Speeches by McKenna.

“The CIPD has said there is an appetite among employers for more standardised metrics and more guidance from the CIPD and others on this. What progress has been made on that?”

“As we are talking about a proportionate response—for businesses as well—qualitative data can take more digging into. Does that put a higher burden on teams that are analysing it? Is it more difficult to gather? Is that an issue?”

“Moving on from that slightly, to what extent are venues aware of this? What steps do they take to protect the performers, staff and customers?”

“Is there something in the nature of the work you are doing that puts extra pressure on a victim to just laugh it off as a joke? Is that used as a degree of cover and excuse?”

“Without naming individuals because that would be inappropriate, you have talked a little about some perpetrators being audience members, bookers, and across the board. Are there any particular factors around those that make it more likely that people are exposed to particular ones? Are there any who are more frequently…”

“Rachael, does that align with your understanding of it? Is it just performers who are at risk?”

“It sounds incredibly widespread and endemic.”

“Does that fit with your perceptions?”

“If these threats are made in this sector in particular, are those threats actually credible and effective? Can people’s careers be destroyed?”

“A secondary assault comes off of that.”

“You have already talked about travelling to and from venues late at night and the risks and anxiety about that. What measures can and should venues put in place to protect women because you are working late at night and potentially in a much more vulnerable situation inside and outside the club?”

“I would like to move on to some difficult stuff around abuse and harassment, particularly how common and widespread it is. What is the prevalence in the sector?”

“How siloed is your working between these organisations? You came together to look at this in depth a few years ago. Do you have regular catch-ups? Do you talk about single organisations together where you all come into one room and discuss a particular clinic or a particular area?”

“One final thing: you have talked a lot about the competition, markets and costing side of things and made clear that this is outside your scope. Is there an argument for bringing all that in-house into one body?”

“That is helpful. I was going to ask about the direct-to-consumer genetic testing and that sandwich of powers between the absolute sanction and—”

“That leads on to a discussion about your powers. Given that the sector is changing and there are issues such as you have just raised, it is really hard for people to fully grasp all the costs and treatment implications. Do we need to make changes to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act in order to meet these chal…”

“What are the risks of people being persuaded to freeze their eggs or take up IVF largely so that companies can profit from their eggs? How do you reassure yourselves that this is not happening?”

“I am picturing this as being like booking a budget airline ticket, where there are lots of extra costs that come in afterward; it is not always clear at the start.”

“How transparent are these costs ahead of people enlisting for these services? Do people see that full rate set out and is it completely transparent?”

“It is not just a matter of quality but the cost to the people using the services. Do you think private equity has an impact on that?”