The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-02-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 November 2015 to Question 14463, what the timetable for the equality impact assessment referred to will be.
Ben Gummer
The Government and NHS Employers have made clear that an Equality Impact Assessment will be published alongside the new national contract, 90% of which was agreed with the British Medical Association in talks up to 10 February 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-04-12.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 23 March to Question 31122, what assessment his Department has made of the reasons for the (a) decrease in the number of women and (b) increase in the number of men bringing equal pay tribunal cases against their employers.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The apparent increase in the number of complaints to the Employment Tribunals of equal pay made by men in 2015 was principally due to two large multiple claims issued during the year, involving mainly male claimants. Multiple claims are inherently more variable than single claims and comparisons which include multiple claims can be misleading about the trends in Tribunal caseloads.
We are undertaking a review of the impact of the introduction of fees in the Employment Tribunals. This will include an assessment of the impact of fees on the volumes of Employment Tribunal claims including in relation to gender and other protected characteristics.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-05-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to promote religious freedom in Saudi Arabia; and what recent representations the Government has made to Saudi Arabia on that matter.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
We strongly support the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which is restricted in Saudi Arabia, reflecting views which are widely held in Saudi society. The authorities are encouraging reforms at a pace that is acceptable to Saudi society. This includes allowing foreign workers in Saudi Arabia to practice religions other than Islam in private.
We regularly raise human rights issues, including in relation to the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, with the Saudi Arabian authorities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2016-09-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what operational orders are given to the armed forces serving in Yemen on the protection of cultural property.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK is not a member of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition and British military personnel are not directly involved in the Saudi led Coalition’s operations. We remain concerned about any damage to cultural property in Yemen and are aware of reports of alleged damage by actors in the conflict. Yemen and many members of the Saudi Arabian-led Coalition are parties to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. We have raised our concerns regarding protection of cultural property with both the Government of Yemen and the Saudi Arabia.
The speech made by Dawn Butler, the Labour MP for Brent Central, in the House of Commons on 28 November 2022.
Nazir Afzal has found institutional misogyny, racism and discrimination in the fire service. His report is based on the testimony of 2,000 members and contains 23 recommendations, including the introduction of body-worn video by firefighters, an historic review of complaints about racism, misogyny and bullying, and secure facilities for all women.
As the Minister said, the report comes after the death of Jaden Francois-Esprit, a trainee at Wembley fire station, in my constituency in the London Borough of Brent. Two years ago, Jaden took his own life, aged just 21. My condolences go out to his family and friends. Jaden was teased about every little thing, even the Caribbean food he brought in for lunch, and he made 16 requests to be transferred to another station. Nazir Afzal’s report said:
“Jaden’s position was not unique. We have spoken to others that are equally isolated and harbouring suicidal thoughts.”
I know some Government Members will accuse the report of being too woke or promoting wokery, but let me highlight some of the incidents. Female firefighters were found to have been groped and beaten, and had their helmets filled with urine and their clothes violated with semen. Some male firefighters who visited women’s homes for safety visits would go through drawers looking for underwear and sex toys. A black firefighter had a noose put on his locker, and a Muslim firefighter had bacon and sausages stuffed in his pockets and a terrorist hotline sign posted on his locker. If being more woke will stop this behaviour, then I think we are not woke enough.
As the chair of London Labour MPs, I spoke to London fire commissioner Andy Roe, and he is determined to sack every single firefighter who is misogynistic, racist or homophobic at work, and that sends a strong message. I need to know what strong message the Government will send. We cannot bring back Jaden, whose life was lost, but the Government can make sure that other young people, who are starting out on their career in the London Fire Brigade, are not met with the same experience, but with consideration and acceptance by a service that is alert and awake to bullying and discrimination.
The Government must lead the call for change and tackle structural and systemic discrimination in all our old institutions, and understand that being woke is a good thing. That would be a fitting legacy to Jaden.
Chris Philp
I completely agree with the hon. Lady that the behaviour and the incidents that she just enumerated that were uncovered by the report are completely unacceptable. They have no place in any modern public service, whether that is the fire service or anywhere else. I am sure the whole House will join her and me in condemning that sort of behaviour unreservedly.
I spoke to London fire commissioner Andy Roe on Friday to set out my strong feelings that this behaviour is totally unacceptable and needs to completely end. As the hon. Lady said, he has committed to implementing all 23 of the report’s recommendations, including, importantly, outsourcing the complaints service, so that complaints are dealt with externally to the London Fire Brigade, and going back and looking again at all the complaints made over the last five years, to make sure they have been properly investigated—clearly, in many cases they have not been. He committed to ensuring that anyone found guilty of the sort of behaviour that she outlined from the report will be removed from their position. As I say, the behaviour that has been uncovered is totally unacceptable, and I am sure the whole House will join in condemning it.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential economic effect on small businesses of changing Sunday trading laws.
Anna Soubry
Devolving the power to extend Sunday trading hours will enable local areas to determine the Sunday trading hours that best reflect the need of local people. There are many reasons why people will continue to choose small retailers. They offer a diverse range of products and services from convenient locations. This is perhaps why the convenience sector last year saw the opening of two new stores a day and growth in turnover of 5%.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what plans he has to raise the issue of human rights during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in October 2015.
Mr Hugo Swire
Ministers regularly engage China on human rights. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) did so during the UK-China Strategic Dialogue in Beijing in August, as did the Chancellor, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr George Osborne) during his visit in September. Discussions during the State Visit will be broad and cover areas both where we agree and where we disagree.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dawn Butler on 2015-10-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he to promote the expansion of the turn-up-and-go scheme for disabled transport users throughout the rail network.
Claire Perry
The Association of Train Operating Companies launched a six month trial of turn up and go at 36 London stations in May this year. If the trial is successful they will consider whether the service can be made permanent at the trial stations and if it can be expanded further across the network.
The statement made by Dawn Butler, the Labour MP for Brent Central, on Twitter on 27 October 2022.
I’ve written to Kemi Badenoch regarding her inaccurate comments in the House of Commons, in which she used parliamentary privilege to spread misinformation about Benjamin Cohen and Pink News. I’m calling on her to follow ministerial code and return to the chamber to correct the record.
The comments made by Dawn Butler, the Labour MP for Brent Central, on Twitter on 20 October 2022.
For the sake of our country we need a #GeneralElectionNow!
We are not pawns in the Tory soap opera of a chess game.