Oral QuestionWomen and Equalities

“To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps the Government is taking to encourage women to participate in politics.”

Tabled: 17 December 2018Answered: 20 December 2018

Answering Minister

the Minister for Women and Equalities

Answer from Hansard

Sarah Sackman

I thank the hon. Member for his question and his tireless advocacy, which is a way of honouring Sara, who was brutally murdered at the hands of the very people who should have been protecting her. Of course, it is essential for justice that all court users understand what is happening in hearings. We believe that Sara Sharif’s birth mother was entitled to an interpreter, but she did not request one. However, we need to look into what should have been done to guarantee that she had an interpreter. We make over 200,000 interpreter bookings every year to ensure that people can understand proceedings, but I look forward to working with him to see what more we can do to implement that review.