Asked by: Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in view of the advancing mpox epidemic, especially clade Ib, and given that a recent study has found that the effect of Imvanex wanes to undetectable levels after one year, to what extent His Majesty's Government hold a mixed stockpile of the three globally approved vaccines.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Of the three vaccines, Imvanex is the only one licensed in the United Kingdom by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and in the European Union by the European Medicines Agency, for active immunisation against smallpox, Mpox, and other diseases caused by the vaccinia virus in adults.
Imvanex is the only currently available vaccine with real world evidence of protection against Mpox. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has agreed that the evidence it has reviewed is consistent with protection from Imvanex being maintained for approximately 10 years.
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, since the PALM007 study has shown the antiviral ingredient tecovirimat does not always reduce the duration of mpox lesions, a mixed stockpile of antiviral agents for mpox is being considered.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In addition to the ongoing efforts to control Mpox clade IIb in the United Kingdom, there is widespread planning underway across the Government, including work by the Department, the UK Health Security Agency, and the National Health Service, to prepare for any potential cases of the high consequence infectious disease clades Ia or Ib of Mpox in the UK, and to help prevent onward transmission should any cases be imported.
An established clinical countermeasures programme is a core component of our pandemic preparedness and response capability. These clinical countermeasures include personal protective equipment and hygiene consumables, vaccines, and therapeutics, such as antivirals. The programme, including the balance of antivirals stockpiled, is informed by scientific and clinical assessment of the evidence base and is kept under review, building on lessons learned from previous outbreaks and emerging evidence on efficacy from ongoing clinical trials in epidemic hotspots.
The Department has noted the recent PALM007 study. The NHS in England has a duty to make available to patients in England any treatment or product recommended as clinically and cost effective by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the impact of extended waiting times to access NHS-commissioned mental health and paediatric services on the ability for young people to access support at the specialist gender services.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In August, NHS England published a service specification for the National Referral Support Service for Specialist Services for Children and Young People with Gender Incongruence. Now referrals can only be made by a National Health Service-commissioned, secondary care-level paediatric service, or a Children and Young Person mental health service. This will ensure that healthcare professionals with the relevant expertise conduct the assessment and help determine any co-existing mental health or other health needs of these children and their onward care, ultimately ensuring a holistic approach to care for these children and young people.
The impacts of the new arrangements for referral into the NHS Children and Young People's Gender Services were considered in detail by NHS England through a process of public consultation, which included publication of an impact assessment. The impact assessment concluded that the new access arrangements are unlikely to increase the waiting time into the NHS Children and Young People's Gender Services for the majority of individuals, as the referral date from primary care to the secondary care service will be honoured for determining an individual’s place on the waiting list for the NHS Children and Young People's Gender Service, and waiting times for local mental health services and paediatric services are likely to be lower for the majority of individuals than the current waiting time for the first appointment with the NHS Children and Young People's Gender Service. NHS England expects waiting times into the NHS Children and Young People's Service to fall as clinical capacity is increased through the establishment of new regional providers, in line with the recommendations of the Cass Review. The consultation materials and the impact assessment are available at the following link:
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the letter from the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to all members of the House of Lords on 8 August, who will be conducting the observational research study; who will be included within this study; how long will the study run for; and when they expect results from the study to be published.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
A study into the potential benefits and harms of puberty suppressing hormones being used as one of the treatment options for children and young people with gender incongruence is being developed through a joint programme between NHS England and the National Institute for Health and Care (NIHR), the research arm of the Department. The research will be co-sponsored by King’s College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. It is planned that recruitment into the study will be through specialist National Health Service gender services, ensuring that individuals accessing hormone suppression through the study do so following a holistic multidisciplinary assessment within the services above. The study team has submitted their research application, which is currently undergoing scientific review.
Subject to the study achieving the necessary approvals, including ethics approval, the NIHR will publish details of the award, including the planned trial duration and study completion date, on its website. The study forms part of a wider joint programme of research and evaluation underpinning the delivery of new services for children and young people with gender incongruence. Further research will be needed to continue to build the evidence base, and our understanding of best practice in this important clinical area, including for psychosocial interventions. Work will continue with a broad range of stakeholders, to inform further study priorities.
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government to which department the Port of London Authority is accountable, and whether its annual accounts are publicly available.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a Trust Port. Trust Ports are independent organisations that are both strategically and financially independent of Government. They are accountable to stakeholders including port users, local communities and Government and are led by an independent board.
The Secretary of State for Transport is required under the PLA’s enabling legislation to appoint the Chair of the PLA and one to three Non-Executive Directors. The appointees’ duty is to pursue the interests of the port. The Department for Transport (DfT) has no powers to direct the Board members.
All harbour authorities in the UK, regardless of their ownership model, act independently of central government and have their own legal responsibilities established through local Acts of Parliament. In relation to the PLA under the PLA Act 1968, there are certain rights of appeal to the Secretary of State, for example in relation to the setting of statutory charges and licensing decisions.
The DfT is responsible for overseeing the legislative framework for ports and harbours and the governance of ports. We expect all ports to adhere to the Ports Good Governance Guidance, published in 2018.
PLA is the only Trust Port that is obliged under their statutory legislation to submit their annual report and accounts on a yearly basis to Parliament. The accounts are laid as an Act Paper in both the House of Commons and House of Lords and can be found in the Parliamentary Library. They are also published on the PLA’s website and the 2022 report can be found here: https://www.pla.co.uk/Media-Centre/Annual-Report-and-Accounts-2022
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will introduce legislation to implement reforms in England and Wales similar to those proposed in the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill to ensure the equal treatment of transgender people across Great Britain; and, if so, when.
Answered by Baroness Stedman-Scott - Opposition Whip (Lords)
The Government held a public consultation on the Gender Recognition Act 2004 in 2018, which we responded to in 2020. We carefully considered the responses to the consultation and concluded that the balance struck in the legislation is correct. There are proper checks and balances in the system for people who want to change their legal sex and we have no intention of changing the current legislative requirements.
We are progressing in our commitment, announced at the same time in 2020, to make the gender recognition process more straightforward and accessible. That is why we have already reduced the fee to £5 and are digitising the application process to make it more accessible and easier to navigate. As the Minister for Equalities recently announced, we will also be removing, via a remedial order, the term ‘disorder’ from the definition of gender dysphoria in the 2004 Act.
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the 2015 Paris climate talks commitment to provide $100 billion to developing countries; and whether they intend to make any such assessment publicly available during COP26.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
The commitment to jointly mobilise $100bn of climate finance a year promised to developing countries in 2009, and again in 2015, is critically important to helping developing countries transition to cleaner economies and protecting those worst affected by the impacts of climate change. The UK Presidency has been pushing developed countries to meet existing commitments and come forward with ambitious post-2020 climate finance pledges, to achieve and surpass the $100bn a year goal. The COP President Designate has also asked Germany and Canada to lead on the development of a Delivery Plan which sets out how donor countries will meet the goal. This plan will be published in advance of COP.
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Uganda about the passing of the Sexual Offences Bill, and in particular Clause 11(i) of that Bill.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
We note that the Parliament of Uganda passed the Sexual Offences Bill on 3 May. We are very concerned about the retention of dated language in Clause 11(i) which continues to criminalise homosexuality. We recognise the impact this has on the LGBT+ community.
We make regular representations to the Government of Uganda on this issue through our High Commission in Kampala. We also work through international organisations, including the UN, Council of Europe, Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Commonwealth, to address discriminatory laws and end discrimination against LGBT+ people.
The UK plays an active role across the world in support of LGBT+ rights. There needs to be an end to violence and discrimination against LGBT+ people. The Minister for Africa made this clear when he spoke at the launch of the Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT+ Lives in December 2020. We will continue to challenge governments that criminalise homosexuality directly and at the highest political levels.
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of implementing a targeted hygiene approach in the health sector and its applicability to wider societal settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
No specific assessment has been made.
The Government will continue to monitor the impact of implementing non pharmaceutical interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic and consider any further actions required.
Asked by: Lord Cashman (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of behavioural science in driving personal responsibility to ensure (1) continued hand hygiene, (2) social distancing, and (3) mask wearing; and what plans they have to launch public information campaigns to underline those messages and promote hygienic behaviour as a life-long habit amongst the general population to support future pandemic preparedness plans and public health strategies.
Answered by Lord True - Shadow Leader of the House of Lords
Behavioural science has been fully embedded in Covid-19 communications since the start of the pandemic. The evidence-based principles from this field have been applied across all key campaigns, such as ‘Hands Face Space’ and ‘Stay Home, Protect NHS, Save Lives’. Behavioural science support during the pandemic has been provided by internal government teams and academic experts, including those who are members of SPI-B.
Hand hygiene, social distancing and mask-wearing remain a core pillar of the on-going campaign. However, the communication response to the pandemic must be flexible and reflect restrictions aimed at the immediate threat level. This is now at the highest level, and national ‘Stay Home’ communication addresses the most pressing behavioural challenge. Life-long hygiene habits are important and are being factored into future plans, however, message discipline is imperative so we must prioritise the urgent and immediate ‘Stay Home’ behaviours.