Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the five recommendations made in the report by the First 1001 Days Movement, A Manifesto for Babies, published on 19 March; and whether they intend to respond to each recommendation.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is strong evidence that the 1,001 days from pregnancy to the age of two years old set the foundations for our cognitive, emotional, and physical development. Investing in this critical period presents a real opportunity to improve outcomes and tackle health disparities by ensuring that thousands of babies and families have improved access to quality support and services. The Government is therefore already taking forward a range of actions in line with recommendations in the report by the First 1001 Days Movement to ensure that every baby gets the best start in life.
For example, in March 2021, the Government published The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days, a copy of which is attached. This vision sets out six action areas for improving support for families during the 1,001 critical days to ensure every baby in England is given the best possible start in life, regardless of background.
The Government is also investing approximately £300 million to improve support for families though the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. The programme is implementing many elements of the Best Start for Life Vision and is delivering a step change in outcomes for babies, children and their parents and carers in 75 local authorities in England, including those with high levels of deprivation. Many local authorities without funding have also chosen to implement elements of the vision.
The programme funding package includes £10 million to enable five local authorities and their partners to pilot innovative early years workforce models, with the aim of improving the access, experience and outcomes of babies, children, and families, and supporting the capacity and job satisfaction of the workforces involved.
To support new parents, Statutory Maternity Pay is paid by employers to qualifying employed women for a maximum of 39 weeks, the first six weeks of which are paid at 90% of the women’s salary followed by 33 weeks at the lower of either the standard rate or 90% of the woman’s average weekly earnings. For those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay, Maternity Allowance may be available. This is a benefit paid by the Department for Work and Pensions to eligible women and is intended for those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay. The standard rate of maternity pay is reviewed annually.
Paternity Leave arrangements enable employed fathers and partners, including same sex partners, who meet the qualifying conditions to take up to two weeks of paid leave within the first eight weeks following the birth of their child or placement for adoption. The Government has recently announced changes to make Paternity Leave and Pay more flexible for working families from April 2024. This includes allowing fathers and partners to take their leave and pay at any point in the first year after the birth or adoption of their child.
A Shared Parental Leave and Pay scheme is also available, giving working families much more choice and flexibility about who cares for their child in the first year, and when.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the issue of a licence by the Office of Financial Solutions in May 2022 to enable the sale of Chelsea Football Club, why the sale has not been expedited, when the anticipated £2.5 billion realised by the sale will become available to support victims of the conflict in Ukraine, and whether the funds may be used for the creation of an International Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the noble Lord to the answer to Question HL2826 given on 13 March 2024, which can be found on the Q&A web pages (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-02-28/hl2826).
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the establishment of an International Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression, and what assessment they have made of the ways that Tribunal’s processes for ensuring that victims of the Crime of Aggression in Ukraine are able to access justice and reparations.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The United Kingdom is a member of the Core Group established by Ukraine to explore options for a tribunal for the crime of aggression. We continue to engage proactively in discussions within the group, including on the form that any tribunal might take.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the decision of the General Assembly of the United Nations to establish a Register of Damages for the Crime of Aggression in Ukraine, what assessment they have made of the categories of claim included; how entries to the Register are to be made; and how the distribution of damages will be determined and audited to deter corruption.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to ensuring Russia pays for its unprovoked war in Ukraine, including in our role as an inaugural member and Chair of the Conference of Parties of the Register of Damage. The Register is an important step in the pursuit of justice and ensuring those responsible are held to account. The Member States of the Register are expected to approve the list of claims categories and the process for submitting claims at the end of March 2024. The Register will have no adjudication functions with respect to claims, including determination of responsibility and allocation of any payments.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prescriptions for mirtazapine were issued in each year since 2014; how many Yellow Card reports of sexual dysfunction and persistent sexual dysfunction the MHRA received for mirtazapine in each year since 2014; and what consideration NHS England has given to adding sexual dysfunction as a side effect on the patient information leaflets for mirtazapine.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the total number of items issued for mirtazapine, each year since 2014 to 2023:
Time Period | Total items issued |
2014 | 6,056,918 |
2015 | 6,783,906 |
2016 | 7,526,200 |
2017 | 8,198,345 |
2018 | 8,938,362 |
2019 | 9,702,599 |
2020 | 10,532,577 |
2021 | 11,249,963 |
2022 | 11,776,025 |
2023 | 12,401,593 |
Source: Data was provided by the NHS Business Services Authority, using the British National Formulary chemical substance mirtazapine
Note: Items have been dispensed, but not necessarily prescribed, in England.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for ensuring medicines, medical devices, and blood components for transfusion meet applicable standards of safety, quality, and efficacy. The MHRA rigorously assesses available data, including from the Yellow Card scheme, and seeks advice from their independent advisory committee, the Commission on Human Medicines, where appropriate to inform regulatory decisions.
The MHRA has received a total of 46 Yellow Card reports of sexual dysfunction related reactions suspected to be associated with mirtazapine, four of which include information that suggest the suspected adverse reactions persisted after mirtazapine was withdrawn. The following table shows the number of Yellow Card reports of suspected mirtazapine related sexual dysfunction, and reports of sexual dysfunction that persisted after the drug was withdrawn, each year from 2014 to 2024:
Year | Reports of sexual dysfunction | Reports of sexual dysfunction that continued after mirtazapine was withdrawn |
2014 | 3 | 0 |
2015 | 1 | 0 |
2016 | 2 | 0 |
2017 | 3 | 0 |
2018 | 1 | 0 |
2019 | 5 | 1 |
2020 | 3 | 0 |
2021 | 5 | 1 |
2022 | 10 | 1 |
2023 | 9 | 0 |
2024 | 4 | 1 |
Source: data provided by the MHRA.
It is important to note that the inclusion of a particular report on the MHRA’s system does not necessarily mean that the adverse reactions reported have been caused by the suspect drug. Additionally, the number of reports received should not be used as a basis for determining the incidence of a reaction, as neither the total number of reactions occurring, nor the number of patients using the drug, is known.
The MHRA continuously monitors the safety of medicines on the United Kingdom’s market, including mirtazapine. Reports of suspected adverse reactions are reviewed weekly by a multidisciplinary team as part of the MHRA’s signal detection process. The term signal is used to define any suspected adverse reaction or potential safety concern that requires further evaluation.
Responsibility for adding a side effect to the product information leaflet sits with the MHRA. The product information for mirtazapine reflects the data currently available, and does not include sexual dysfunction as a possible side effect. However, data from Yellow Card reports and other sources such as published studies and periodic safety assessments are kept under continuous review by the MHRA. The marketing authorisation holder has recently submitted the latest periodic safety update report to the MHRA, and this will be carefully assessed. If there is sufficient evidence and associated data about the potential to experience sexual dysfunction as a side effect, the patient information for mirtazapine can be updated.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the wide range of estimates for the reconstruction of Ukraine; what action they have taken to confiscate Russian assets to contribute to reconstruction costs; and what estimate they have made of the value of those assets.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the Government has made very clear in parliament and through collective statements at the G7, Russia should pay for the damage it has caused. The World Bank calculates total recovery and reconstruction needs at $486 billion. The UK will remain a credible partner on this by assuring ourselves of the safety, robustness and legality of any proposal to make use of Russian assets to support Ukraine. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine between February 2022 and October 2023, cumulatively £22.7 billion of Russian assets have been reported frozen due to UK financial sanctions regulations.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many antidepressant prescriptions were issued to patients under the age of 25 in each year since 2014.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Many medicines, including medicines used to treat depression, are licensed and prescribed for other conditions. The Department expects prescribers to always satisfy themselves that the medicines they consider appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed.
The following table shows the number of patients aged under 18 and 25 years old, who were prescribed antidepressants, each year from 2015 to 2023:
Year | Antidepressants prescribed to people under 18 years old | Antidepressants prescribed to people under 25 years old |
2015/16 | 312,113 | 2,477,798 |
2016/17 | 332,706 | 2,759,953 |
2017/18 | 346,126 | 2,910,607 |
2018/19 | 367,850 | 3,202,784 |
2019/20 | 393,762 | 3,525,602 |
2020/21 | 406,391 | 3,890,347 |
2021/22 | 437,365 | 4,170,154 |
2022/23 | 448,515 | 4,119,463 |
Source: NHS Business Services Authority
Notes:
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many antidepressant prescriptions were issued to patients under the age of 18 in each year since 2014.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Many medicines, including medicines used to treat depression, are licensed and prescribed for other conditions. The Department expects prescribers to always satisfy themselves that the medicines they consider appropriate for their patients can be safely prescribed.
The following table shows the number of patients aged under 18 and 25 years old, who were prescribed antidepressants, each year from 2015 to 2023:
Year | Antidepressants prescribed to people under 18 years old | Antidepressants prescribed to people under 25 years old |
2015/16 | 312,113 | 2,477,798 |
2016/17 | 332,706 | 2,759,953 |
2017/18 | 346,126 | 2,910,607 |
2018/19 | 367,850 | 3,202,784 |
2019/20 | 393,762 | 3,525,602 |
2020/21 | 406,391 | 3,890,347 |
2021/22 | 437,365 | 4,170,154 |
2022/23 | 448,515 | 4,119,463 |
Source: NHS Business Services Authority
Notes:
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 7 March (HL2663), whether they have made any estimate of the number of camps, including the so-called anti-extremism centres and re-education camps, in (1) Tibet and (2) the rest of China.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government refers to credible external estimates, in particular those from the United Nations, of numbers of individuals in China detained under various circumstances and within certain geographies. For example, the April 2023 UN Special Procedures found "[h]undreds of thousands of Tibetans have reportedly been 'transferred' from their traditional rural lives to low-skilled and low-paid employment since 2015" noting "the labour transfer programme is facilitated by a network of 'vocational training centres', which focus less on developing professional skills and more on cultural and political indoctrination in a militarised environment." As noted in the Government's response to Written Question HL2663, with regard to the situation in Xinjiang, in 2018 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination estimated "upwards of a million people were being held in so-called counter-extremism centres and another two million had been forced into what the Chinese refer to as 're-education camps' for political and cultural indoctrination."
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they are giving to the report of the Gender Apartheid Inquiry Shattering Women's Rights, Shattering Lives, launched on 4 March, and whether they intend to formally respond to its findings and recommendations.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The FCDO is aware of the report. There are complex legal and political questions which arise in considering any new crime of 'gender apartheid'. We are considering these questions and consulting legal advisers and subject matter experts.
We have repeatedly condemned Taliban and Iranian policies and actions that restrict the rights of women and girls. Officials from the UK Mission to Afghanistan regularly press Taliban acting ministers to reverse their harmful policies on women and girls. Since Iran's mass protests of 2022-23, we have sanctioned 94 individuals or entities for human rights abuses, including senior decision makers responsible for Iran's oppressive hijab law. We will continue to work with the international community to address women and girls' rights issues in Afghanistan and Iran.