To ask the Minister for Communities for an update on the Gender Equality Strategy.

Details of the proposed timetable for the next steps in developing the Gender Equality Strategy will issue in the coming months.

While the Department for Communities is leading on the four Executive Social Inclusion Strategies (Anti-Poverty; Disability; Gender Equality; Sexual Orientation), final decisions on their content, publication and implementation will be subject to Executive agreement and public consultation.

I am committed to working with all my Ministerial colleagues to ensure that the Social Inclusion Strategies are taken forward in the most effective and expeditious way possible, taking account of departmental budget allocations and the need to develop prioritised, sustainable and deliverable Strategy action plans.