Labour Government. Obviously, as a new Government, we also want…”

“In our manifesto, we committed to enacting that provision, which is often known as dual discrimination and sometimes called combined discrimination. We are committed to strengthening protections against that kind of discrimination. We are determined to make that change. We are looking carefully at how we are going to b…”

“We are making three changes when it comes to the broad sexual harassment machinery. Aside from the NDAs question, the Employment Rights Bill will require employers to take all reasonable steps against sexual harassment, and we are introducing other changes as well. You are right that they are in relation to employees r…”

“Absolutely.”

“I hope that we will have the legislation that we committed to in our manifesto in place. I hope that we will have driven change on those core missions—halving violence against women and girls and a number of others as well. Above all, I hope we will have a country where there is more opportunity for people wherever the…”

“I do not want to hold up the Committee, but I could not agree more. It is exactly the same for me and, I think, for the other Ministers as well.”

“Absolutely. This is a real challenge. If we are being completely frank, we saw the Race Disparity Unit set up by Theresa May, which was intended to improve the quality of data gathering and use across Government on issues to do with racial and ethnic inequality, and I would argue there was not a huge amount of impetus …”

“The mission is for a decade, so I want us to make sure that we are in the right direction by the five-year point, but you are right. Of course, we need to look really carefully at the measures to assess this. The Home Office, as you would expect, is particularly focused on how we can ensure that we really are looking a…”

“I am delighted to be here with the Committee and to finally be able to change things for the better, which is what we are determined to do right across our team. I work really closely with Bridget and the other Ministers. As Minister of State, I particularly focus on OEO legislation. I am sure that we will get into the…”

“That integration is, of course, critical across the Government’s different missions; we are ensuring that there is that equalities input with them all. The other clear difference with the new Government is that we are determined to integrate equality and opportunity-based work, including in relation to socioeconomic in…”

“I will quickly talk about the VAWG ministerial board, and then I am sure there are many other examples that Bridget will mention. I represent OEO on that board; clearly, there are representatives of a number of different Government Departments. Hopefully, members of the Committee will be aware that we have made the fir…”

“We are both really passionate about it, and I know that many members of the Committee are, because we are seeing a situation where, unfortunately, as the Committee has found, too often we see women’s symptoms either not being diagnosed for far too long or being dismissed and women not being listened to. Unfortunately, …”

“The Committee will be aware that the Online Safety Act is coming into practice. Much of that is focused on protecting children, but there are other measures, particularly around vulnerable adults. I know that the Government are going to be looking very carefully at the operation of that, particularly in areas where we …”

“I am aware we have seen cases—the Committee has gone into detail on this—where employers and organisations have been potentially misusing NDAs to intimidate and silence victims of crime. I know that many campaigners have sought to highlight these issues, including people who have been subject to sexual harassment thems…”

“This is a really important area, because ultimately we need to ensure that all women are able to thrive at work. Again, it is important for them and for the whole economy that that happens. The evidence base when it comes to menopause is particularly strong. Some work that has been done suggested that around one in 10 …”