Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Sport England about ensuring Parkrun collects sufficient sex data to monitor female activity and therefore evaluate the impact of its £5 million grant.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Tackling disparities in levels of participation in sport and physical activity is central to Sport England’s ten-year ‘Uniting the Movement’ strategy and the Government’s ‘Get Active’ strategy, through which we have set a target of having 1.25 million more active women by 2030.
Sport England’s strategy is clear that all funding partners must work towards delivering its strategic priorities. Sport England previously awarded Parkrun £3 million between December 2018 and December 2021. The strategic purpose of this award was to start 200 new runs, with specific participation targets for women and people from lower socio-economic groups.
In 2022 Parkrun became a Sport England system partner receiving £5 million of public investment with a view to making sport and physical activity more accessible to all over the next five years. Sport England monitors this investment, ensuring that Parkrun delivers against the range of priorities in Sport England’s strategy. The Department works closely with Sport England to monitor the delivery of this strategy, including key ambitions to increase participation of women and girls.
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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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 Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many complaints to Border Force are not answered within the service standard of 20 days.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The latest transparency data showing performance against service standards in relation to replies to customer complaints for UKVI, Immigration Enforcement and Border Force is available at the following: Customer service operations data: Q3 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what procedures Border Force has in place to learn lessons from incidents of unnecessary detention or of the loss of paper-work such that a complaint takes 11 months to process.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
A Transformation Programme of work is currently underway to reduce the time taken to process incoming complaints within service level agreement. Part of the programme includes identifying and sharing lessons learned to improve the overall service at the border and monitor detention related complaints.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why no reason is given to inward travellers for being held for 6 hours; why they are offered no food or drink during such detention; and why no apology is offered when nothing untoward has been found in their travel to the UK.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
A passenger remains liable to examination on arrival in the United Kingdom until all necessary enquiries have been concluded and a decision is made on their application for permission to enter or admission.
Anyone detained beyond two hours is detained in compliance with the relevant guidance and legislation (notably The Short Term Holding Facility Rules 2018). The detained person is informed of their bail rights and reasons for their detention, and this is explained in a language that they understand.
Temperature controlled food was temporarily withdrawn from BF managed facilities during 2023 whilst we implemented a new training and governance procedure to ensure we were complaint with current food standards. Throughout this period, we followed Government guidance, continuing to serve water, hot drinks and snacks.
We always look to minimise detention as far as possible; however, the power to detain must be retained in the interests of maintaining effective immigration control.
It would not be appropriate for Border Force to apologise for conducting legitimate border security checks.
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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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 for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Sport England’s approach to supporting the implementation of the UK Sports Councils’ Guidance for Transgender Inclusion in Domestic Sport, published on 30 September 2021.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly meets Sport England and UK Sport to discuss a range of issues relating to participation in sport, including participation by transgender people.
In ‘Get Active: A strategy for the future of sport and physical activity’, HM Government set out our view that, when it comes to competitive sport and particularly women’s sport, competitive fairness and safety have to be the primary considerations. These considerations cannot be reconciled with self-identification in the female category in gender-affected sport alone.
The Sports Councils’ Equality Group’s transgender inclusion guidance was published after extensive consultation and a review of scientific research. It makes clear that inclusion, fairness, and safety cannot always be balanced in gender-affected sport. It therefore encourages national governing bodies to consider the specific factors at play in their sport, and to use scientific, peer-reviewed evidence to help make decisions in an open and transparent way. The Government will continue to engage with Sport England and national governing bodies to ensure that this guidance is being implemented.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the UK Sports Councils’ Guidance for Transgender Inclusion in Domestic Sport, published on 30 September 2021, in protecting female sport.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly meets Sport England and UK Sport to discuss a range of issues relating to participation in sport, including participation by transgender people.
In ‘Get Active: A strategy for the future of sport and physical activity’, HM Government set out our view that, when it comes to competitive sport and particularly women’s sport, competitive fairness and safety have to be the primary considerations. These considerations cannot be reconciled with self-identification in the female category in gender-affected sport alone.
The Sports Councils’ Equality Group’s transgender inclusion guidance was published after extensive consultation and a review of scientific research. It makes clear that inclusion, fairness, and safety cannot always be balanced in gender-affected sport. It therefore encourages national governing bodies to consider the specific factors at play in their sport, and to use scientific, peer-reviewed evidence to help make decisions in an open and transparent way. The Government will continue to engage with Sport England and national governing bodies to ensure that this guidance is being implemented.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Sport England in relation to the UK Sports Councils’ Guidance for Transgender Inclusion in Domestic Sport, published on 30 September 2021.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport regularly meets Sport England and UK Sport to discuss a range of issues relating to participation in sport, including participation by transgender people.
In ‘Get Active: A strategy for the future of sport and physical activity’, HM Government set out our view that, when it comes to competitive sport and particularly women’s sport, competitive fairness and safety have to be the primary considerations. These considerations cannot be reconciled with self-identification in the female category in gender-affected sport alone.
The Sports Councils’ Equality Group’s transgender inclusion guidance was published after extensive consultation and a review of scientific research. It makes clear that inclusion, fairness, and safety cannot always be balanced in gender-affected sport. It therefore encourages national governing bodies to consider the specific factors at play in their sport, and to use scientific, peer-reviewed evidence to help make decisions in an open and transparent way. The Government will continue to engage with Sport England and national governing bodies to ensure that this guidance is being implemented.