Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Genomics England and NHS England ‘Generation Study’, offering 100,000 newborns whole genome sequencing after birth to diagnose and support a number of genetic conditions, does not include 22q11.2 deletion syndrome which meets the four requisite principles for inclusion.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Generation Study screens for over 200 conditions which were selected on a set of four principles. The expression, or penetrance, of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome is incomplete, meaning that some people with the syndrome may have no features of the condition. For this and many other conditions, including other microdeletion and microduplication syndromes, Genomics England has taken a conservative approach when applying the four principles, selecting only those conditions where penetrance is high and where treatment must be initiated very early in essentially all cases. Genomics England will review and add conditions during the course of the programme, and will publicise information about any review.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made with the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England; and what plans they have to address the higher suicide rate among men, particularly those aged 20 to 34.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to cutting the lives lost to suicide including by ensuring that the 8,500 additional mental health staff we will recruit will be specially trained to support people at risk.
Notable progress has been made since the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England 2023-2028 was published in September 2023. This includes launching the near to Real Time Suspected Suicide Surveillance system, which provides an early warning system for indications of change in suicides through monthly analysis of suspected suicides overall; launching a £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund, which runs to March 2025; and the introduction of the Online Safety Act, which received Royal Assent in October 2023.
The Strategy sets out a number of actions focusing on several priority groups including children and young people up to age of 25. We continue to keep the Strategy under review and should further risks emerge in other groups, we will work with the sector to address them. In addition, recipients of the grant fund include organisations that specifically support men of all ages.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to develop a men's health strategy for England; and to encourage higher primary care attendance among men.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This Government's mission is getting the National Health Service back on its feet, so it is there for everyone. We will be developing a 10-Year Plan for Health so that we are better able to meet the needs of the population, including men. We recognise there are areas of care where men and/or certain groups of men will require support and targeted interventions to ensure they are able to live as healthily as possible.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to help the mental health of boys who were impacted by the lockdown restrictions.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
We want to ensure that all children and young people get the mental health support they need, including boys.
By the end of 2023/24 the overall spending on mental health has increased by more than £4.7 billion in cash terms since 2018/19 (before the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were introduced).
There are now around 400 mental health support teams in place across England, covering 3.4 million children or around 35% of pupils in schools and colleges. We estimate this will increase to 44% by April 2024 and we are working to increase this coverage to 50% of pupils by March 2025.
There are also currently around 65 locally funded early support hubs in England. These hubs are open to those aged 11 to 25 years old and, importantly, they are for anyone who may not meet the threshold to receive National Health Service support. Following a competitive commercial process from hubs across the country, the government is now providing up to £8 million to 24 existing hubs to provide even more support. This means children and young people, including boys, who are experiencing feelings of anxiety or stress will have a physical space to go to in their community when their problems first emerge, without the need for a referral.
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 impact of the Abortion Act 1967 on UK birth rates.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
No assessment has been made of the impact of the Abortion Act 1967 on United Kingdom birth rates. Parliament decided the circumstances under which abortion can legally be undertaken. Under the act, women have access to safe, legal, regulated abortion services.
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 impact on the UK of the global decline in fertility rates.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
No such assessment has been made.
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 - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
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 - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
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.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the new private clinic Gender Plus operates safely for the children and young people who come under its care.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
All healthcare providers should follow clinical best practice and must be registered with their professional body and any other regulators, as appropriate, for that service.
If a private organisation which is within the scope of regulated practice fails to meet the standards expected of it, then regulators, including the Care Quality Commission, have powers to inspect these services to determine whether patient safety is at risk or if best practice is not being followed.
Asked by: Lord Farmer (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how they will ensure guidance for the Down Syndrome Act 2022 is compliant with the Equality Act 2010 in respect of other genetic conditions similarly profound in their impact, such as 22q deletion and duplication syndromes.
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Down Syndrome Act does not remove the duties under the Equality Act 2010 for services to assess all the needs of people they provide support to, including those with genetic conditions such as 22q deletion and duplication syndromes. We are clear that prioritising funding or resources for people with Down syndrome above other groups without proper assessment of people’s needs would be unlawful.
We recognise that there are overlaps between the services that support people with Down syndrome and those that support people with other genetic conditions and/or a learning disability. The Down Syndrome Act guidance will focus on the unique support needs of people with Down syndrome. We will, however, highlight where best practice in service delivery would also be applicable to those with another genetic condition and/or a learning disability, including DiGeorge syndrome (22q11.2 deletion syndrome) and duplication syndromes.
An Equality Impact Assessment will be carried out on the draft guidance once produced to ensure it does not disadvantage certain groups relative to others. There will be a full public consultation on the draft guidance. The guidance will make clear the requirements on relevant authorities in respect of the Equality Act.