"FAIR DEAL FOR THE FAIR SEX" (Hansard, 27 April 1972)

§ LORD O'HAGAN

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Which recommendations of Fair Deal for the Fair Sex have been, are being, or will be, implemented.

Recommendation Number	Recommendations on which action has been taken
1	Electors overseas on business (and their spouses) to be entitled to vote by proxy.
5	Damages awarded to widows under Fatal Accidents Acts: courts not to take account of remarriage or prospects of remarriage of the widow of the deceased.
6(b)	Damages awarded under Fatal Accidents Acts: abolition of court's power to control widow's share.
11	Attachment of earnings order to be recorded on P45 tax form. (An alternativ approach has been adopted in that provisions now consolidated in the Attachme of Earnings Act 1971 requiring debtors to notify court of changes of employment.)
12	Payment of maintenance order to be made by post.
15	Damages for adultery to be abolished.
16–22	Some of the recommendations concerning property in marriage were overtaken by the Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Act 1970. The Law Commission are at present studying the whole field of family property law, and have recently published a working paper on the subject.
23	Women not to be required to give marital status when signing a deed or being a party to litigation.
24^*	Married women to be treated for tax purposes as if single.(Earned income only— with effect from 1972–73.)
27^*	Women not to be required to be in full-time employment or completely incapacitated as a condition of claiming housekeeper allowance. Relief should be available on the same terms to both sexes. (Where there are resident children housekeeper allowance has been largely superseded by additional personal allowance.)
28^*	Husband's gross income to be considered when maintenance is awarded.
29	Aggregation of children's income with that of parents to be abolished.
31^*	Post-war credits to be payable to women at same age as men. (All post-war credits to be paid out irrespective of age in 1972.)
34^*	The present effect of estate duty on the matrimonial home to be alleviated.
^*Indicates implemented in part.

In addition, legislation has been, or is to be, introduced by the Government or

Recommendation Number
2	The Government has undertaken that, if possible, amendments will be introduced during the passage of the present Criminal Justice Bill through Parliament to replace the present property qualification (which in practice excludes many women from jury service) by a qualification based on citizenship [as evidenced by inclusion in the electoral register].
7	Separated or divorced woman to be entitled to her own domicile. A Private Member's Bill, the Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Bill 1972, is down for Second Reading in another place on June 16, 1972.
10	Equal rights of guardianship over their children for husband and wife. Legislation is to be introduced to provide for this in England and Wales.
13 and 14	Rights of mothers of illegitimate children. A Private Member's Bill, the Affiliation Proceedings (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, was given a Second Reading in another place on January 28, 1972.

Further consideration is still being given to other recommendations.

556WA