🗣️ Speeches and Debates
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My Lords, I refer to my interests in the register. It is a great honour to be present for this debate. I will ask the Minister three questions. First, when will we start supporting British companies that are developing innovative defence systems but find themselves having to go abroad to countries such as the USA to manufacture their British products, because they do not get the funding or...
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My Lords, women of all faiths find it difficult these days, particularly women of colour. You cannot say whether someone is Muslim or not because we do not wear a badge on our foreheads to say what we are or are not. We all get abuse. We need to change the tone and the narrative of how we are behaving, not only in Parliament but out there too. I think it is on all of us when we are debating...
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My Lords, on osteoporosis and post-menopause in particular, we could save a lot of money in the health service if interventions came in earlier. I am very concerned that we do not talk enough about this, and we certainly are not looking particularly at lower-income households and women, especially from minority communities, who do not always have diets that enable their bone health to be...
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My Lords, can the Minister say why, in the report, there is no mention of Sikhs or Buddhists, one mention of Christians and only two mentions of Hindus? We are incredibly worried that we constantly are being ignored, and yet we are also victims of hate crime—and often from other minority communities. It is about time that we started to address this. As my noble friend on the Front Bench...
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My Lords, I support my noble friend Lord Goodman and the noble Lord, Lord Walney, but I would also like to see highlighted in any reports coming forward the increasing attacks on Hindu and Sikh communities. They are not being reported widely, but unfortunately they are on the increase, and we are having worrying discussions internally on how to deal with them.
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My Lords, I start by thanking the Minister for this important debate on International Women’s Day. I begin my contribution by paying tribute to my right honourable and noble friend Lady May, a former Prime Minister, and to my right honourable and noble friend Lord Hague. I joined the Conservative Party in 1999 because they asked me to help make the party look more reflective of the country...
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My Lords, I completely support my noble friend. I have worked in this area for over three decades and know the communities well. Sadly, unless it is very clear that those community members will be punished in the same way as the perpetrator—in many cases, there are many perpetrators —this will not be effective. Clarity needs to be put into legislation, so I wholeheartedly support my...
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My Lords, I join all noble Lords in thanking my noble friend for this debate. I look forward to the remaining maiden speeches and congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Dacres of Lewisham, and the noble Lord, Lord Forbes, on their excellent contributions to today’s debate. I also refer noble Lords to my interest in the register as a businesswoman for over four decades. I suspect that, like...
More of Baroness Verma's speeches and debates
✍️ Written Questions and Answers
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To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to supporting the aims of Age Without Limits Day, and whether they will take steps to raise awareness of age-related discrimination.
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To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Minister for Women and Equalities plans to take part in activities to mark Age Without Limits Day; and what role the Office for Equality and Opportunity will play in highlighting ageism as a cross-cutting issue.
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To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the prevalence of age discrimination in recruitment and employment, and what steps they are taking to combat that discrimination.
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To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support and promote Age Without Limits Day across government departments, and whether they plan to develop a strategy to address ageism in society.
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To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address age-related disparities in mental health provision, particularly in assess to talking therapies.
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To ask His Majesty's Government why they have created the new Combatting Hatred Against Muslims Fund and not one that commits to combating hatred against people of all faiths.
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To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to consult relevant parties and stakeholders to define a "reference period" as set out in the Consultation on the application of zero-hours contracts measures to agency workers, updated on 31 October 2024.
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To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to consult with relevant parties and stakeholders to define a "guaranteed hours contract" as set out in the Consultation on the application of zero-hours contracts measures to agency workers, updated on 31 October 2024.
More of Baroness Verma's written questions
