§ Ms CorstonTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the Government intend to give effect to recommendation No. R(09)4 adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 21 February 1990, on the elimination of sexism from language, by bringing the terminology used in legal drafting and public administration into line with the principle of sex equality. [33034]
§ Mr. FreemanThe Government are fully committed to the principle of sex equality. As regards parliamentary drafting, the Government have no plans to alter present practice, which is to use language that is best suited to conveying meaning clearly and simply. Within Government communications, non-gender specific language is already widely used by Departments, who follow the principles of the "Plain English" campaign to communicate with clients and staff.