UK House of Commons Committees

What are the experiences of women in live comedy?

The Women and Equalities Committee is giving female comedians an opportunity to share their experiences anonymously and confidentially.

The inquiry will cover:

- the barriers women face in building and sustaining careers in live comedy
- the challenges experienced by disabled women, women from minority ethnic backgrounds, LGBT+ women and those from working‑class backgrounds
- the challenges women face due to being self‑employed and/or freelancers within the sector

Read the call for evidence and share your experiences by 1 June: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9705/experiences-of-women-in-live-comedy/

The EFRA Committee says it does not have confidence in the leadership of South East Water, following years of service failures.

In our new report, we’ve identified a number of critical failures by the company, from planning, to communication to incident response, as well as a lack of accountability from its senior team management.

Our inquiry came after tens of thousands of customers in Tunbridge Wells, many of them in care settings or vulnerable, were left with a highly disrupted drinking water supply for two weeks.
As a monopoly delivering an essential public service, South East Water needs be accountable for its mistakes. We’re calling for the failures to be put right as a matter of urgency.

Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/52/environment-food-and-rural-affairs-committee/news/213397/EFRA-MPs-have-no-confidence-in-South-East-Waters-leadership-to-turn-failing-company-around

The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy heard from Lord Robertson, former UK Defence Secretary and former NATO Secretary General, he told us that conflict is a "much more expensive proposition than deterrence."

The Education Committee questions Snapchat on the action it's taking to prevent child sexual abuse images being shared on its platform.

Jacqueline Beauchere, Senior Director, Global Head of Platform Safety at Snapchat, told us that the platform operates a "safety by design" policy.

The Joint Committee on Human Rights took evidence from Hilary Benn MP, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, as part of the Committee's legislative scrutiny of the Northern Ireland Troubles Bill.

The Troubles Bill aims to address the legacy of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, as well as to correct human rights concerns identified by the UK courts in previous legislation.

Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9412/legislative-scrutiny-northern-ireland-troubles-bill/

AUKUS is a once-in-a-generation chance to deliver state-of-the-art military capabilities and bolster the UK’s defence industrial base and skills.

But the Defence Committee’s latest report says the Government must do more to ensure the defence partnership with the USA and Australia succeeds – and fast.

Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/24/defence-committee/news/213346/DEF-AUKUS-Government-must-do-more-and-do-it-faster

Sarah Woodcock, CEO at The Anti-Slavery Collective, gave evidence to the Home Affairs Committee about the human cost of counterfeit goods.

This was the first session in our inquiry into the impact of serious and organised crime on local neighbourhoods.

Follow the inquiry: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/9601/the-impact-of-serious-and-organised-crime-on-local-neighbourhoods

The Energy Security and Net Zero Committee in their session on revisiting the nuclear roadmap, heard from Paul Fyfe, the Director of Regulation at the Office for Nuclear Regulation. He told us that there is nothing in the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce report about reducing standards when reviewing operating nuclear power plants, the public should have confidence.