Kate Green – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kate Green on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many of her Department’s policies have been assessed against the family test; what steps she has taken to publish the outcome of such assessments; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Ben Wallace

The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. The Department of Works and Pensions published guidance for Departments and officials on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and my Department follows that guidance.

The Family Test is an integral part of the policy making process and is applied in a proportionate way in the development of all new policy in line with the Family Test guidance. While the guidance states that departments should consider publishing assessments carried out under the Test, there is no requirement to do so.