Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect free speech within the law and the expression of gender critical beliefs in relation to (1) views expressed by staff of Arts Council England, and (2) the awarding of grants by Arts Council England.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government is committed to freedom of speech, including in the cultural sector, and the Secretary of State for Culture has expressed an unequivocal ambition that the era of the government stoking “culture wars” should be over. The government is clear that whilst it is right that protections from discrimination exist for LGBT+ people, such as those contained in the Equality Act, this does not prohibit people from expressing their views, opinions or beliefs which are also protected. However, it is important to protect people from illegal discrimination, harassment, and hate speech.
The government meets with Arts Council England on a regular basis to discuss and hold it to account on a wide range of issues. All Arts Council Staff are expected to uphold the Nolan principles, which includes Objectivity. That principle notes that holders of public office must act and make decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
Arts Council England has clearly stated its commitment to freedom of expression for artists and cultural organisations, which it views as a foundational value. Darren Henley, Chief Executive of the Arts Council, has been unequivocal to parliament on this matter: for any legally constituted organisation that is entitled under Arts Council rules to make an application to them, that application will be considered absolutely fairly, and Arts Council will be looking at the artistic and creative content of that in the same way as they would any other application.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government who is conducting their study on the effects of smartphone and social media use on children, announced on 20 November, and what are its terms of reference.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The study is being conducted by the University of Cambridge but includes a wider consortium of experts from a range of universities. The project team will be led by Dr Amy Orben, a Programme Leader at the University of Cambridge.
The study’s objectives are to review existing research on the impact of social media and smartphones on children’s developmental outcomes, evaluate methodologies to develop causal evidence on the topic and to recommend an approach to produce causal evidence in the next 2-3 years.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to avoid any conflicts of interest arising for individuals or organisations involved in their study on the effects of smartphone and social media use on children, announced on 20 November.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The procurement was run through a fair and open competition with pre-agreed terms and conditions. Suppliers were required to declare any conflict of interest during the procurement and give a full account how they would avoid any future conflict of interest. All supplier responses were thoroughly reviewed by the evaluation panel, with no concerns raised.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the Department for Health and Social Care’s publication of the updated Notification of Child Death Form, whether they have adopted self-identification for under-18s; and if so, how this aligns with their response to the Cass Review.
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 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.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 7 November (HL2061), what guidance they are giving to public bodies on whether Gender Recognition Panels should grant a UK Gender Recognition Certificate to a German applicant in the absence of a medical report.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As I stated in the answer to HL2061, at the time of the commencement of The Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories and Saving Provision) Order 2023, the international systems that were on the list were comparable to the UK’s standard route to legal gender recognition.
We continue to work with our counterparts in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to ensure that any changes internationally are monitored and noted for future updates. The list was last updated in April 2024, and the previous update was 2011. We are committed to more regularly updating the list of approved countries and territories when applying for gender recognition in the UK.
Regarding the Gender Recognition Panel, they have appropriate guidance and training in order to carry out the gender recognition process in alignment with the current law.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 7 November (HL2061), whether they will take steps to assess the appropriateness of Germany remaining an approved country, given Germany’s adoption of a policy of self-identification.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As I stated in the answer to HL2061, at the time of the commencement of The Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories and Saving Provision) Order 2023, the international systems that were on the list were comparable to the UK’s standard route to legal gender recognition.
We continue to work with our counterparts in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to ensure that any changes internationally are monitored and noted for future updates. The list was last updated in April 2024, and the previous update was 2011. We are committed to more regularly updating the list of approved countries and territories when applying for gender recognition in the UK.
Regarding the Gender Recognition Panel, they have appropriate guidance and training in order to carry out the gender recognition process in alignment with the current law.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Collins of Highbury on 7 November (HL2061), what is the timetable for the Office for Equality and Opportunity’s review of the countries currently listed in the Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories and Saving Provision) Order 2023.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As I stated in the answer to HL2061, at the time of the commencement of The Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories and Saving Provision) Order 2023, the international systems that were on the list were comparable to the UK’s standard route to legal gender recognition.
We continue to work with our counterparts in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to ensure that any changes internationally are monitored and noted for future updates. The list was last updated in April 2024, and the previous update was 2011. We are committed to more regularly updating the list of approved countries and territories when applying for gender recognition in the UK.
Regarding the Gender Recognition Panel, they have appropriate guidance and training in order to carry out the gender recognition process in alignment with the current law.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Vallance of Balham on 22 October (HL1416), what involvement (1) officials, and (2) Ministers have had in the drafting and content of the review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender, commissioned by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, since the general election; and whether they will list the additional stakeholders who have been consulted since the general election.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This is an independent review, and Professor Sullivan is fully responsible for the report’s contents and for engaging with relevant stakeholders. Where stakeholders have been engaged since the general election, the decision was made by Professor Sullivan.
As per the Terms of Reference, a draft version of the report was submitted to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and to the Cabinet Office ahead of the final version of the report. Ministers have not been involved in the drafting of the report. As per usual practice, officials have provided light-touch, optional feedback on matters of drafting.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government to which countries they provide Official Development Assistance for sexual and reproductive rights, and how much each has received.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office annually reports on Official Development Assistance (ODA) expenditure via the Statistics on International Development publication. Details of UK ODA by sector code and recipient countries from 2017 to 2023 is available here: Statistics on International Development: final UK ODA spend 2023.
In line with the OECD Development Assistance Committee ODA reporting rules, ODA data is categorised using sector (or purpose) codes, which classify ODA activities by the sectors they benefit. Although some codes directly relate to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) - such as Family Planning or Reproductive Health - many others are not sufficiently granular to enable tracking of all ODA for SRHR.
While there is no agreed methodology across donors to capture SRHR expenditure, some partners such as the think tank Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) have developed their own methodology for donor SRHR spend (published in their annual report: All Editions - Donors Delivering for SRHR. This methodology was designed to capture donor ODA flow for SRHR, however it does not include an analysis of SRHR ODA flow to specific recipient countries.
Asked by: Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which countries have seen the highest reduction in UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) for sexual and reproductive health and rights since ODA cuts in 2020.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office annually reports on Official Development Assistance (ODA) expenditure via the Statistics on International Development publication. Details of UK ODA by sector code and recipient countries from 2017 to 2023 is available here: Statistics on International Development: final UK ODA spend 2023.
In line with the OECD Development Assistance Committee ODA reporting rules, ODA data is categorised using sector (or purpose) codes, which classify ODA activities by the sectors they benefit. Although some codes directly relate to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) - such as Family Planning or Reproductive Health - many others are not sufficiently granular to enable tracking of all ODA for SRHR.
While there is no agreed methodology across donors to capture SRHR expenditure, some partners such as the think tank Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung (DSW) have developed their own methodology for donor SRHR spend (published in their annual report: All Editions - Donors Delivering for SRHR. This methodology was designed to capture donor ODA flow for SRHR, however it does not include an analysis of SRHR ODA flow to specific recipient countries.