What is a Parliamentary Question?
A Parliamentary Questions (PQs) are questions put formally to a government minister about a matter they are responsible for by an MP or a member of the Lords. They are used to seek information or to press for action from the Government.
Questions to equality, education, justice and home office etc ministers can be found via the menu under this page.
These show the PQs which relate to the work of this APPG, asked both by APPG members and others together with their answers (as we receive them). (Note: the PQ is asked by the member, not by the APPG.)
Below are some suggestions for questions. Members are asked to let us know when they ask a PQ so we can record it here. This will make it easier to ask a wider range of questions.
Suggestions for questions
(Note: The secretariat are not expert in drafting parliamentary questions. The suggestions below are mainly subject matters, rather than suggested wording.)
Education
- Istanbul Convention: hidden commitments. What steps will the government take to ensure that the parts of the Istanbul Convention that require UK school children be taught that gender is a ‘social construct’ do not become UK law?
- Male teachers. What incentives is the department offering to help increase the proportion of male teachers in Primary education?
- Men in STEM. Given that women now dominate in STEM subjects (including medicine, veterinary and psychology), what steps is the department taking to promote men into female-dominated courses and professions?
- Absent father information in school records. Given that fatherlessness is a significant risk factor for children, especially boys, what plans does the department have for ensuring that this information on absent fathers is included in primary school census data and routinely passed on to secondary schools?
- Support for boys with absent father. Given that fatherlessness is a significant risk factor for boys, what plans does the department have for ensuring that these boys get the support they need during their school years?
Health
- Male suicide reduction. Given that 75% of suicides are male and 80% of psychologists are female, what strategy does the department have to address the specific needs of vulnerable men that works better for men?
- Lower level of vaccination by young men: What steps is the minister taking to close the COVID-19 gender vaccination gap between young men and young women in England?
Home Office
- Negative portrayal of men in the media. Has your department investigated possible long-term negative effects on boys of the repeated negative portrayal of men in the media?
- Male domestic abuse victims. Given the wide misconception that domestic abuse overwhelmingly affects women and girls, what actions is the department taking to ensure that the media recognise that 35% of Domestic abuse victims are male?
- Public funding for domestic abuse victim support. How much public funding is available to support a) male and b) female victims of domestic abuse?
- Male negative outcomes. What analysis has the department done to explain why the vast majority of prisoners, homeless, addicts and suicide are male?
- Main drivers of suicide. What research has the department done to reveal the main drivers of suicide for men and for women?
Justice
- Dissatisfaction with the Family Court. What actions does his department plan to reduce the high level of dissatisfaction with the Family Court, given that reporting restrictions make it very difficult for researchers and investigative journalist to study its effectiveness and the sources of dissatisfaction?
- Reporting restrictions in the Family Court. Reporting restrictions in the Family Court make it near impossible for journalists or researchers to study its effectiveness, problems etc even with anonymised data.
- Use of prison. The government proposes to end imprisonment for women as they recognise that most offenders need help, rehabilitation etc due to prior abuse, trauma etc. What plans does the government have to offer the same routes for men?
- Access to counselling for offenders with mental health problems. What proportion of recipients of the Offenders with Personality Disorder Pathway (OPDP) are male vs female?
- Access to psychological help for offenders: What steps are being taken to ensure psychological therapy is as equally accessible to men and youths as it is to women offenders?
Equality
- No ‘Violence against Men and Boys’ strategy. Does the minister believe that VAMB (Violence against men and boys) should be dealt with as part of the VAWG (Violence against women and girls strategy).
- Male:female equality of care. Do any of the following constitute a contravention of the equality Act 2010? Minister for Women, but none for Men; Violence against women and girls, but not for men and boys; Women’s Health Strategy, but none for men.