Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the General Medical Council about its policy of describing doctors on its register by gender rather than by sex.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The General Medical Council (GMC) is the regulator of all medical doctors practising in the United Kingdom. It sets and enforces the standards all doctors must adhere to. While the GMC is independent of the Government, it is directly accountable to Parliament, and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties.
The GMC maintains an official list of doctors, which is called the List of Registered Medical Practitioners. The GMC is obliged under the Form and Content of the Register Regulations to obtain and publish information in relation to a doctor's gender rather than sex. The Government has not had discussions with the GMC about the doctors on its register being described by gender rather than by sex.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with NHS England about whether biological sex determines which chaperone to be offered to patients who request a chaperone of a particular sex.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
All patients should be given the opportunity to state their preferences in relation to the sex of their chaperone, and this must be documented in their clinical records. Patients should have the opportunity to decline a particular person if that person is not acceptable to them for any reason. They must then decide if they wish the examination to proceed or be rescheduled, and this decision should also be recorded in their clinical records.
The General Medical Council (GMC) has published guidance on intimate examinations and chaperones, which provides a framework for all healthcare professionals. This sets out when and why a patient may need a chaperone, and the considerations that should be given. The GMC’s guidance is available on their website, in an online only format.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the guidance issued by Cambridge University Hospitals which states that: "Staff will be used as chaperones according to the gender they identify ... [and] will not share their trans status with patients nor would it be appropriate for any colleague either to share the trans status or another colleague with a patient or visitor”; and what assessment they have made of the compatibility of this guidance with the Government's definition of sex as biological sex in the context of intimate care.
Answered by Lord Markham
Cambridge University Hospital does not recognise the wording provided in the question as belonging to their chaperone’s guidance. The Government has been clear about the importance of biological sex, and the importance of respecting the privacy, dignity, and safety of all patients.
Our proposed changes to the NHS Constitution reinforce the National Health Services’ commitment to providing single-sex wards, and will empower patients to request that intimate care is carried out by someone of the same biological sex, where this is reasonably possible.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it is their policy for the NHS to refer to "people who have ovaries" rather than "women" and whether this phraseology has been market tested with women, including those for whom English is a second language, to ensure that it is fully understood.
Answered by Lord Markham
It is not Government policy for the National Health Service to refer to ‘people who have ovaries’ and this phraseology has not been market tested. We have been clear that biological sex matters and it is important to use language that recognises the separate health and biological needs of men and women.
For all sex-specific conditions, we expect the language used to put biological sex, for example “women”, front and centre, with biologically-relevant information relating to specific organs or hormones secondary.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have reviewed the decision of the Care Quality Commission to approve the registration of Gender Plus Healthcare in east London, which runs the private Gender Plus hormone clinic set up by former Tavistock Gender Identity Development Service specialist Dr Aidan Kelly, and which can refer patients aged 16 to 18 for cross-sex hormone treatment.
Answered by Lord Markham
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England, and one of its statutory responsibilities is to assess and register providers of regulated activity, as set out in schedule one of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. Gender Plus Healthcare is a United Kingdom based private gender clinic offering a range of treatment options, including hormone treatment, for those aged 16 years old and over.
In January 2024 the CQC approved Gender Plus Healthcare’s registration to carry out the regulated activity of treatment of disease, disorder, or injury, with the provider having met the CQC’s requirements for registration. The registration by the CQC was on the condition that the provider must not carry out the regulated activity of treatment of disease, disorder, or injury, on those under the age of 16 years old, at any location.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government why NHS England has decided to allow the prescription of gender affirming hormones as a routine commissioning treatment option for young people from around their 16th birthday after only a literature review and without consulting medical and other specialists, or taking note other countries’ experience of such hormones.
Answered by Lord Markham
NHS England has not adopted a new policy for gender-affirming hormones since 2016. NHS England made a consequential amendment to their gender-affirming hormones policy to bring it into alignment with the new puberty suppressing hormones policy. This planned update was set out in the puberty suppressing hormones policy consultation documents.
NHS England has put additional safeguards on the use of cross-sex hormones, including that any prescription to young people aged between 16 to 18 must be approved by a national multi-disciplinary team.
NHS England will continue to review the gender affirming hormone policy in line with the latest clinical advice and take note of recommendations set out once the Cass Review has delivered its final report.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence 2020 evidence review of gender-affirming hormones for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria was not referenced in the list of resources which informed NHS England’s decision on the prescription of gender-affirming hormones for children and adolescents.
Answered by Lord Markham
NHS England has not adopted a new policy for gender-affirming hormones. NHS England made a consequential amendment to their gender-affirming hormones policy to bring it into alignment with the new puberty suppressing hormones policy. This planned update was set out in the puberty suppressing hormones policy consultation documents.
NHS England has put additional safeguards on the use of cross-sex hormones, for instance that any prescription to young people aged between 16 and 18 years old must be approved by a national multi-disciplinary team.
NHS England will continue to review the gender affirming hormone policy in line with the latest clinical advice, and will take note of recommendations set out in the Cass Review, once the final report has been delivered.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Royal College of General Practice on the interim report of the Dr Hilary Cass review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People submitted to the Department of Health and Social Care in February 2022.
Answered by Lord Markham
No discussions have been had with the Royal College of General Practitioners about the Cass Review of Gender Identity Services for Children and Young People. NHS England commissioned the review and we look forward to the final report, which will be published soon.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours, Pathway to a Cure – breaking down the barriers, published on 28 February 2023, what is the expected timescale to develop a strategy for adequately resourcing discovery, translational and clinical research into brain tumours as recommended by the report; and whether they will commit to ring fencing the recommended £110 million for this resourcing.
Answered by Lord Markham
The Department of Health and Social Care welcomes the All-Party Parliamentary Group report, recommendations of which continue to be worked through with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, UK Research and Innovation and the Medical Research Council (MRC), and with the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
The report recommended action by the research funding agencies on coordinating activities and making funding available. We are taking steps to ensure that funders work closely together to coordinate work along the translational pathway, from the discovery and early translational science typically supported by the MRC, feeding through to the applied health and care research funded by the NIHR.
It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. As with other Government funders of health research, the NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by factors including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what policy NHS England has on literature, posters and other guidance with reference to the recording or description of the sex of patients.
Answered by Lord Markham
The Government is clear that biological sex matters and that there are different health needs between the sexes. We have been clear that removing language around biological sex and women has the potential for unintended adverse health consequences. Language used in healthcare settings, whilst being inclusive, should use clear terms that everyone can understand.
As set out in Women’s Health Strategy, we are working with National Health Service bodies to ensure that women are properly represented in communications and guidance.