§ Ms Janet AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps he is taking to measure and evaluate the effect of his Department's policies on women. [5485]
§ Mr. AncramPolicy appraisal and fair treatment guidelines were issued to the Northern Ireland Office and all Northern Ireland Departments in December 1993. The guidelines require officials, in formulating and reviewing policies, to identify differential impacts on women and men, and on other groups, to assess whether they are justified in policy terms and to adjust the policy if they are not.
The recent Government report "One Year On" outlines actions taken by Government to benefit women since the world conference on women, and also includes baseline statistics against which future progress can be measured.