Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of South Africa regarding deaths of boys during mass circumcisions.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

The UK Government is deeply concerned by reports of fatalities linked to male initiation ceremonies, which includes circumcision practices in South Africa. We continue to engage through various partners to support efforts that prioritise child protection, uphold human rights and reduce harm from practices that pose serious health risks to children and adolescents.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they plan to take to support integrated care boards that are unable to fund redundancies to reduce staffing costs by the end of this year.

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

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of the abolition of NHS England, we are clear on the need for a smaller centre, as well as scaling back integrated care board running costs and National Health Service provider corporate cost reductions to reduce waste and bureaucracy.

We have recently announced the Spending Review settlement which provides an additional £29 billion of annual day-to-day spending in real terms by 2028/29 compared to 2023/24. Ahead of asking the NHS to commence a multi-year planning round, we are now carefully reviewing how the settlement is prioritised including making provision for redundancy costs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is a minimum age requirement to be a practitioner of non-therapeutic male circumcision.

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

There is no requirement in law for a practitioner performing non-therapeutic male circumcision (NTMC) to be medically trained or to be of a minimum age. If an NMTC procedure is carried out by a regulated healthcare professional, they will be subject to oversight by the relevant professional regulator such as the General Medical Council for doctors or the Nursing and Midwifery Council for nurses and midwives.

If a regulated healthcare professional is acting in a religious or spiritual role, they cannot ‘opt out’ of their core duties and responsibilities, and therefore any registered healthcare professional wishing to carry out NTMC must be registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry out the regulated activity of surgical procedures.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the legality of unanaesthetised non-therapeutic circumcisions of boys.

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

There is no requirement in law for a practitioner performing non-therapeutic male circumcision (NTMC) to be medically trained or to be of a minimum age. If an NMTC procedure is carried out by a regulated healthcare professional, they will be subject to oversight by the relevant professional regulator such as the General Medical Council for doctors or the Nursing and Midwifery Council for nurses and midwives.

If a regulated healthcare professional is acting in a religious or spiritual role, they cannot ‘opt out’ of their core duties and responsibilities, and therefore any registered healthcare professional wishing to carry out NTMC must be registered with the Care Quality Commission to carry out the regulated activity of surgical procedures.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 22 September (HL10271), what assurance mechanisms NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care have in place to monitor (1) the trusts and NHS organisations that are implementing learning disabilities mortality review (LeDeR) report recommendations, and (2) the improvements that are made directly as a result of implementing LeDeR report recommendations.

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

Integrated care boards (ICBs) and National Health Service organisations have a key role to play in reducing the health inequalities and premature mortality experienced by people with a learning disability and autistic people.

ICBs are responsible for ensuring that learning disabilities mortality (LeDeR) reviews are completed in their local area so that NHS organisations can implement the learning from those reviews and improve the quality of services. ICBs are expected to prioritise LeDeR reviews within their delivery plans, and as part of their local governance to learn from deaths. The analysis of findings from local LeDeR reviews should inform which areas organisations prioritise for quality improvement activity. In its Action from Learning Report, NHS England shares improvement initiatives being taken across England and provides guidance on what action needs to be taken by health and care organisations.

The 2025/2026 NHS priorities and operational planning guidance requires that integrated care systems and NHS trusts work together to reduce health inequalities. The NHS England Operating Framework sets out further information on how NHS England operates and works together with ICBs and NHS providers to deliver health and care services and improve health outcomes.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 1 October (HL10420), what databases or financial records they used to conclude that no individuals have yet received redundancy or severance payments as a result of reductions in NHS England or integrated care board staff in this financial year.

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

The written answer for HL10420, stating that no individuals have yet received redundancy or severance payments, relates to the Department and NHS England. The schemes are being managed by the human resource departments of both organisations, who hold the supporting documentation, including the financial offers that will be made to individuals who progress to exit. It remains the case that no individuals have yet left under these schemes, with no costs having therefore been incurred.

In the case of integrated care board staff, the associated records will be held locally. At a national level we continue to work with HM Treasury on how to prioritise funding for redundancy payments ahead of the medium-term planning framework being published.