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 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
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
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
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 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 Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Bar Council and Law Society about the potential use of UK lawyers in Rwanda to advise on asylum claims.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Following the signing of the new Treaty between the UK and Rwanda, we are continuing to work to strengthen this Partnership. We are working with the Government of Rwanda to see where any UK expertise or support would be beneficial. More details on this will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the proposed treaty with Rwanda, announced on 15 November, will be subject to parliamentary scrutiny in accordance with the provisions of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Treaties the Government wishes to ratify are subject to the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. We will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the decision by some car hire companies not to hire out cars to drivers aged 75 or over.
Answered by Baroness Swinburne
Age discrimination in the provision of services is generally unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. There are, however, situations where a service provider can show that differential treatment between, for example, adults aged under and over 75 is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, which the 2010 Act permits.
Whilst the Government does not comment on particular cases, it is for individuals to consider whether they wish to take action where they feel they are being unlawfully treated on age grounds. Where a company cannot show that their leasing age policy is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, the individual affected can bring a claim to the County Court, or Sheriff’s Court in Scotland. The court may determine whether the “objective justification test” has been satisfied, and may award costs and compensation if the claimant wins their case.
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, following the major technology outage experienced by the British Library as a result of a cyber-attack, whether they are confident that sufficient safeguards are in place to protect this national collection.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
The British Library is undertaking a forensic investigation of this incident, with the support of the National Cyber Security Centre and cybersecurity specialists, and has reported it to the Information Commissioner’s Office. This investigation will help to provide a full picture of what happened, and the extent of disruption caused. This will take time, during which the British Library is liaising closely with the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and others to provide updates.
The attack has been claimed by a known cyber crime group, and we currently have no reason to doubt its claim.
The British Library has taken targeted protective measures to ensure the integrity of its systems, including the quarantining of hardware, the resetting of passwords for all staff, and the installation of additional monitoring and detection software across its estate.
In the meantime, the British Library’s sites at St Pancras and Boston Spa remain fully open to the public.