Funerals: Death Certificate Delays
Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall and Baroness Merron(3 weeks, 3 days ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
I agree that those changes—the move from analogue to digital, which will be outlined in the 10-year plan—will indeed help in this area, as well as many others.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)
My Lords, clearly, this is a complex and difficult issue, and there does not seem to be any one reason why these delays have started to extend. Can the Minister tell the House whether there are any financial implications for people who have to wait much longer for a funeral to be arranged, given that they are not cheap to begin with?
Baroness Merron (Lab)
I am not aware of the specifics around that point, but we will be very pleased to look into that because we do not want people to be inconvenienced and distressed even further.
Cancer: Older People
Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall and Baroness Merron(5 months, 1 week ago)
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Baroness Merron (Lab)
I give my sincere condolences to the noble Baroness and her family. Yes, I will raise that. It is a good point to look at, and I thank her.
Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)
My Lords, what plans do the Government have, if any, to include older people in routine screening programmes, particularly given all the statistics that we have heard in the course of this Question and others? I have asked this question before. I have never heard an answer that I found entirely convincing. I am confident my noble friend will be able to help on this occasion.
Baroness Merron (Lab)
I thank my noble friend for her confidence, and I will do my best. Decisions on screening, including the age ranges at which they operate, are made by the UK National Screening Committee. They have an upper and a lower age limit, which are based on evidence and kept under review. Current evidence does not support making changes to these ages. For breast screening, for example, self-referral is available for those over the age of 71 and for bowel screening it is available for those over 75. I confirm to her that this is all evidence-based, and we always keep an eye on the continuing evidence.