Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that nomadic Gypsy and Traveller patients are not wrongfully refused access to GP services.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are very clear that a general practice (GP) cannot refuse registering a patient based on the race or ethnicity, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, disability, or medical conditions of the patient. This encompasses patients from gypsy, Roma, and traveller communities.

Additionally, GPs have a responsibility to register people who are homeless, have no fixed abode, or are legitimately unable to provide documentation as proof of living within the catchment area. An individual should not be refused registration or appointments because they do not have a proof of address or personal identification. It is not considered a reasonable ground to refuse registration.

Practices also have a contractual duty to provide emergency treatment and immediately necessary treatment free of charge for up to 14 days to anyone within their practice area who isn’t registered with another provider of essential services.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to improve access to digital primary healthcare services for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We know that patients are struggling to access general practice, and that these struggles can be particularly acute in inclusion health groups such as Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.

We want to ensure digital healthcare services are available to those who need them. and all practices are now required to offer online and video consultation tools, secure electronic communication methods, and online facilities to provide and update personal information.

However, we are clear that all online tools must be provided as an additional option, not as a replacement for more accessible channels like telephone or reception services. This ensures that individuals without access to digital technology, including those from disadvantaged groups, are not excluded and can choose the method of communication that works best for them. All patients should be treated equitably no matter what route they access general practice.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in updating the NHS Data ethnicity categories in line with the 2021 Census categories, to include Gypsies, Travellers and Roma.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England has continued to work at a national level on behalf of the Department, as part of a wider equality monitoring review programme, to explore options for how best to update equality monitoring arrangements by reference to the protected characteristics in the Equality Act 2010. This review for the National Health Service includes consideration of equality monitoring in relation to ethnicity and consideration of the 2021 ethnic group census categories, which includes gypsy, Irish traveller, and Roma. Once the report recommendations are made to the Department, ministers will review and consider next steps.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their statement in the Suicide prevention in England: 5-year cross-sector strategy, published on 11 September 2023, that "there needs to be comprehensive research on, and better understanding of national trends and suicide rates in particular groups, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people", what research they have carried out on the national trends of suicide rates of those groups; and what results they have found.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The ambitions outlined in the Suicide Prevention Strategy of September 2023 cover five years. The purpose of the strategy was to set a direction for suicide prevention for all organisations to consider, including national and local government, researchers, and the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sectors.

The Department has sponsored qualitative research from the Health and Wellbeing Alliance Consortium on this topic, which led to the publication in May 2024 of Tackling Mental Health Inequalities for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller People.

As part of this, we have so far sponsored projects exploring gypsy, Roma, and traveller communities’ experiences of suicide and mental health. These projects have been delivered as part of a Department, UK Health Security Agency, and NHS England led Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise Health and Wellbeing Alliance.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their statement in the Suicide prevention in England: 5-year cross-sector strategy, published on 11 September 2023, that "there needs to be comprehensive research on, and better understanding of national trends and suicide rates in particular groups, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people", what steps they are taking to address the higher rate of suicide among Gypsy and Irish Traveller people.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The ambitions outlined in the Suicide Prevention Strategy of September 2023 cover five years. The purpose of the strategy was to set a direction for suicide prevention for all organisations to consider, including national and local government, researchers, and the voluntary, community, and social enterprise sectors.

The Department has sponsored qualitative research from the Health and Wellbeing Alliance Consortium on this topic, which led to the publication in May 2024 of Tackling Mental Health Inequalities for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller People.

As part of this, we have so far sponsored projects exploring gypsy, Roma, and traveller communities’ experiences of suicide and mental health. These projects have been delivered as part of a Department, UK Health Security Agency, and NHS England led Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise Health and Wellbeing Alliance.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the joint letter by United Nations Special Rapporteurs on 31 July regarding a rise in the instances of imprisonment of Baha'i women in Iran; and whether they intend to make any representations to the government of that country calling for their release.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The UK condemns Iran's restrictions against Freedom of Religion or Belief. Baha'is face particularly acute repression by the authorities in Iran, which includes but is not limited to unfair arrest, detention and lengthy prison sentences. We are aware of the UN Special Rapporteurs' joint letter - the increased targeting of Baha'i women is an alarming escalation. We are committed to working with international partners to hold Iran to account for its repression of the Bahai's, and other religious minorities, including at the UN Third Committee.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 25 October (HL1778 and HL1779), how the Suicide Prevention Strategy envisages improving the suicide rate of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities over its five-year period.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The purpose of the strategy was to set a direction for suicide prevention for all organisations to consider (national and local government, researchers and VCSE sectors). The ambitions outlined in the Suicide Prevention Strategy of September 2023 cover five years and include research on and better understanding of national trends and suicide rates in particular groups, including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people.

A qualitative research project exploring the lived experiences of Roma people in England and Wales, including priorities, needs and access to services, will shortly be starting. This project is led by the Qualitative Research Team, within the Centre for Equalities and Inclusion at the Office for National Statistics, delivered in partnership with Migration Yorkshire, Roma Support Group and the University of Sheffield, and in collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Care, Department for Education and Cabinet Office.

This project will provide insights into how Roma communities’ needs change over their lifetime and identify barriers to accessing services, including for maternal and mental health. Depending on the findings, this research may give us insight into the factors contributing to suicide risk within Roma communities and enable us to develop more targeted prevention strategies that resonate with the Roma community’s unique experiences and challenges, address the unique needs of the young Roma population in England and anticipate how migration and settlement patterns may influence their future healthcare requirements.

More broadly, our Inclusion Health initiative aims to support the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities and other inclusion health groups. This program is specifically designed to address the unique needs of socially excluded groups.