Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what procedures they apply to NHS product supply chains to identify if any products which contains cotton are grown in the Xinjiang area of China.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Section 47 of the Health and Social Care Act 2022 mandated my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to conduct a review of the risks associated with slavery and human trafficking in National Health Service supply chains, with an emphasis on cotton-based products. The report was laid in parliament on 14 December 2023.

The report revealed that while many NHS tier one suppliers are United Kingdom-based, their supply chains often connect through multiple tiers to higher-risk countries, where many of the suppliers of cotton are based. Approximately 34% of high-risk suppliers were registered as based in China, where there is significant concern of forced labour, especially in Xinjiang's cotton production. Concern has also been raised about Pakistan's Sialkot region, a major source of surgical instruments where production is often subcontracted to the largely unregulated informal sector. Concerns also extend to cotton-producing nations like Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and to Malaysia and China for personal protective equipment manufacturing.

The supply chain mapping undertaken for the purpose of the review was identified as inappropriate for the size and range of products supplied to the NHS, requiring extensive effort by the buyer and suppliers to collect information that was still insufficient to affect change. Many of the suppliers identified as having high risk supply chains are UK based, however their supply chains are global.

In response to the findings the review makes a series of recommendations, outlined in detail in the publication. It advises a joint-department strategy for better risk assessment and mapping in NHS supply chains, urging ongoing emphasis on managing modern slavery risks, including updating procurement practices and standardising assessments integrated with e-commerce systems.

It recommends bolstering NHS staff's ability to tackle modern slavery, and improving supply chain mapping capability. Upcoming regulations under Section 12ZC of the NHS Act 2006 will further aid the NHS in assessing and mitigating modern slavery risks in individual procurements, alongside the introduction of a consistent risk assessment embedded into the health family’s e-commerce system.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have conducted any checks of products they use which contain cotton to ascertain where the cotton was grown.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Section 47 of the Health and Social Care Act 2022 mandated my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to conduct a review of the risks associated with slavery and human trafficking in National Health Service supply chains, with an emphasis on cotton-based products. The report was laid in parliament on 14 December 2023.

The report revealed that while many NHS tier one suppliers are United Kingdom-based, their supply chains often connect through multiple tiers to higher-risk countries, where many of the suppliers of cotton are based. Approximately 34% of high-risk suppliers were registered as based in China, where there is significant concern of forced labour, especially in Xinjiang's cotton production. Concern has also been raised about Pakistan's Sialkot region, a major source of surgical instruments where production is often subcontracted to the largely unregulated informal sector. Concerns also extend to cotton-producing nations like Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and to Malaysia and China for personal protective equipment manufacturing.

The supply chain mapping undertaken for the purpose of the review was identified as inappropriate for the size and range of products supplied to the NHS, requiring extensive effort by the buyer and suppliers to collect information that was still insufficient to affect change. Many of the suppliers identified as having high risk supply chains are UK based, however their supply chains are global.

In response to the findings the review makes a series of recommendations, outlined in detail in the publication. It advises a joint-department strategy for better risk assessment and mapping in NHS supply chains, urging ongoing emphasis on managing modern slavery risks, including updating procurement practices and standardising assessments integrated with e-commerce systems.

It recommends bolstering NHS staff's ability to tackle modern slavery, and improving supply chain mapping capability. Upcoming regulations under Section 12ZC of the NHS Act 2006 will further aid the NHS in assessing and mitigating modern slavery risks in individual procurements, alongside the introduction of a consistent risk assessment embedded into the health family’s e-commerce system.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 21 October (HL1588), whether the public consultation on modern slavery in the NHS supply chain will include alternatives to the Modern Slavery Assessment tool, such as element-analysis processes.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The consultation will comprise of draft regulations which set out what public bodies will need to do to assess and mitigate the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking in all procurement for goods and services for the purposes of health care in the National Health Service. This will be accompanied by guidance on how to best comply with the regulations, including how to assess risk.

The guidance will refer to a risk assessment tool NHS England is currently developing based on the six characteristics to help assess modern slavery risks, as set out in the Public Procurement Policy Note 02/23 on identifying and managing modern slavery risks. These are:

• the industry type;
• the nature of the workforce;
• the supplier location;
• the context in which the supplier operates;
• the commodity type; and
• the business or supply chain model.

The Department would of course welcome ideas and suggestions on risk assessment tools and methodologies in responses to the consultation.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what response they have received to requests for consular access to Alaa Abd el-Fattah.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

HMG Ministers and officials at the British Embassy in Cairo continue to raise Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian government at the highest levels. They have been consistently clear in calling for his release and continue to press for urgent consular access. The Egyptian Government does not recognise Mr El-Fattah's British nationality and is refusing consular access. The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions, most recently with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on 7 October. The Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 8 August and I raised Mr El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian Ambassador on 11 September.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the government of Egypt regarding Alaa Abd el-Fattah.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

HMG Ministers and officials at the British Embassy in Cairo continue to raise Mr Alaa Abd El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian government at the highest levels. They have been consistently clear in calling for his release and continue to press for urgent consular access. The Egyptian Government does not recognise Mr El-Fattah's British nationality and is refusing consular access. The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions, most recently with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on 7 October. The Prime Minister raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 8 August and I raised Mr El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian Ambassador on 11 September.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the result of the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care's review under section 47 of the Health and Care Act 2022 of the risk of slavery taking place in NHS supply chains.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Review of risk of Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking in the NHS Supply Chain, pursuant to section 47 of the Health and Social Care Act 2022, was undertaken in 2023 and published on 14 December 2023. A copy of the report is attached. One of the recommendations from the report was to lay regulations with a view to eradicate modern slavery, supporting the amendment of Section 12zc in the NHS Act 2006. The regulations cover all goods and services procured on behalf of the health service.

The Department and NHS England have also developed detailed guidance to support the embedding of the regulations and policies throughout a procurement exercise. This ensures alignment to procurements conducted under all legal regimes including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, Procurement Act 2023, and the Health Care Services (Provider Selection Regime) Regulations 2023.

A public consultation for the content and approach of those regulations is to be launched in Autumn 2024. This will support my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to develop the regulations to ensure the National Health Service eradicates modern slavery in supply chains.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that NHS staff are able to give evidence in court proceedings without it impacting their career.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are currently no plans for my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to introduce new steps to ensure National Health Service staff are able to give evidence in court proceedings without it impacting on their career. Court proceedings are a private legal matter between employees, their legal advisor, and the employer concerned. Time off to attend court is also a private matter between individuals and the employer, including whether the time is paid or unpaid.

A person is protected from victimisation in relation to any discrimination complaint, for instance they may not be subjected to detriment for being involved in a complaint about discrimination, under current employment law. They may also not be subject to detriment for asserting certain statutory rights such as trade union activities.

This also includes where a member of NHS staff has made a protected disclosure under the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and gives evidence regarding those issues in court where they would be protected from detriment by their employer, including, subject to any jurisdictional issues, any former and future employers as a result of them having made the protected disclosure.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to make food hygiene rating certificates mandatory in England.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme is operated by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), in partnership with local authorities across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. We will consider whether mandatory display of ratings should be introduced in England in due course. In the meantime, the FSA is working with its local authority partners to maintain and improve the impact and benefits of this highly successful public health scheme.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to respond to the report by Professor Alexis Jay The Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (HC720), published on 20 October 2022.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office is working closely with departments across Government, including the Department for Education, Department for Health and Social Care, and the Ministry of Justice, to identify how best to deliver against the recommendations made in the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

Tackling child sexual abuse is a cross-Government priority. We are committed to confronting this horrific crime whenever and wherever it occurs and using all levers available to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. The lessons learned from the Independent Inquiry, based on the input of over 6000 victims and survivors, will provide a fundamental basis for this work.

This government understands the frustration with the delays, and we hope to reset this and get started on this soon.

Found: Q4 Lord Rooker: Good morning, and thanks for responding so quickly, as the Chair said.

Found: of Lindsay Lord Cunningham of Felling Lord McLoughlin (Chair) Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Lord

Found: of Lindsay Lord Cunningham of Felling Lord McLoughlin (Chair) Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Lord

Found: of Lindsay Lord Cunningham of Felling Lord McLoughlin (Chair) Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Lord

Found: of Lindsay Lord Cunningham of Felling Lord McLoughlin (Chair) Baroness Finlay of Llandaff Lord

The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee is launching an inquiry into the relationship between the welfare system and long-term sickness in Great Britain, as a follow up to its 2022 inquiry into economic inactivity.