Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 10 March (HL5089), what assessment they have made of the reliability of the figures produced as a result of changes of methodology used by the Gazan Ministry of Health since October 2023.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The UK Government uses data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for the numbers of those killed in the current Gaza conflict. OCHA obtain their figures from the Gazan Ministry of Health (MoH). Producing reliable casualty statistics in contexts of violent conflict is often difficult. For example, prior to October 7th 2023, the MoH collected mortality figures from 8 sentinel hospitals across the strip. Unfortunately, many of these hospitals were struck in the conflict and the capacity to collect the data was reduced. After consulting experts, we believe the MoH data to be largely accurate. Some experts have reached the view that the MoH may have underestimated the numbers of injured and dead.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 10 March (HL5089), what assessment they have made of the impartiality of the experts to which that answer refers regarding death statistics.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

As explained in HL5089, we use data from United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The United Nations, and its agencies, work under the principle of impartiality. We also consult academic experts, including from the London School of Tropical Medicine, who have published their research in peer-reviewed publications.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 10 March (HL5089), what assessment they have made of the number of Palestinian combatants killed since 7 October 2023, the ratio of this figure against Palestinian civilians killed during the same period, and how that ratio compares with other urban conflicts.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We use data from United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to report on daily casualties in the current Gaza conflict. OCHA draws on figures issued from the Gazan Ministry of Health (MoH), which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. It is nonetheless clear that the conflict has been devastating for civilians. It is vital that the ceasefire is sustained, all hostages released, and aid and access to essential services including electricity in Gaza resumed.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the safety of the puberty blocker clinical trial to be undertaken by the NHS this year; and whether the trial is compatible with the indefinite ban on puberty blockers for under-18s announced in December 2024 by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Cass Review, which was the most robust evaluation of gender healthcare in the United Kingdom to date, took stock of all the available evidence regarding use of puberty blockers and concluded that, at present, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of these medicine for the treatment of gender dysphoria and/or incongruence. Similarly, the independent report by the Commission on Human Medicines concluded that there was an ‘absence of long-term safety and efficacy data for this population’.

Better-quality evidence is therefore critical if the National Health Service is to provide reliable, transparent information and advice to support children and young people. That is why the government is supporting NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to set up the ‘PATHWAYS: Puberty Suppression and Transitional Healthcare with Adaptive Youth Services’ study.

The PATHWAYS study proposal is going through all the usual review and approval stages. These include independent academic peer review and National Institute for Health and Care Research funding committee consideration, and it will need to secure full ethical approval ahead of set up and opening to recruitment. The design of the trial, including the safety of participants, is being considered and finalised as part of the approvals process. Subject to the study achieving the necessary approvals, the study protocol will be made available by NIHR in the public domain, as is usual for publicly funded studies. Only once all approvals are in place will the study commence.

Legal provision exists within the current prohibition, namely article 3, which allows the supply of GnRH analogues as part of an authorised clinical trial.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the development of nuclear weapons and the installation of more advanced centrifuges by Iran, and what steps they are taking in response.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Iran's nuclear escalation, including its recent expansion of uranium enrichment capacity, threatens international peace and security and undermines global non-proliferation. Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon. The United Nations Security Council met to discuss this issue on 12 March. The UK reiterated that we are willing to use all diplomatic options available to ensure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon, including triggering UN snapback, if necessary.

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