Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Department for Work and Pensions (1) currently has, or (2) has previously had, a National Diversity Ambassador on Trans Issues; and if so, (a) who they were, and (b) during what time period(s) they served.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP does not have a National Diversity Ambassador on Trans Issues.
Since 2018, under the current Permanent Secretary, there has been no formally recognised role of this description. Before this, the term Ambassador may have been used colloquially within the Department to raise awareness of Trans and wider Equity, Diversity and Inclusion matters. However, this role was not confirmed in any official capacity.
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many responses they received to their consultation Review of the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) and Health Education statutory guidance, which launched on 16 May and closed on 11 July; and when they intend to publish their response to the consultation and summary of responses.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The public consultation on the Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education statutory guidance was open for eight weeks and received over 14,300 responses.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance for schools and as such the government will look carefully at the consultation responses and consider the relevant evidence, including through stakeholder conversations, before setting out the next steps to make sure the guidance draws from the best available evidence. This will include plans for responding to the consultation.
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their plans to lower the voting age to 16, whether they also intend to lower the legal age for (1) applying, or (2) qualifying, for a Gender Recognition Certificate to 16.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government has no plans to lower the minimum age of application for a Gender Recognition Certificate.
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the risk posed to workers by fake job advertisements, whether it is their policy that Government jobs should only be advertised on websites which are members of an industry-led anti-fraud certification scheme which is compliant with the Online Safety Act 2023.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
Preventing fraudulent job postings is of importance to the government and Civil Service roles are mainly listed on our secure Civil Service Jobs website. They may also appear elsewhere on third party job websites. At present, there is no policy which stipulates that Civil Service roles should only be advertised on websites which are members of an industry-led anti-fraud certification scheme compliant with the Online Safety Act 2023.
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Gower on 12 February (HL1997), whether rules similar to Network Rail's code of acceptance for commercial advertising apply to non-commercial displays of political messaging.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
The rules of Network Rail’s code of acceptance for commercial advertising apply to non-commercial displays.
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what policies and guidance are in place for Network Rail concerning whether political statements are permitted in advertising or otherwise displayed in their stations.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
All advertisements and any displays in Network Rail’s stations must comply with Network Rail's code of acceptance for commercial advertising. The code states that any displays ‘will not be approved for or permitted to remain on display if they are of a political nature calling for the support of a particular viewpoint, policy or action or attacking a member or policies of any legislative, central or local government authority’. Advertisements must also comply with the ASA’s British Code of Advertising Practice.
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government when marketplaces and online retailers collect VAT under legislation introduced in 2021, how does HMRC ensure the VAT collected is actually handed over to HMRC; and what audit process and checks and balances are in place for allowing this proxy arrangement.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Online marketplaces and online retailers that are required to collect VAT under the legislation introduced in 2021 are required to do so by registering for VAT in the UK and paying any VAT due via a UK VAT return.
To ensure that VAT is correctly collected and paid to HMRC these businesses are subject to risk-based compliance activity in the same way as other VAT registered businesses.
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement on the NHS webpage 'Can I access someone else's medical records (health records)?' that "children aged 12 or older are usually considered to have the capacity to give or refuse consent to parents requesting access to their health records, unless there is a reason to suggest otherwise".
Answered by Lord Markham - Shadow Minister (Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department and NHS England work closely together, in conjunction with a range of stakeholders across the sector, to make sure the National Health Service's position is right for children.
For children aged under 11 years old, parents are presumed to be exercising a child's right to access their records, where the child lacks capacity to exercise it on their own behalf. Children aged 11 years or older are usually considered to have the capacity to give or refuse consent to parents requesting access to their health records, unless there is a good reason to suggest otherwise.
Whilst reasonable efforts should be made to encourage the child to involve parents or guardians, children have the same rights of access and information as adults do. If a child has the capacity to give or withhold consent to the release of their health record information, health professionals should generally respect their wishes. General practice surgeries should have processes in place for determining on a case-by-case basis whether a child is competent to make this decision.
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether it is their policy that police officers assigned as male at birth who now identify as women should be allowed to strip search female suspects and, if not, what advice they will offer to the National Police Chiefs’ Council and to police forces which currently allow this practice.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Shadow Minister (Business and Trade)
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and the PACE Codes of Practice have clear same-sex provisions in relation to the conduct of certain searches of persons by police officers.
All searches conducted in custody, including strip searches, as well as searches undertaken under stop and search powers involving the removal of more than an outer jacket and certain other garments, must be conducted by an officer of the same sex as the detainee.
It is not right, safe or respectful to women for an officer who is biologically male but who has simply self-identified as female to be able to conduct a strip search of a woman.
Whilst respecting the operational independence of the police, the Government expects chief constables to ensure that their force policies comply with all legal obligations, including under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 and Equalities Act 2010.
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are taking steps to ensure that all sports governing bodies funded by Sport England have regard to women and women's organisations, including through consultation, when considering the inclusion of trans women in women's sports.
Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Shadow Minister (Culture, Media and Sport)
When it comes to competitive sport, His Majesty’s Government believes that fairness and safety has to be the primary consideration. We are clear that a way forward is needed which protects and shows compassion to all athletes, whilst being clear that the integrity of competition must be maintained. HM Government recently set out this position in the sport strategy, published in August.
The national governing bodies of sports set their own policies for who can participate in their sports domestically. The Sports Council Equality Group, which includes Sport England, has produced guidance to help governing bodies with this process. The Group published guidance relating to the inclusion of transgender people in September 2021, after extensive consultation and a review of scientific research. This guidance encourages governing bodies to conduct meaningful and respectful consultation within their sport to ensure that a wide range of opinions are sought.