Speeches by Griffith.

“The point is very clear, isn’t it? In the legislation we are providing now, we are making the first part of the Trade Union (Wales) Act unnecessary, and therefore it is perfectly appropriate to put through a clause in this Bill to keep things in line with what we are doing across the UK. It is perfectly in order to hav…”

“As the hon. Lady will be well aware, we are looking at the consultation responses and will respond fully as is appropriate.”

“I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for her work in this field, including on the Council of Europe. I can assure her that we will deliver on our manifesto commitment to bring forward a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, protecting LGBT+ people from abuse. We are committed to listening to all viewpoints and c…”

“My hon. Friend is right that civil society plays a unique role in challenging prejudice and enabling more people to access the opportunities they deserve. A good example is Galop, the UK’s leading LGBT+ anti-violence charity, which provides a number of Government-funded support services, including on conversion practic…”

“Conversion practices are abuse. They have no place in society and must be stopped. The Conservatives promised to ban conversion practices six years ago and failed to deliver. They then dropped it from their manifesto this summer. We are getting on with the job and working hard on legislation to deliver a trans-inclusiv…”

“I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we are looking carefully at how to describe the sort of behaviour that would not be criminalised by the ban.”

“This clause is the first step towards requiring employers that already report gender pay gap data also to provide information about where they receive outsourced support from. A 2019 YouGov survey found that seven out of 10 employer respondents had used third parties to provide key services. We know that the success of…”

“Well, I shall leave Members to interpret my words in Hansard as they choose. On that note, may I just make sure that I have not inadvertently made a mistake? I was referring to the 2019 YouGov survey, and I may have inadvertently said 2020, so I would like to just correct that on the record. Turning now to the clause i…”

“I think I had better start by putting on the record that I am not intending to stage some sort of leadership coup—[Hon. Members: “Shame!”]”

“I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Penistone and Stocksbridge and for Scarborough and Whitby for their powerful contributions. I cannot stress enough to the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire how important our continuing consultation will be. We are keen to engage with stakeholders to ensure that we get this righ…”

“The clause is the first step towards introducing equality action plans, and it provides the power to do so in subsequent regulations. Women are a crucial part of securing economic growth and improving productivity, but the national gender pay gap remains at 13.1% and eight in 10 menopausal women say that their workplac…”

“If I may, Mr Mundell, I will draw attention to my registered interests, including my membership of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers and the National Education Union. Amendment 162 would add caring to the matters related to gender equality listed in clause 26. The hon. Member for Torbay is absolutely r…”

“Amendment 112 would add menstrual problems and menstrual disorders to matters related to gender equality in clause 26. Prioritising women’s health is a positive step that the Government are taking, and the hon. Member for Chippenham is absolutely right to highlight the terrible impact that many different conditions rel…”

“Clause 20 amends an existing power in section 49D of the Employment Rights Act 1996, which allows the Secretary of State to make regulations “about redundancy during, or after, a protected period of pregnancy.” Regulations made under that power took effect in April, bolstering the protections against redundancy for pre…”

“Let me pick up on the point about the consultation. We very much recognise the urgency, so the consultation is expected to take place in 2025—this coming year—after which we will introduce secondary legislation. It has been noted that clauses 20 and 21 build on previous measures that received cross-party support, and I…”

“I remind the right hon. Member that Holyhead was recently given freeport tax status, and I assure him that the Welsh Government have not ruled out a third Northern Ireland crossing.”

“Absolutely; that is central to our manifesto. Our commitments will take in the whole of the UK—particularly the Home Office commitments on policing, and the commitments in the legislation that we intend to bring forward.”

“As my hon. Friend says, the Welsh Government’s violence against women and girls strategy has been pioneering delivery on that important issue for two years now. The UK Government’s aim of halving violence against women and girls in a decade is ambitious, and learning lessons from the Welsh Government will help. As part…”

“The Government hold regular discussions with the Welsh Government on tackling violence against women and girls to help drive forward the Government’s ambition to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. Most recently, on 13 November, the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Me…”

“The Government are absolutely committed to working collaboratively with the Welsh Government to improve transport connectivity within Wales and with the rest of the UK. We are already making progress. Network Rail and Transport for Wales announced a joint programme, which, as the Secretary of State said, will see 50% m…”