Speeches by Leadbeater.

“That would be brilliant. Thank you, Alison.”

“Something Fazilet said about inclusive design stuck with me. It is fundamental to a lot of this conversation both in terms of jobs and employment. Do you have any thoughts about what that might look like from an education and curriculum perspective? When we send disabled people out into the world of work, the same as a…”

“Alison and Patricia were nodding along, Clare, just so you are aware.”

“I am going to come on now to the Employment Rights Act, which we have touched on already. If you want to add anything, that would be great. I will come to you first, Fazilet. To what extent do you think the flexible working provisions in the Employment Rights Act provide improved access to flexible working for people w…”

“Patricia, do you want to just finish off?”

“James, do you want to add anything to that, particularly in terms of what more the Government could do?”

“It sounds as though you are doing amazing work in this area, Alice, but it feels to me as though we are still dealing with a lot of male-focused research. Based on your work, Kirsty, do you think there is any evidence that some of this has contributed to poor health and injury outcomes for women in sport because it has…”

“That is really interesting. Again, we could apply that to many aspects of society when it comes to gender equality; we could certainly apply it to this place and the world of politics. It is brilliant that you are all here today but what is your view on the impact of having female representation in sports science roles…”

“I just wanted to ask about the commercial aspect, particularly for the research that you are doing, Alice. Do you get buy-in from the big sporting brands like Nike, Under Armour and Adidas? You are potentially helping them to create products that they are going to be able to sell, so do they provide any funding for thi…”

“Are you satisfied that the current pace of progress is fast enough, or could sports brands, governing bodies and universities do more to accelerate the progress, not just in terms of boots but maybe other female-designed kit?”

“I understand the balance there between ethical considerations.”

“Do you want to add anything, Emma?”

“It is great that you are doing that research but it sounds as though you think there is a gap in the market for further research when it comes to this issue.”

“This is my final question. It is brilliant that you are all here today doing your bit but I get concerned about what the Government are doing. I am not entirely sure that successive Governments have ever really understood the value of sport and physical activity—full stop, if I am being honest, but particularly from a …”

“We have a good start, but we need more.”

“I suppose there is an intersection there. As someone who had a school uniform that was brown and spent PE lessons in brown gym knickers, I actually cannot believe I am not more scarred for life than I am and that I carried on playing sport, to be honest. It is quite unbelievable. There is something around PE kit as wel…”

“Participation of women and girls in sport and physical activity is something that we need to take much more seriously at every level, including through Government. Looking at kit and equipment designed for women, research from 2023 showed that 82% of female football players at top European clubs found that their footba…”

“Thank you everybody for coming to give evidence this afternoon. Apologies that I could not be here for the start of the session; I was particularly upset about that because this is an inquiry I am very interested in. My background is in sport and health and fitness, professionally and personally. I am a proud hockey pl…”

“Do you think there is a contribution in terms of boot design to the higher incidence of ACL injuries among sportswomen?”

“I am really interested in, but also concerned about, the real-world impact of the code and what it will mean for people. When the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Michael O’Flaherty, wrote to the Committee about this situation and compliance with the ECHR, he said that it was “Crucial for all sta…”