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World Trade Organisation (Cancun)
10. Mr. Jim Cunningham (Coventry, South): If she will make a statement on the World Trade Organisation negotiations in Cancun. [130826]
The Minister for Trade and Investment (Mr. Mike O'Brien): Yesterday my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made a statement to the House on the World Trade Organisation summit at Cancun. My right hon. Friend said that we need to renew discussions based on the concessions offered by delegates at Cancun.
Mr. Cunningham : I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. I am sure he will appreciate that the situation is serious for the third world. In light of his answer, does he have a time scale for restarting talks with our European partners so that we protect the third world from the worst effects of the breakdown of the talks?
Mr. O'Brien: At Cancun a deadline was set of 15 December for a meeting of officials to resolve the issues not sorted out at the WTO summit. My right hon. Friend and I talked to Dr. Supachai, the director-general of the WTO, about how the UK can help to drive the agenda forward. We made it clear that investment and competition should be off the agenda. In addition, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have announced a new initiative to help developing countries to overcome problems in adjusting to a new trading environment. The UK will make a substantial input into the design and implementation of that initiative, so that will help. We are also providing extra funding to developing countries to assist them with the negotiations. In terms of a deadline, we are looking at 15 December, and the UK is doing all it can to help drive negotiations forward.
Ceramics Industry
11. Ann Winterton (Congleton): What assessment she has made of the competitiveness of the UK's ceramics industry. [130827]
The Minister for Industry and the Regions (Jacqui Smith): A strategic analysis of the sector was undertaken in 1999, and that study led to the establishment of the ceramic industry forum, which focuses on improving
competitiveness in the sector, supported by £3.3 million of DTI funding. Ministers and officials also maintain close contact with firms and intermediaries in the ceramics industry through regular meetings covering a wide range of issues.
Ann Winterton : Does the Minister acknowledge that a major reason why the United Kingdom's ceramic industry has been better able than its European counterparts to withstand competition from low-cost manufacturers is the comparative flexibility of the UK's labour markets introduced, I hasten to add, by a Conservative Government? However, is she aware that ceramic firms in my constituency and, indeed, the British Ceramic Federation fear that that advantage is being severely diminished as a result of the Government's incessant implementation of added costs and regulations, many of the latter unrelated to the industry's purpose or, indeed, its impacts on, for example, the environment?
Jacqui Smith: The success of the ceramics industry probably also has something to do with the skills and dedication of the work force and the expertise of management. Nevertheless, the hon. Lady asked a question about regulation. As the Under-Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh, South (Nigel Griffiths) made clear in response to question 1, we take that issue seriously with respect to both new and existing businesses. However, as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development recently pointed out, under this Government, the UK is one of the most effective and efficient countries in which to do business. I have no doubt that that will continue.
MINISTER FOR WOMEN
The Minister was asked—
Private Members' Clubs
16. Mr. Robert Walter (North Dorset): What plans she has to introduce legislation to provide for equality of membership rights in private members' clubs. [130833]
The Deputy Minister for Women and Equality (Jacqui Smith): It is unacceptable for women to be treated as second-class citizens in private clubs, contrary to the Government's principles of opportunity for all, and I know in this context at least, the hon. Gentleman's view of those principles. We have supported private Members' legislation in this area in the past, and we are keeping the situation of private clubs and sex discrimination under review.
Mr. Walter : I think that many Members will be disappointed by that answer, as I am not sure that the Government have supported private Members' legislation. On three occasions, I have introduced legislation in the House, and the hon. Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhanda) introduced a Bill in this Session that made no progress because of lack of Government support. In the other place, legislation completed all its stages and arrived in this House in the
last Session, despite the fact that it had the full support of the Government Front Bench in the other place. Can the Minister give us a clue as to whether the Queen's Speech contains legislation on the subject?
Jacqui Smith: The hon. Gentleman knows that, much as I respect his position on this issue, I will not give him any clues about what is contained in the Queen's Speech. Much as I share his concerns about this particular discrimination, the timing of the introduction of legislation is not always the responsibility of individual Ministers. I assure him that we have supported private Members' legislation and will keep this area under review. Subject to parliamentary time in future, there may well be opportunities for us to take action.
Maternity Provision
17. Mr. Ben Chapman (Wirral, South): If she will make a statement on maternity provision for working women. [130835]
The Minister for Women and Equality (Ms Patricia Hewitt): Maternity leave and pay were increased in April 2003 as part of our new measures to help parents balance work and family life. All mothers can take 26 weeks ordinary maternity leave, and maternity payment has been increased to £100 a week. Because we have reduced the qualifying service for additional maternity leave, most mothers can also now choose to take up to one year off work in total.
Mr. Chapman : It has been argued that the proposals introduced by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to expand and standardise the provision of IVF in the national health service would help those women who choose to start a family after establishing their career. What is my right hon. Friend's view of the belief that IVF facilities could be of value in achieving equality in the workplace?
Ms Hewitt: My hon. Friend makes an important point. Clearly more women are choosing to postpone having a family, then sometimes discovering that they have an unexpected and extremely distressing problem of infertility. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and his colleagues are currently looking at NICE's draft proposals, and we at the DTI will continue to do everything that we can to support parents in balancing their work and family life.
Mrs. Caroline Spelman (Meriden): First, I wish the Minister a speedy recovery from what sounds like the Cancun cold.
Women returning to work after having a baby need to be able to achieve a good work/life balance. Six months ago, the Government launched an initiative to give parents with a child under the age of six the right to demand flexible hours. However, in a recent survey by KPMG, it was discovered that only one in 1,300 workers had taken advantage of those new laws. Can the Minister explain why the uptake is so poor?
Ms Hewitt: We are working closely with employers and trade unions to ensure that parents know their new
rights and can take advantage of them, but the low take-up so far partly reflects the fact that the new rights have been in effect for only a couple of months, and the fact that, particularly in the public sector, but also in a growing number of private sector companies, a great deal of flexibility is already available. What we have done through the new legal measures is to strengthen the changes that are already taking place. We will go on doing everything we can—with the hon. Lady's support, I hope—to ensure that parents working in companies that do not yet offer those benefits of flexibility feel empowered to take up the new rights we have given them—against, I recall, the opposition of the Conservative party.
Sandra Gidley (Romsey): Is the Minister aware that despite the increase earlier this year, a survey of 60 countries showed that maternity pay in the UK is in the bottom quarter, and that a woman living in the UK and earning £15,000 a year would receive £2,458 over six months, which is just over half the EU average of £4,198? When does she expect the levels in the UK to reach the EU average?
Ms Hewitt: We have taken an enormous step forward in increasing levels of maternity pay and increasing the right of women to take maternity leave. In addition, we have introduced for the first time ever two weeks' paid paternity leave for new fathers. I note that the Liberal Democrats want to increase public spending. No doubt they will publish proposals for increased taxation to match that.
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