Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards implementing the routine commissioning of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis by April 2020.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The Department is continuing to work closely with NHS England and NHS Improvement, Public Health England and local authorities to plan for a seamless transition from the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) Impact Trial to routine commissioning from April 2020. Further information will be available shortly. PrEP continues to be available through the trial.
Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that individuals are able to access Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis even before routine commissioning starts.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is currently provided in England through the three-year PrEP Impact Trial. Participation in the trial is on a voluntary basis and it is for clinics and local authorities to decide the number of allocated places they can accept.
Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether pre-registration physiotherapy students (1) already studying, and (2) due to start a course, will qualify for maintenance grants of £5,000 and, where eligible, for further grants of up to £3,000 from 2020.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
All new and continuing students enrolled in an eligible pre-registration undergraduate or postgraduate physiotherapy course at an English university from September 2020 will be eligible for at least £5,000 of the new financial support package.
Extra payments worth up to £3,000 per academic year will be available for eligible students depending on their individual circumstances. For those studying physiotherapy, this could include £1,000 of financial support to help with childcare costs. Physiotherapy students will not be eligible for the £1,000 incentive funding announced on 19 January 2020 for students entering a pre-registration course in a shortage healthcare specialism. As set out in the announcement of 19 January, the Department is undertaking further work to develop the £1,000 incentive payment which will be targeted at specific regions or geographical areas and it is possible that some new physiotherapy students could be eligible for additional payments as part of this. Further information will be set out as soon as possible.
There are no current plans to limit the number of physiotherapy students who could receive funding they may be eligible for.
Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether pre-registration physiotherapy students participating on (1) BSc, and (2) MSc, courses will qualify for maintenance grants of £5,000 and, where eligible, for further grants of up to £3,000 from 2020.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
All new and continuing students enrolled in an eligible pre-registration undergraduate or postgraduate physiotherapy course at an English university from September 2020 will be eligible for at least £5,000 of the new financial support package.
Extra payments worth up to £3,000 per academic year will be available for eligible students depending on their individual circumstances. For those studying physiotherapy, this could include £1,000 of financial support to help with childcare costs. Physiotherapy students will not be eligible for the £1,000 incentive funding announced on 19 January 2020 for students entering a pre-registration course in a shortage healthcare specialism. As set out in the announcement of 19 January, the Department is undertaking further work to develop the £1,000 incentive payment which will be targeted at specific regions or geographical areas and it is possible that some new physiotherapy students could be eligible for additional payments as part of this. Further information will be set out as soon as possible.
There are no current plans to limit the number of physiotherapy students who could receive funding they may be eligible for.
Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there will be a limit on the number of pre-registration physiotherapy students able to qualify for maintenance grants of £5,000 and, where eligible, for further grants of up to £3,000 from 2020.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
All new and continuing students enrolled in an eligible pre-registration undergraduate or postgraduate physiotherapy course at an English university from September 2020 will be eligible for at least £5,000 of the new financial support package.
Extra payments worth up to £3,000 per academic year will be available for eligible students depending on their individual circumstances. For those studying physiotherapy, this could include £1,000 of financial support to help with childcare costs. Physiotherapy students will not be eligible for the £1,000 incentive funding announced on 19 January 2020 for students entering a pre-registration course in a shortage healthcare specialism. As set out in the announcement of 19 January, the Department is undertaking further work to develop the £1,000 incentive payment which will be targeted at specific regions or geographical areas and it is possible that some new physiotherapy students could be eligible for additional payments as part of this. Further information will be set out as soon as possible.
There are no current plans to limit the number of physiotherapy students who could receive funding they may be eligible for.
Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether bookmakers are offering better odds to those who place bets online as opposed to those who place bets in betting shops; and if so, whether this discriminates against those whose disability means that they can only place bets in a shop.
Answered by Lord Ashton of Hyde
Businesses, including gambling operators, are able to make commercial decisions with regards to prices offered in different locations and across different platforms and may do so for a variety of reasons, such as differences in cost bases or competition. The Gambling Commission’s focus is on ensuring the prices displayed are clear, transparent and therefore not misleading, thereby allowing a consumer to make an informed decision about whether to bet or not at the terms offered.
If anyone believes that they may have been indirectly discriminated against because of a disability in the provision of a service, they may wish to contact the Equality and Advisory Support Service (EASS), which provides free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with any discrimination concerns.
Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, given that the Student Loans Company (SLC) has accepted responsibility for overpayments to healthcare students and that the SLC told students that they were not being overpaid, the SLC will write off overpayments to physiotherapy and other healthcare students.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The government announced on 18 April 2018 that the Student Loans Company (SLC) will provide support to ensure that none of the students affected by the error suffer hardship.
Students affected by this will be eligible to apply for additional, non-repayable, support of up to £1,000 for the remainder of this academic year, and should contact the SLC. In addition, repayment of overpaid maintenance support will be deferred for all students affected until they have finished their courses and can afford to repay. Repayment of overpaid maintenance loans will happen via HM Revenue and Customs in the normal way, which is how students will have expected to repay their loans when they took them out.
Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to enable the recognition in law of marriages in England and Wales conducted by a humanist celebrant; and if so, when.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The Government is carefully considering the report published by the Law Commission on initial scoping work to identify the issues for potential reform of the law concerning how and where people can get married in England and Wales, including considering the differences in treatment that already exist within marriage law alongside any further differences that would result from permitting legally valid non-religious belief marriages.
Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have conducted a review of the effectiveness of the UK Border Agency's training manual "Gender Identity Issues in the Asylum Claim" which is primarily used to educate UK Border Agency case officers in trans-related issues and in evaluating testimonies.
Answered by Lord Taylor of Holbeach
The document referred to is guidance to asylum decision makers rather than a training manual. The guidance was last reviewed and revised in June 2011.
Separately, training for new asylum caseworkers is provided through the Foundation Training Programme, which has been developed in consultation with stakeholders including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and A:gender, the cross-civil service staff support network for transgender staff.
Asked by: Baroness Thornton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the feasibility of issuing non-gender-specific official documents to people who do not identify as a particular gender.
Answered by Baroness Northover
Under UK law only male or female is recognised as a gender. We recognise that a very small number of people consider themselves to be of neither gender. We are not aware that that results in any specific detriment, and it is not Government policy to identify such people for the purpose of issuing non-gender-specific official documents.
A specific review on gender markings in the British passport was carried out by Her Majesty's Passport Office, which has been placed in the Library of both Houses. The review concluded that there would be no significant advantages to including a non-gender category along with male and female.