§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Minister for Women what consultations she has conducted with women's organisations regarding the negotiations in the General Agreement on Trade in Services. [100054]
§ Ms HewittI meet regularly with the Women's National Commission on a range of issues, and women's organisations are represented on, and play an active part in, the Trade Policy Consultative Forum which myself or my noble Friend, the Minister for Trade and Investment, chair. On two occasions now the Forum has been dedicated to discussing the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) negotiations. Moreover, women's organisations were included as part of the public consultation that my Department recently undertook on these negotiations and, in February, my officials met again with the Women's National Commission to further discuss GATS issues.