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MINISTER FOR WOMEN
Working Time Directive
11. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women what assessment she has made of the impact of the Working Time Directive on women. [224758]
Jacqui Smith: All workers, including 12.2 million working women, benefit from rights under the Working Time Directive. This provides, among other things, that workers cannot be forced to work more than 48-hours a week on average; are entitled to paid annual leave; and rights to daily and weekly rest breaks.
Equal Pay
12. Hugh Bayley: To ask the Minister for Women what the Government's policy is on reducing the gap between the average income of single men and single women aged over 65. [224759]
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Jacqui Smith: We have introduced a number of measures to support today's female pensioners in retirement such as pension credit and winter fuel allowances. As a result, 1.9 million pensioners have been lifted out of abject poverty since 1997, two-thirds of them women.
We will produce a report on the pension position of women later this year, which will address all the issues currently faced by women in building up their retirement income.
Equal Opportunities (Research)
13. Mr. Luff: To ask the Minister for Women what academic research she has commissioned on barriers to equality of opportunity for women. [224795]
Ms Hewitt: I have commissioned various research projects which explore barriers of equality of opportunity for women in work and training. These examine:
the skills profile of women returners, particularly whether skills are a barrier to them returning to the labour market.
Freedom of Information
John Mann: To ask the Minister for Women what categories of information are available under Freedom of Information legislation that have not been provided in written parliamentary answers by her office in the last three years. [207819]
Ms Hewitt: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
Women's Employment
Vera Baird: To ask the Minister for Women what assessment she has made of the way in which women from (a) ethnic minority groups and (b) faith groups have been affected by Government policy aimed at increasing labour market participation of (i) women and (ii) mothers. [220853]
Ms Hewitt: The Women and Work Commission, which was launched in September 2004, to examine the pay and opportunities gap, has taken evidence from minority ethnic women as part of its information gathering exercise and will report to the Prime Minister by September 2005.
The Government are committed to supporting women who want to return to work after having children. The DTI is conducting research into the way women re-enter the labour market after taking time out to bring up their children.
We have commissioned, and published in January 2004, research which examined the child care preferences of different groups of mothers and the impact that the accessibility, affordability and quality of child care has on their employment decisions. These findings were discussed at my regular bi-annual meetings with Muslim women.
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The regional development agencies in London, the East Midlands and the South East are developing pilot programmes to support women considering returning to work, through offering careers advice, access to training, confidence building, work placements and child care. The results of these pilot schemes will help us to inform the development further support for women, wanting to return to work.
All this work includes an assessment of the particular position of women from different minority and faith communities.
Vera Baird: To ask the Minister for Women what research her Department has commissioned on (a) entry to and (b) progression of black and ethnic minority women in the workplace. [220854]
Ms Hewitt:
It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
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Vera Baird: To ask the Minister for Women what assessment she has made of the role of Government Departments and agencies in delivering a targeted system of support to black and ethnic minority women in the workplace. [220856]
Ms Hewitt: Although no formal assessment has been made of the role of Government Departments and agencies in delivering a targeted system of support to black and ethnic minority women in the workplace, the Government are committed to developing policies and services delivery to meet the needs of all groups, including black and ethnic minority women.
Indeed, the proposal to introduce a public sector duty to promote gender equality combined with the existing public sector duty on race will enable us to improve our knowledge. This will be strengthened by the introduction of a the Commission for Equality and Human Rights which will be able to look at the impact on individuals of more than one form of discrimination.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
India
8. Mr. Luff: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on bilateral trade relations with India. [224794]
Mr. Alexander: Our bilateral trade relationship with India has never been better. In 2004, bilateral trade in goods was worth around £4.6 billion, an increase of over 3 per cent. compared to 2003. Total bilateral trade in goods and services is expected to reach over £6 billion. The UK is India's 3rd largest trade partner, while India is our second largest export market in the developing world, and our 15th largest export market worldwide.
This is good news, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. The joint Economic and Trade Committee, launched in January by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and India's Commerce Minister, will help us identify opportunities for even greater growth in our trade and investment relationship.
Manufacturing
9. Mr. Page: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the ratio was of officials employed in her Department to people employed in manufacturing in the UK in (a) 1998 and (b) 2004. [224820]
Nigel Griffiths: The DTI headcount as a proportion of those employed in the manufacturing sector was 0.14 per cent. in 1998 and 0.2 per cent. in 2004. But the DTI's remit covers the whole economy, and as a proportion of total employment the DTI's share remains broadly unchanged at 0.02 per cent. This is despite taking on additional responsibilities and meeting increased demand for our services.
Accidents
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many accidents occurred at her departmental premises in each of the last five years involving (a) members of her Department's staff and (b) members of the public. [222573]
Ms Hewitt: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
Airports (Car Parking)
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will invite the Competition Commission to investigate the level of car parking charges in force at airports in the UK. [224152]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 4 April 2005]: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Alvis plc
Mr. Meacher:
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action is being taken to prosecute Alvis plc. for the £16.5 million payment made to Siti Hardiyanti (Futut") Rukmana in order to secure the
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contract from the Indonesian Government to supply Scorpion armoured fighting vehicles; and if she will make a full statement. [220538]
Mr. Alexander: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
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