Speeches by Taylor.

“Given the importance of sport to health, wellbeing and community cohesion—I am very passionate about this as someone who still plays grassroots sport—do you think the Commission has a responsibility to set out some clear examples of how sports clubs can enable trans people to participate where possible, or do you think…”

“I want to start by reading an email I received from a constituent who has given me permission to raise her case with you today. Emma is a trans woman working as an HGV driver. She said to me, “After a lot of thought, I have decided to start making plans to move to Ireland. I no longer feel safe here in the UK. When the…”

“Can I just come back to a point you made earlier, Mary-Ann, saying that it may be proportionate to exclude a trans man from an activity based on his appearance: for example, his facial hair? You are saying that it can be proportionate to exclude people based on their appearance. Would that equally apply to a woman who …”

“13. What steps her Department is taking to help reduce levels of illegal migration.”

“Parents and teachers across North Warwickshire and Bedworth are worried sick that tech companies are wilfully allowing young people to share and access explicit content on their platforms and devices, and they are crying out for help. Does the Minister agree that it is high time the tech giants were held to account and…”

“I thank the Minister for his answer and for visiting my constituency of North Warwickshire and Bedworth recently. My constituents will strongly welcome the most recent data showing that small boat arrivals are massively down this year, but can the Minister confirm that this important progress is just the beginning of r…”

“Has that been the same experience in rugby?”

“You have already touched on some of my questions but before I start, I want to say two things. First, congratulations on the win on Saturday. Absolutely fantastic. I watched the match—I did not think that was going to be the result, so well done, and well done for sticking through the match. Secondly, thank you all for…”

“Is a covered court adequate?”

“I will come to you, Lisa. In the previous panel we touched on FIFA’s requirements for teams to have either an assistant or head coach who is female. In your view, how effective are things such as gender quotas in addressing the barriers to women entering, progressing, and staying in coaching?”

“We are seeing new leisure centres springing up in some areas, but very few of them have additional indoor sports halls and those sorts of facilities. Do you think generally there is a need for more covered court facilities?”

“It is fair to say that there are challenges in terms of women staying in coaching. I heard a story from the tennis club where I play of a female coach who had been coaching a young boy for a few months, but he just stopped booking her coaching sessions. She found out that his dad had gone directly to the male head coac…”

“Amy, do you think there is enough work going on to understand and address the impacts of intersectional inequalities on entry and progression in the whole range of non-playing roles?”

“According to your research, the number of women in coaching declined by 6% between 2022 and 2024. What do you think has caused that decline? Is it anything specific or things that we have already covered?”

“What sort of interventions do you think are most effective in increasing women’s access to coaching? Obviously, you have talked about your club being women-only; are there other things that you can think of?”

“There is no reason basketball cannot be played outside; it is just that you need covers on the courts, don’t you?”

“Thank you to you all for being here today. You all sat through the initial session as well, so thank you. This is a really exciting piece of work for us. What do you think are the main barriers to women entering and progressing in coaching roles, Emily?”

“What kind of practical changes do you think are needed to overcome that?”

“India, none of the four priorities in the RFU’s new five-year action plan for women’s rugby focus on female participation in non-playing roles. Do you think enough is being done to support women into coaching and other non-playing roles, such as officiating in rugby?”

“In terms of that piece after, do you think that gender quotas, along the same lines as FIFA’s requirement, would be helpful in rugby?”