Written questions by Athwal.

If she has made any assessment of the potential merits of the free provision of period products in public buildings in England.

This Government's approach is to resolve the issue at the source by tackling the reasons women and girls are pushed into period poverty to start with. We are protecting women’s living standards, alongside the public services they rely on, so that no one has to go without life's essentials. We are also continuing to make free period products available through several different avenues, including in schools and hospitals, to ensure that they are accessible to those most in need.

What steps she is taking to help end discrimination against ethnic minority people.

This government is clear that someone’s race or ethnicity should never be a barrier to success. We are taking a number of steps across government to address race inequalities through our mission-based programme of reform and our Plan for Change. As set out in the King’s Speech last July, we are committed to introducing mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for large employers. We have been discussing our proposals with trades unions, employers and their representative bodies and others andhave published today a consultation on our proposals. These measures will be part of the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of closing the gender pay gap for women in Ilford South constituency.

This Government is committed to transforming the lives of working women across the country, regardless of geographical location; this includes going further and faster to close the gender pay gap. Tackling the gender pay gap will put more money in women’s pockets and help deliver on our Plan for Change, increasing household income. Amongst a range of measures in the Employment Rights Bill which will support the lives of all working people, we are taking the first steps towards requiring employers to publish action plans alongside their gender pay gap figures. These action plans will detail the effective steps employers are taking to improve gender equality in their workplace, and narrow their gaps.