---

The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): I thank my noble friend Lady Gould for instigating this very important debate and for sharing her experience. I think that all noble Baronesses will agree that she gave us the most excellent start to the debate. But, my Lords—no, my Ladies—there is one issue on which I do not think that I can thank her, because she has given me the most impossible task. I agree with everything that has been said by my noble friends and by noble Baronesses opposite, because this has been a truly excellent debate of extremely high quality.

So we have considered issues such as health, trafficking and Wales—I do not think that we will ever forget Wales—and out of all of that has come one voice, a strong woman's voice, irrespective of party, but saying exactly the same thing. I thank everyone for the congratulations and thanks that have been poured on this Government for their dedication to the issues to which all those taking part in this debate are committed and passionate. It is rare when the whole House—and I can say that in terms of this Committee—speaks with one voice, as we have in this debate. I truly hope that everyone will read this debate as a result of its quality.

It is now 10 years since the Beijing Declaration and the platform for action sent a strong message around the world about the rights of women and girls. That iconic call to action was reaffirmed at this year's session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. It was a landmark in the development and acceleration of gender equality. We would have expected this debate to concentrate on exactly those achievements.

The noble Baroness, Lady Buscombe, talked about a subject upon which I am extremely passionate—domestic violence. I could talk for the next 20 minutes about that, but I shall scan some of the issues raised. Professor Sylvia Walby produced a very good report for us that indicated that domestic violence costs this
 
22 Mar 2005 : Column GC111
 
country £23 billion. It is not just the one in four women who are affected by domestic violence. It affects children and their development—whether they meet their developmental milestones, whether they take advantage of the educational opportunities that they have and, therefore, whether they can become full participants in the new economic, vibrant world. That is a huge challenge.

What have we done? It has not just been the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, it has been the work that we have carried out collaboratively, using the National Criminal Justice Board, local criminal justice boards, the creation of the crime and disorder reduction partnerships, the partnerships with health, the work of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Domestic Violence, the increase in prosecutions, integrated courts, help for domestic violence advocates and so on. All of that has had a powerful impact upon the way in which we have developed issues.

[The Sitting was suspended for a Division in the House from 6.28 to 6.38 p.m.]>

The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Geddes): The Committee is resumed.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: When the Sitting was suspended, I was extolling the virtues of all the work that the Government have done in relation to domestic violence. I shall mention two projects. One is the launch of the consortium or corporate alliance that will engage business in addressing the issue of domestic violence. The other is the work that we have done with the NUT, issuing guidance to teachers on bullying. As I said, I could take the next 20 minutes identifying all the things that the Government have done, not least in creating the first national domestic violence month. In fact, this is national domestic violence month. We hope by the end of the month to be able to launch our joined-up national strategy on domestic violence. There has been a dramatic change, which has been long fought for with the NGOs and those across party who have been terribly committed to that issue.

As much as I rejoice in the female voices that have been involved in this debate, I echo a word of regret that we were not joined by the good men of this House during this debate, except for one notable exception in our noble Lord Chairman, who has given a greater deal of colour to our debate than we would have had otherwise.

My noble friends Lady Prosser and Lady Gale, to mention just two, spoke about women at work. Women are the biggest beneficiaries of the national minimum wage. Around one million women have benefited and from this October the minimum wage will increase from £4.85 to over £5. Some 5.9 million families and low-income households are benefiting from new tax credits introduced in April 2003. And any family with children with an income of less than £58,000 will be eligible for some kind of support.
 
22 Mar 2005 : Column GC112
 

Sure Start has allowed thousands of families to have easy access to integrated services through their local communities, including early learning, health, family support, childcare, information and other services for parents and children.

In Parliament, we have taken courageous action to enable political parties to use positive measures to reduce inequality between the numbers of men and women selected as election candidates for their party, and the numbers, over time, are improving. Of course, it is not enough that only 18.1 per cent of MPs are women, but it is increasing. It is not enough that 17.8 per cent of noble Peers in this House are women, but that too is increasing. My noble friends Lady Royall, Lady Gale and Lady Morgan, who are all of good Welsh stock, have celebrated what has been done in Wales. Although I am happy to pay tribute to the Welsh Assembly, where 50 per cent of members are women, we would exhort others to do as well.

When women do enter legislatures, their talents are increasingly being recognised. In this House, I am delighted to say, half of the members of the Government Front Bench are women. Indeed, on the Front Benches of the other two parties there are some excellent examples of real talent. In the Civil Service, we have seen the proportion of female senior civil servants rise by more than half to nearly 3 in 10. In 1997, only 32 per cent of public appointments were held by women, but that has now increased to 36 per cent. In business, the Female FTSE shows that we are making progress. Women now make up nearly one in 10 directorships—up more than 12 per cent from last year.

There is still much to do but, brick by brick and policy by policy, we have dismantled the walls that used to divide women and men, and not in a piecemeal fashion. Rather we have crafted a holistic approach across government, identifying all the points at which we can have an influence and tailoring our policies to support all the areas that affect women's lives. So there is depth, as well as breadth, to our work.

When we dismantle the barriers to equality and social justice between men and women, the traffic is not all one-way. Men, who traditionally have found it hard to secure the time off work to care and nurture their children, have been supported by our initiatives on paternity leave and flexible working. Fathers have told us that they want to play a greater role in bringing up their children—including during that crucial first year of a child's life. That is why we are proposing to make some of the recently extended maternity pay transferable to the father. Those changes will impact on the next generation of girls and boys as their perceptions and innate assumptions about women and men change.

Our experience in the UK feeds into our understanding of the challenges faced by women in the developing world. Education leads to economic power—a matter referred to by my noble friend Lady Massey. When economic power is achieved, whether that be in the form of a salary, a micro-credit loan or a business, women's lives and the lives of their children
 
22 Mar 2005 : Column GC113
 
are transformed for the better. To be blunt, women with fairly rewarded jobs, girls with a place at school and mothers with access to healthcare are far less likely to die of hunger, be sold into prostitution or contract HIV/AIDS.

The millennium development goals set the international community new challenges that have to be met if we are to rid the world of poverty and economic, social and cultural exclusion. Because each and every development goal affects both women and men, the UK Government are committed to ensuring that the needs of women are central to the achievement of all the MDGs. How can we meaningfully discuss eradicating poverty and hunger—the first MDG—if we cannot tackle the Beijing priority of lifting the persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women? How can we achieve universal primary education—the second MDG—if we cannot eradicate the unequal access to education and training that is mentioned in the Beijing platform?

Nowhere is this more important than in Africa where, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer said earlier this year, women are the key to leading Africa out of poverty. We recognise this, as does the Commission on Africa, and the challenge is to ensure that our aid is fit for purpose.

Let me turn now, as quickly as I can, to the issues that have been raised by a number of my noble friends and noble Baronesses in the debate. A question was asked in relation to ethnic minority women. The Government are determined to promote equality of opportunity between people of different ethnic groups. We have taken practical and positive steps to address this issue. For example, we established the Phoenix Fund in 2000 to encourage enterprise and to create jobs in areas of high crime and unemployment. We have created toolkits called "Exploiting Enterprise", which are specifically designed for ethnic minority women.

My noble friends Lady Gould and Lady Morgan raised the question of sexual health. The Government published the first ever national strategy for sexual health and HIV in 2001, indicating their long-term commitment to improve sexual health and modernise services. Sexual health is a key element of the public health White Paper, Choosing Health: making healthier choices easier. This is backed up by £300 million to modernise sexual health services plus a new £50 million sexual health campaign over the next three years.

As to the issue of women's health and cancer, I am pleased to say that more than 99 per cent of patients with suspected gynaecological cancers in the cervix urgently referred by their GP to a consultant are now seen within two weeks. Likewise, nearly 98 per cent of women diagnosed with suspected breast cancer receive treatment within one month. That is a very dramatic change.

The White Paper published on 3 March includes a duty to require public authorities, either as employers or service providers, to have due regard to the need
 
22 Mar 2005 : Column GC114
 
to eliminate unlawful discrimination and, most importantly, to promote equality of opportunity between men and women.

As to the comments of my noble friend Lady Royall in regard to trafficking, we have signed up to the UN convention on trafficking and to the associated protocol. The legislative work needed to ratify is nearly complete. This is in the SOCA Bill, which we hope, with the assistance of noble Baronesses opposite, will reach the statute book with great speed.

As regards the EU convention, the Committee should know that it was not because of any lack of commitment that we opted out of the EU directive. It was more because of concerns about the resident permits and becoming an unnatural draw. We shall ensure that this matter is dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Noble Baronesses should certainly not fear that the Government in any way lack commitment on this issue.

In relation to the issue of the Commission on Africa, the report shows how the full participation of women is essential to achieving successful development in Africa and to understanding the power relations which impact on the transmission of HIV/AIDS. That is very well accepted.

As regards education, the DfID report referred to 58 million girls being denied their right to primary education. NGOs such as the Forum of African Women Educationalists have a key role to play in using the media to highlight what the girls are missing out on.

The key to much of this is to make sure that we unite in our position. I absolutely agree with my noble friend Lady Massey that education is of fundamental importance. I am proud to say that we have an excellent record on promoting the importance of education throughout the developing world. Last year my right honourable friend in the other place, Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for International Development, announced that the Department for International Development will provide £27.3 million to Yemen over the next five years for improving children's education and community equipment.

The department is providing more than £1.4 billion over three years to developing countries for the education of girls, in particular. This money will go towards removing school tuition fees, providing better facilities at schools for girls—such as separate toilets and free meals—employing more female teachers and encouraging international and local leaders to act to ensure that girls have the same opportunities as boys.

As regards pensions, perhaps I may mention last week's budget. There will be £200 payments to help the over-65s to pay their council tax. As we know, the poorest of such pensioners are women, who tend to live longer.

The UK is working to encourage women in all aspects of civil society in Afghanistan. We have contributed £274,000 to both education programmes and supporting the UN's work so that women can be adequately protected by the justice system.
 
22 Mar 2005 : Column GC115
 

I could go on and on and on, a little like my noble friend Lady Gale. It would, I hope, be to good effect. We have all celebrated the work that has been undertaken by many people over the past 10 years. Beijing gave us a footprint; we have to make sure that we follow that footprint and develop a better future for
 
22 Mar 2005 : Column GC116
 
the women of tomorrow than that which our mothers had or, indeed, that which our generation currently enjoys.

The Grand Committee adjourned at ten minutes before six o'clock.

---