Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce the number of lost work-days due to stress, depression, or anxiety in women.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Improving mental health outcomes is critical to achieving the Health Mission aims of reducing years lived with prevalence of ill-health, disability, and premature mortality, reducing the demand for services within the National Health Service. The Centre for Mental Health estimates that in 2022, mental ill health cost the United Kingdom economy approximately £300 billion.
Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has chosen to prioritise funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement & Support schemes. This demonstrates our commitment to addressing the root cause of mental health issues and provide support for people, including women, to contribute to the economy by remaining in or returning to work.
We are continuing to roll out employment advisors in our NHS Talking Therapies services to support people, including women, with common mental health conditions seek and retain employment. Our advisors help people who are in work but struggling or facing difficulties in the workplace, off work sick or looking for work, so we can provide the right support at the right time.
Individuals can also access helpful resources about work-related stress on the Every Mind Matters website, which is available in an online-only format.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to fund research to establish safe microplastic exposure thresholds and identify key interventions to improve neglected areas, including soil and air quality.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency carried out research to understand if there are potential health risks from exposure to micro and nano plastics through inhalational and oral routes. This was part of the National Institute of Health and Care Research funded Health Protection Research Unit in Environmental Exposures and Health.
In addition, the potential impact of microplastic materials on human health has been assessed by the UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment. The most recent statement was published in 2024, a copy of which is attached.
Under the 2022/23 UK REACH Work Programme, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs initiated a research proposal to investigate the risks of intentionally added microplastics. The evidence project has reviewed their emissions and the risks they pose both to human health and the environment. The project also included a socio-economic assessment. This project is expected to report in early 2025. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and the Welsh and Scottish Governments will consider its findings once complete.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address (1) the under-representation of women in health data, and (2) the lack of female-only UK clinical trials.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is committed to ensuring that women are represented across all forms of health data, including National Health Service patient data and data that is used for research. The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) and recognises that increasing the diversity of people taking part in research is key to ensuring the evidence and data generated by research is relevant for the whole population.
On 10 March 2025, the NIHR launched its sex and gender policy, which is expected to come into force later in 2025. A document containing the NIHR’s sex and gender policy is attached. This outlines an NIHR statement of intent on integrating sex and gender into health and care research. Implementing such a policy will ensure research accounts for sex and gender across every stage of the research cycle, thus facilitating funding into topics that impact males and females and, crucially, a greater understanding of how males and females might be impacted differently by the same health condition.
The Department and NHS England fund the Research Engagement Network Development Programme, which aims to increase diversity in research participation through the development of research engagement networks with communities who are often underserved by research, and by ensuring diversity in research is considered by integrated care systems.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve treatment of people with bipolar disorder.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that too many people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long, including for people with bipolar disorder. We are determined to change that.
As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future, we will provide access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England, create a network of open access community Young Futures hubs, recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to cut wait times and provide faster treatment, and modernise the Mental Health Act.
We are also committed to new models of care for mental health, including reforming care for people experiencing a mental health crisis. We are testing neighbourhood mental health centres for people aged 18 years old and over with serious mental illness. These six pilot schemes are based in Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Sheffield, York, Birmingham, and Whitehaven.
These pilots will offer 24/7 open access care closer to home, with an integrated service that includes healthcare providers, local authorities, and the voluntary sector. They build on international evidence that shows that similar models have led to a reduction in hospitalisation and waiting times, and support our efforts to move more care into the community.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 7 November 2024 (HL1998), when they intend to publish feedback to the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures consultation, which ran from 2 September to 28 October 2023.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to taking action to address longstanding concerns about the safety of the cosmetics sector and is exploring options for further regulation in this area. We will set out the details of our approach in our response to the consultation on the licensing of non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England, which we will publish as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many referrals were made to NHS gambling clinics in England in the first two quarters of the 2024–25 financial year.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the 12 months between 1 October 2023 and 30 September 2024, 24 of the referrals to National Health Service gambling services in England were of young people aged between 13 and 18 years old, according to the most recent 12 months of data available nationally.
In terms of referrals made to NHS gambling clinics in England, in quarter one of 2024/25, 876 referrals were made, and in quarter two of 2024/25, 1,038 referrals were made. This totals 1,914 referrals in the first half of 2024/25. This data is published on NHS England’s website, and is available in an online only format.
In relation to the cost of the treatment of patients with gambling disorders to the NHS, NHS England is not able to provide this information for 2024/25, as individual integrated care boards hold this data.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the treatment of patients with gambling disorders cost the NHS in 2024–25.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the 12 months between 1 October 2023 and 30 September 2024, 24 of the referrals to National Health Service gambling services in England were of young people aged between 13 and 18 years old, according to the most recent 12 months of data available nationally.
In terms of referrals made to NHS gambling clinics in England, in quarter one of 2024/25, 876 referrals were made, and in quarter two of 2024/25, 1,038 referrals were made. This totals 1,914 referrals in the first half of 2024/25. This data is published on NHS England’s website, and is available in an online only format.
In relation to the cost of the treatment of patients with gambling disorders to the NHS, NHS England is not able to provide this information for 2024/25, as individual integrated care boards hold this data.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many young people in England aged between 13 and 18 have been treated by the NHS for problem gambling in the past year.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the 12 months between 1 October 2023 and 30 September 2024, 24 of the referrals to National Health Service gambling services in England were of young people aged between 13 and 18 years old, according to the most recent 12 months of data available nationally.
In terms of referrals made to NHS gambling clinics in England, in quarter one of 2024/25, 876 referrals were made, and in quarter two of 2024/25, 1,038 referrals were made. This totals 1,914 referrals in the first half of 2024/25. This data is published on NHS England’s website, and is available in an online only format.
In relation to the cost of the treatment of patients with gambling disorders to the NHS, NHS England is not able to provide this information for 2024/25, as individual integrated care boards hold this data.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 10 March (HL5185), how many of the 1,010 full-time equivalent employees working for the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will be tasked with working on the prevention of gambling harms under the gambling statutory levy.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is currently a project team of four working directly on the establishment of the gambling prevention commissioning programme of work, within the wider Alcohol and Gambling policy team. The team also draws on analytical, financial, and legal specialists from across the Department to support policy development. As work progresses on the development of the future approach to prevention, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will consider any additional resource requirements.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 10 March (HL5185), how many of the 1,010 full-time equivalent employees working for the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities are working on problem gambling and gambling harms.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is currently a project team of four working directly on the establishment of the gambling prevention commissioning programme of work, within the wider Alcohol and Gambling policy team. The team also draws on analytical, financial, and legal specialists from across the Department to support policy development. As work progresses on the development of the future approach to prevention, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities will consider any additional resource requirements.