Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to determine the number and identity of people who were dismissed from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office as a result of the ban on homosexuality for serving officers in the Diplomatic Service; and whether they will apologise to those who were dismissed on these grounds.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) officials have continued looking into this and I am eager to bring this to a resolution further to the apology for the ban from Sir Philip Barton (then Permanent Under-Secretary) in 2021. We continue to learn the lessons of the MOD's Etherton Review but it has become apparent how different the circumstances of the ban were, therefore requiring a different response. The FCDO are currently looking at the best way to address this, engaging with Cabinet Office and other relevant Government departments to find the best solution. Specifically, the new Permanent Under-Secretary is engaged on this issue and we are talking to officials and Ministers across Government to find the most appropriate solution.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker, following the publication on 19 March of the report by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology Review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender, whether the House of Lords Administration, in collecting personal data for employment purposes, will ensure that (1) any question about sex should by default concern biological sex, and (2) the form of such questions should be “what is your sex” and the options for response are “male” or “female”.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
The House of Lords Administration collects personal data from all employees which is recorded on the HR system and provided to HMRC. Employees must provide the sex recorded on their birth certificate or Gender Recognition Certificate (female or male).
The House of Lords Administration is not within the scope of the independent review commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). However, the absence of a single source of authoritative guidance on data collection on sex and gender and the need for attention to maintain impartiality on issues including gender noted in the review are as relevant to the Administration as they are to public bodies within the report’s scope.
The way in which data about sex and gender is collected by the House of Lords Administration is subject to periodic review. Work is currently underway to consider how we approach these issues in survey and data collection undertaken by the Administration, and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology review will be a helpful contribution.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will implement the recommendations set out in the report Review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender, published by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 19 March.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Sex and gender in data, statistics and research is an important area of discussion, and this review contributes to this ongoing dialogue. Given the wide breadth of recommendations, the government has ensured that the review has been shared with all the relevant departments and policy teams, who will consider the findings in light of their ongoing policy work.
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 extending fracture liaison services to all integrated care boards; and what lessons they have drawn from the impact of fracture liaison services in other jurisdictions, including the devolved authorities.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Fracture liaison services (FLS) are a globally recognised care model for secondary fracture prevention and can reduce the risk of refracture by up to 40%.
FLS are commissioned by integrated care boards, which make decisions according to local need. Officials continue to work closely with NHS England to explore a range of options to provide better quality and access to these important preventative services. This includes how best to support systems, who are responsible for commissioning.
We are considering evidence and examples from a wide range of sources, including existing services and the devolved administrations.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 21 November (HLWS240), whether their consultation on the consumer protection provisions to ensure that homeowners paying estate management charges have better access to information will cover housing associations’ leaseholders.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As set out on 21 November, the Government intends to consult next year on implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 on service charges and on legal costs, bringing these measures into force as quickly as possible thereafter. These include measures to drive up transparency and will apply to housing associations who charge leaseholders service charges unless specifically exempted.
With regard to the question about the regulation of managing agents, I refer the Noble Lady to the answer I gave to HL2579 which was answered on 28 November 2024. The Government has committed to introducing a Competence and Conduct Standard for registered providers of social housing and will set out next steps for implementing the standard in the coming months.
Registered providers of social housing are required to deliver the outcomes set out in the Regulator of Social Housing's regulatory standards, including the requirement to take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and associated communal areas.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 21 November (HLWS240), whether their plan to strengthen the regulation of managing agents including mandatory professional qualifications, will include landlords, including housing associations, which self-manage their estates rather than appointing independent agents.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As set out on 21 November, the Government intends to consult next year on implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 on service charges and on legal costs, bringing these measures into force as quickly as possible thereafter. These include measures to drive up transparency and will apply to housing associations who charge leaseholders service charges unless specifically exempted.
With regard to the question about the regulation of managing agents, I refer the Noble Lady to the answer I gave to HL2579 which was answered on 28 November 2024. The Government has committed to introducing a Competence and Conduct Standard for registered providers of social housing and will set out next steps for implementing the standard in the coming months.
Registered providers of social housing are required to deliver the outcomes set out in the Regulator of Social Housing's regulatory standards, including the requirement to take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and associated communal areas.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to regulate housing associations with regard to obligations regarding their leaseholders, to ensure multi-occupancy buildings are properly managed in regard to fire safety, transparency of service charges, and compliance with lease requirements.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As set out on 21 November, the Government intends to consult next year on implementing the provisions of the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 on service charges and on legal costs, bringing these measures into force as quickly as possible thereafter. These include measures to drive up transparency and will apply to housing associations who charge leaseholders service charges unless specifically exempted.
With regard to the question about the regulation of managing agents, I refer the Noble Lady to the answer I gave to HL2579 which was answered on 28 November 2024. The Government has committed to introducing a Competence and Conduct Standard for registered providers of social housing and will set out next steps for implementing the standard in the coming months.
Registered providers of social housing are required to deliver the outcomes set out in the Regulator of Social Housing's regulatory standards, including the requirement to take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and associated communal areas.
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 meetings the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has had with (1) the General Medical Council, (2) the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, (3) other health regulators, since 5 July.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Central Government Corporate Transparency Commitments require Government departments to publish details of ministers’ and senior officials’ meetings with external individuals or organisations on a quarterly basis. We will be publishing the meetings that my Rt. Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care attended, in accordance with the transparency guidelines.
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 Written answer by Baroness Merron on 28 November (HL1675), why on page 9 of the Child Death Reporting Form, under the heading "Domain B", there is a column to be completed asking for the gender of the mother, if this does not need to be specified.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Child Death Notification Form and the Child Death Reporting Form are part of the National Child Mortality Database. These continue to capture the sex of the child for under 18-year-olds, in line with sex being a protected characteristic under the 2010 Equality Act.
The Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) has a statutory obligation to notify the National Child Mortality Database within 48 hours of a child’s death, and they do so through A Child Death Notification Form. There is no reference to the mother’s gender in this form.
Following this, the Child Death Reporting Form and relevant supplementary reporting forms are sent out by the CDOP to every professional who has had contact with the child during life, or who has been involved in the investigation after death, to gather information when a child dies. In the Child Death Reporting Form, there is space for the professional to provide information on the gender of the mother. This is not a mandatory requirement to supply this information. This question has existed on the reporting form since at least 2010, and pre-dates the National Child Mortality Database.
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 for how long they have required the notice of deaths of children between 10 and 18 to include details of their “sex registered at birth” and “by which gender did the child identify at time of death”; why this categorization was introduced; for how long they have required the gender of the mother to be specified; and what were the reasons for that inclusion.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Notification of Child Death Form, part of the National Child Mortality Database, continues to capture the sex of the child for anyone under the age of 18 years old, in line with sex being a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010.
Although questions relating to gender identity already existed within one part of the National Child Mortality Database collection, specifically for suicide and self-harm, the change in October expanded these questions to all deaths. This was to capture the language used by young people and their families to improve system learning and to support the prevention of future deaths.
The Child Death Notification Form does not require the gender of the mother to be specified.