§ Ms Janet AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to measure and evaluate the effect of his Department's policies on women. [5489]
§ Sir Nicholas BonsorIn July of this year, the model guidance on policy appraisal for equal treatment was revised and circulated at Cabinet level for Departments to adapt to their own circumstances—a copy was placed in the Library of the House. This guidance requires officials to identify policies which might have unequal effects on women and men, and other groups, to assess whether this is justified in policy terms, and to adjust the policy if it is not. Officials are currently considering how best to adapt this to the FCO's circumstances.
The FCO's diplomatic and aid wings also contributed to the Government report "One Year On", published in October and detailing the efforts of this Department and others in women's rights following the world conference on human rights in Vienna in 1993 and the world conference on women in Beijing in 1995.