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Written Question
Equality and Human Rights Commission
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions the Minister for Women and Equalities, or her officials or advisers, have had with Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) about the EHRC's investigation of Baroness Falkner of Margravine; and what assessment they have made of the conduct of that investigation, including the EHRC's decisions to suspend and later to terminate it.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

As has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular details of Ministerial meetings or discussions.

As an executive non departmental public body, the EHRC is operationally independent of Government. Any decisions related to the investigation are a matter for the EHRC to handle under its rules and procedures.


Written Question
Equality and Human Rights Commission
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government on which dates since 24 July 2018 the Minister for Women and Equalities contacted officers or board members of the Equality and Human Rights Commission and discussed the Commission’s operational matters; in each case, what operational matters were discussed, and what were the outcomes of those discussions.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

As has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular details of Ministerial meetings or discussions.


Written Question
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Managers
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals have left the leadership team of the Equality and Human Rights Commission since 1 December 2020; what roles those individuals had upon leaving; on what dates they left; for how long they had occupied the role; how long they had been employed by the Commission; and how many had signed a non-disclosure agreement as part of their departure.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

As an executive non-departmental public body that is operationally independent, this is for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to respond. I have attached the response from the Interim Chief Executive below.


Written Question
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Disclosure of Information
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 6 February (HL1836), how many former Chief Executives of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) have signed a specific non-disclosure agreement with regard to their work at the EHRC which is separate from, or additional to, any standard confidentiality clauses as part of their contracts of employment.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

As an executive non-departmental public body that is operationally independent, this is for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to respond. I have attached the response from the Interim Chief Executive below.


Written Question
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Disclosure of Information
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what are the terms of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s standard non-disclosure agreement that have been used since 1 December 2020.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

As an executive non-departmental public body that is operationally independent, this is for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to respond. I have attached the response from the Interim Chief Executive below.


Written Question
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Disclosure of Information
Thursday 14th March 2024

Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what were the terms of the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s standard non disclosure agreement prior to 1 December 2020.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

As an executive non-departmental public body that is operationally independent, this is for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to respond. I have attached the response from the Interim Chief Executive below.


Written Question
HIV Infection
Monday 12th February 2024

Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the demographic profile of requesting an HIV testing kit during National HIV Testing Week in each of the years 2020 to 2023 inclusive.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

During the period between 1 and 7 February 2021, 19,342 HIV testing kits were dispatched, and 84 were reactive. The following table shows, using the data currently available, the number of HIV testing kits that were ordered and dispatched for National HIV Testing Week (NHTW) campaigns between 2019/20 and 2022/23:

England Total

Ordered kits

Dispatched kits

HIV reactive

HIV reactivity

2019/20

19,863

19,496

81

0.8%

2020/21

30,612

30,876

135

0.7%

2021/22

24,409

23,520

75

0.6%

2022/23

22,408

21,626

79

0.4%

Notes:

  1. The campaign period is approximately one month long with NHTW being the period when key activity occurs. The table also shows the number of HIV reactive tests for the same period.
  2. A reactive result means that the test has reacted with something in the blood that could be, but is not necessarily, the HIV virus or antibodies to the HIV virus. A reactive result is not the same as a positive result. Further confirmatory tests will need to be taken at a clinic.
  3. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019/20, NHTW was moved from November to February.
  4. The number of kits dispatched may be higher than kits ordered due to a mixture of repeat kits being dispatched (this could be where a kit is damaged or lost in the post or a person needs additional tests) and a proportion of duplicate orders.

NHTW focuses on communities disproportionately affected by HIV though tests are available to be ordered by anyone in England. We have some data available on the demographic profile of people requesting an HIV testing kit during NHTW, with 44% of HIV testing kit requests in 2023 coming from gay and bisexual men who have sex with men.

Black African people’s uptake of testing kits has tripled since 2021, accounting for 10% of orders made. During NHTW in 2023, self-testing kits were made available for the first time and were particularly popular amongst black African groups. The percentage of heterosexual men who requested a testing kit has doubled since 2021, from 11% to 22% in 2023 and the percentage of heterosexual women has also steadily increased year on year.

We continue working closely together with our key partners in the HIV Prevention Programme monitoring and evaluating the results of the campaign to ensure we continue progressing towards our 2030 ambitions.


Written Question
HIV Infection
Monday 12th February 2024

Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of those requesting an HIV testing kit during National HIV Testing Week tested positive in each of the years 2020 to 2023 inclusive.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

During the period between 1 and 7 February 2021, 19,342 HIV testing kits were dispatched, and 84 were reactive. The following table shows, using the data currently available, the number of HIV testing kits that were ordered and dispatched for National HIV Testing Week (NHTW) campaigns between 2019/20 and 2022/23:

England Total

Ordered kits

Dispatched kits

HIV reactive

HIV reactivity

2019/20

19,863

19,496

81

0.8%

2020/21

30,612

30,876

135

0.7%

2021/22

24,409

23,520

75

0.6%

2022/23

22,408

21,626

79

0.4%

Notes:

  1. The campaign period is approximately one month long with NHTW being the period when key activity occurs. The table also shows the number of HIV reactive tests for the same period.
  2. A reactive result means that the test has reacted with something in the blood that could be, but is not necessarily, the HIV virus or antibodies to the HIV virus. A reactive result is not the same as a positive result. Further confirmatory tests will need to be taken at a clinic.
  3. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019/20, NHTW was moved from November to February.
  4. The number of kits dispatched may be higher than kits ordered due to a mixture of repeat kits being dispatched (this could be where a kit is damaged or lost in the post or a person needs additional tests) and a proportion of duplicate orders.

NHTW focuses on communities disproportionately affected by HIV though tests are available to be ordered by anyone in England. We have some data available on the demographic profile of people requesting an HIV testing kit during NHTW, with 44% of HIV testing kit requests in 2023 coming from gay and bisexual men who have sex with men.

Black African people’s uptake of testing kits has tripled since 2021, accounting for 10% of orders made. During NHTW in 2023, self-testing kits were made available for the first time and were particularly popular amongst black African groups. The percentage of heterosexual men who requested a testing kit has doubled since 2021, from 11% to 22% in 2023 and the percentage of heterosexual women has also steadily increased year on year.

We continue working closely together with our key partners in the HIV Prevention Programme monitoring and evaluating the results of the campaign to ensure we continue progressing towards our 2030 ambitions.


Written Question
HIV Infection
Monday 12th February 2024

Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many HIV testing kits were supplied between 1 and 7 February 2021, and of those, how many positive HIV tests were recorded.

Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)

During the period between 1 and 7 February 2021, 19,342 HIV testing kits were dispatched, and 84 were reactive. The following table shows, using the data currently available, the number of HIV testing kits that were ordered and dispatched for National HIV Testing Week (NHTW) campaigns between 2019/20 and 2022/23:

England Total

Ordered kits

Dispatched kits

HIV reactive

HIV reactivity

2019/20

19,863

19,496

81

0.8%

2020/21

30,612

30,876

135

0.7%

2021/22

24,409

23,520

75

0.6%

2022/23

22,408

21,626

79

0.4%

Notes:

  1. The campaign period is approximately one month long with NHTW being the period when key activity occurs. The table also shows the number of HIV reactive tests for the same period.
  2. A reactive result means that the test has reacted with something in the blood that could be, but is not necessarily, the HIV virus or antibodies to the HIV virus. A reactive result is not the same as a positive result. Further confirmatory tests will need to be taken at a clinic.
  3. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019/20, NHTW was moved from November to February.
  4. The number of kits dispatched may be higher than kits ordered due to a mixture of repeat kits being dispatched (this could be where a kit is damaged or lost in the post or a person needs additional tests) and a proportion of duplicate orders.

NHTW focuses on communities disproportionately affected by HIV though tests are available to be ordered by anyone in England. We have some data available on the demographic profile of people requesting an HIV testing kit during NHTW, with 44% of HIV testing kit requests in 2023 coming from gay and bisexual men who have sex with men.

Black African people’s uptake of testing kits has tripled since 2021, accounting for 10% of orders made. During NHTW in 2023, self-testing kits were made available for the first time and were particularly popular amongst black African groups. The percentage of heterosexual men who requested a testing kit has doubled since 2021, from 11% to 22% in 2023 and the percentage of heterosexual women has also steadily increased year on year.

We continue working closely together with our key partners in the HIV Prevention Programme monitoring and evaluating the results of the campaign to ensure we continue progressing towards our 2030 ambitions.


Written Question
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Termination of Employment
Tuesday 6th February 2024

Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals have left the leadership team of the Equality and Human Rights Commission since 1 December 2016, what roles these individuals had upon leaving, on what dates they left, for how long they had occupied the role, how long they had been employed by the Commission, and whether they (1) retired, or (2) resigned.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Shadow Minister (Education)

As an executive non-departmental public body that is operationally independent, this is for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to respond. I have attached the response from the Interim Chief Executive below.