HC Deb 22 May 2002 vol 386 cc355-6W
Sandra Gidley

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the subject of each gender impact assessment drawn up by her Department since June 1997, indicating in each case whether the outcome has been(a) put out to consultation and (b) published. [58179]

Dr. Howells

The guidelines on gender impact assessments, issued by the Home Secretary, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment and the Minister for Women in November 1998, are incorporated into the Department's central guidance on policy formulation. However, the Department does not keep a central register of gender impact assessments, and the answer could be given only at disproportionate cost.

Sandra Gidley

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she has established a baseline for policy appraisal against which to measure progress on equal treatment; and what progress has been achieved. [58180]

Dr. Howells

The Department has responsibility for a very wide range of policies, and a single baseline for policy appraisal would not be universally appropriate.

We are currently appraising all of our policies in line with our new responsibilities under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and have also been considering a number of relevant policies against the wider criteria of Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998. The results of these assessments will be published on the Department's website. The Department also has targets for increasing the representation of women, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities on the boards of its public bodies.

Sandra Gidley

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will list the women's organisations which have been consulted over the proposed legislation by her Department during the 2000–01 and 2001–02 sessions; and if their responses have been published. [58181]

Dr. Howells

This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The Department actively follows the Cabinet Office's Code of Practice on Written Consultations, which is intended to make consultations more effective by opening up decision-making to as wide a range of people and organisations as possible. Individual responses to written consultations are made available to the public unless respondents have sought confidentiality.