First-cousin Marriage

Debate between Lord Farmer and Baroness Merron

Monday 20th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Farmer]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to address the health and social impacts of first-cousin marriage, including those relating to women’s rights.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

My Lords, NHS England continues to drive improvements in care and access to genetic services for all communities, including through research into the health risks of closely related couples—second cousins or closer—having children. In 2024-25, there was an investment of £1 million in the Genetic Risk Equity project, which supports equity of access to genetic services for the small proportion of closely related couples who have a higher risk of having children with certain genetic conditions.

[Lord Farmer (Con)]

I thank the Minister for that Answer. Pakistani-heritage journalist Matthew Syed has highlighted the risk-multiplying effect of genetic disorders when cousins intergenerationally marry cousins, as happens in remote Shetland, Orkney, and in the British Pakistani community. Pakistanis account for 3.4% of births nationwide but 30% of recessive gene disorders. The NHS employs staff specifically to deal with consanguinity-related diseases. Given this considerable disease burden, and the NHS cost, will this Government mount a health information campaign warning of this significant extra risk?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I understand the point that the noble Lord is making, but this is a very complex topic in respect of which there is a great lack of reliable data. Any plans for any health information campaign anywhere clearly need to be considered carefully. Perhaps I can reassure the noble Lord that staff from the Genomic Medicine Service are already working with other national projects, such as Born in Bradford and Best Start for Life in Birmingham, to engage with the communities most affected by first-cousin marriage. Of course, any campaign plans for Shetland and Orkney will be a matter for the Scottish Government.