Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how parliamentarians and members of the public can engage with and make recommendations to the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Queen Elizabeth Committee is in the early stages of its work of developing recommendations for a national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II, including both a permanent memorial and a legacy programme.
As part of its work, the Committee will undertake public engagement and consultation, details of which will be shared in due course, and will consider how best to consult other stakeholders including parliamentarians.
Further information on the Committee can be found on GOV.UK on https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/the-queen-elizabeth-memorial-committee.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase in sexually transmitted infections among 15–24 year-olds since the end of the COVID-19 lockdown.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The number of new sexually transmitted infections diagnosed among 15 to 24 years olds has increased by 29.3% from 2021 to 2022, or from 135,045 to 174,592. In particular:
- chlamydia diagnoses have increased 26%, from 88,367 in 2021 to 111,380 in 2022;
- gonorrhoea diagnoses have increased 91.7%, from 16,919 in 2021 to 31,037 in 2022;
- first diagnoses of genital herpes have increased 14.4%, from 8,270 in 2021 to 9,461 in 2022;
- diagnoses of infectious syphilis, including primary, secondary, and early latent, have increased 11.1%, from 968 in 2021 to 1,075 in 2022; and
- first diagnoses of genital warts have decreased 23.3%, from 7,559 in 2021 to 5,801 in 2022.
The data represents the number of diagnoses reported and not the number of people diagnosed. Data reported in 2020 and 2021 is notably lower than previous years due to the disruption to sexual health services during the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which reduced access to face-to-face appointments. Access to services subsequently recovered with the use of remote consultations and online testing expanding rapidly across the country.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to bring forward a strategy for addressing the recent increase in sexually transmitted infections among 15–24 year-olds as called for by respondents to the House of Commons Women and Equalities Select Committee on 24 January.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are considering the next steps needed to continue improving the sexual health of the whole population. The UK Health Security Agency is undertaking work with partner organisations to identify best use of existing and emerging interventions to address the increase in sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
The Department for Health and Social Care published the HIV Action Plan in 2021 which sets out the actions that we are taking over the period of 2022 to 2025 to move towards ending HIV transmissions, AIDS, and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. As part of the plan, we are investing £4.5 million in our National HIV Prevention Programme, which annually runs National HIV Testing Week as well as summer campaigns. Their aim is to raise awareness of ways to prevent the spread of HIV and other STIs among the most affected communities, with a particular focus on young people and other at-risk populations.
The Department for Education is currently reviewing the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance which includes reference to STI transmission, testing and prevention methods and is expected to soon launch a public consultation on the guidance. Following the consultation, they will make a decision about any new or revised content to be included in the RSHE curriculum, including the use of resources, and whether any further action would be appropriate.