Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 18
Third Report - Health barriers for girls and women in sport
Published 5 Mar 2024
Paragraph 120
Addressed to Government Equalities Office
Women and Equalities Committee Sexism and inequalities in sport All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
A long-overdue culture change is taking shape in sport around pregnancy and maternity. While policies and practices being adopted in funded Olympic and Paralympic sports and, to a lesser extent, in some professional women’s sports are welcome, there is still a long road to travel, both in maternity pay and leave and the wider culture of supporting pregnant women and mothers. These issues are key to women’s equality in sport, as they are across society, and, as such, we believe the Government should take a role in supporting best practice.
From: Women and Equalities Committee, Third Report - Health barriers for girls and women in sport (HC 130), paragraph 120, 5 March 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 17 May 2024 (deadline 7 May 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government welcomes the Committee's report and states that it accepts "most of the report recommendations", partially accepting some, including those on RSHE education, the This Girl Can campaign and maternity policy.
- On menstrual cycle education (Recommendation 1), the Government "partially accepts" and says menstruation is already taught within statutory RSHE. The Department for Education is reviewing the RSHE statutory guidance and will release updated guidance "as soon as possible".
- On PE kit (Recommendation 2), the Government accepts the recommendation and says the Department for Education is "committed to continually reviewing" its school uniform and PE kit guidance.
- On the School Sport and Activity Action Plan, the Department for Education "does not accept" the part of Recommendation 3 on updating it with targets, as there are "no current plans" to do so. It points instead to non-statutory PE guidance published in March 2024.
- On integrity in sport (Recommendation 10), the Government accepts the recommendation and says it received over 600 responses to its call for evidence. It will set out the results and next steps "in due course".