Speeches by Entwistle.

“We have touched on this a little already, but what effect do you think FGM has on pregnancy and childbirth? How do you think the NHS supports a woman who has undergone FGM—particularly type 3 FGM—if she becomes pregnant?”

“You have already answered some of my questions, thank you, and thank you for sharing your experiences with us today. We are talking a lot about women’s health hubs. What do you think the role is of women’s health hubs in helping FGM survivors, or what role can they play?”

“Brilliant, thank you. You have mentioned, obviously, some complexities around the eligibility criteria and employers’ lack of understanding of the scheme. These have been identified as key flaws of the scheme in addition to what you have mentioned. How could those be addressed, if at all?”

“It is really, really nice to see you all here; thank you so much for coming to share some insights. I am an active supporter of the Pregnant Then Screwed campaign, so I am really pleased to see you here, Joeli, and I am actively involved in The Dad Shift campaign. I must also declare that I am an officer of the women a…”

“Alex, do you want to add anything?”

“Do you see that as a first step towards more equal parental leave for fathers and other parents?”

“Yes, that has to be the basic starting point, doesn’t it?”

“Joeli, your mission is to tackle pregnancy and maternity discrimination, and rightly so. To what extent could a reformed parental leave system work towards this end?”

“That is great. Do you think extending total leave would require more focus on tackling parental discrimination affecting men, and would you support better legal protections for men, alongside a reform in the parental leave system?”

“There was a video shared by BBC News recently from a nursery in Sweden, I think it was, where they showed boys and girls switching stereotypes. Boys were being taught about kindness, gentle hands and caring, and young girls were being taught to be strong. They did that for an hour, and it was a really interesting watch…”

“What do you think is the function of the current earnings criteria, and what would be the effects of scrapping them?”

“Around the eligibility for take-up of the scheme and the earnings.”

“Yes.”

“Sarah, you favour relatively modest changes to paternity leave, while keeping and reforming the shared parental leave scheme. Can your proposal overcome some concerns around shared parental leave’s maternal transfer model, and how much impact on take-up would you expect your proposal to have?”

“Too many young people are being let down by a skills and training system that does not work for them. For too long, Britain has been a country where technical education has been treated as second class, skills shortages stifled success and talent went untapped. Let us be clear: the Conservatives’ legacy has failed our …”

“My question relates to the issues around policing and data gaps. Is any work being done to improve or address those data gaps, particularly around VAWG and victims of domestic abuse? Are police forces being encouraged to collect data on the race and ethnicity of victims and extend that to perpetrators as well? That wou…”

“Can I just clarify that? You are saying you have a strong argument and evidence base for how menopause impacts women in the workplace. Are you saying there is not enough evidence or not as strong an argument for some of the other monthly health conditions women might experience and how that impacts their work?”

“You mentioned menopause earlier. I want to know what is being done to ensure that women are supported at work with their health throughout their lives, not just in terms of the menopause. There are women who suffer from endometriosis or painful periods. What more can be done to ensure that they are being supported and …”

“You mentioned the equality (race and disability) Bill. I am assuming that would be one of those mechanisms.”

“Thank you. One of the other top priorities is embedding equality and opportunity throughout the Government, including a new focus on socioeconomic background. What does that involve on a more practical level?”