§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Answer by the Prime Minister on 6 May (H.C. Deb., col: 712), whether they will ensure throughout the Government and Civil Service that language is no longer used to imply that mothers looking after their own small children are "not…working", given that their work about the house, bringing up their children, and other unwaged work which is not measured for GDP, has been identified by the Office for National Statistics as of substantial social and economic significance. [2194]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean)This Government are committed to improving the quality of life for women in this country and particularly to helping them, through a number of measures, to balance paid employment with caring responsibilities. Women are more likely than men to have to shoulder the burdens of caring both for children and elderly relatives. People commonly refer to "work" as meaning paid employment. However, this Government recognise the considerable value of the unwaged/unpaid household and caring work carried out by women and the language we use will continue to reflect that view. Furthermore, the Office for National Statistics has successfully piloted a time use survey, which measures unpaid work. They are currently seeking to establish a funding partnership across a range of organisations to enable a full survey to go ahead in 1999–2000, alongside surveys in other European countries. Time use surveys are a useful alternative to monetary measures to paint a fuller picture of social and economic activity.