Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (No. 2) (England) Regulations 2020

Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts

Friday 24th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) [V]]

My Lords, while the regulations are generally welcome, greater attention should have been given to the importance of soft play areas for children. The present ban could be adjusted, with imaginative controls, to allow young children healthy and enjoyable exercise, and mothers and carers a little respite from the ceaseless demands of energetic children.

The real difficulty with implementing demands on freedom of movement and mixing is wider public acceptance. Does the Minister agree that faith communities can do much to remind their members to put the need for social action and concern for the safety of others—taught by all our faiths—to the fore, in these unprecedented times?

Covid-19 Update

Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts

Wednesday 1st July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell]

The noble Lord raises a significant challenge that has emerged from Covid: our profound reliance on public transport to keep our major cities and, candidly, much of our economy going. The idea that we can quickly return to packed tubes and crowded buses feels unlikely at this stage, but the answer is a difficult one to imagine, not least our need to get nurses and doctors to the front line of their hospitals and care provision. The health agenda on this is extremely important, and the noble Lord can rely on the Department of Health and Social Care to pursue it with energy.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) [V]]

My Lords, it is important for children, particularly vulnerable children and those of key workers, to get back to school as soon as possible. Will the Government consider a shift system, whereby the day is divided into shorter hours with smaller class sizes to ensure maximum safety and maximum education?

[Lord Bethell]

The noble Lord is entirely right. I have four children, all of whom have returned to school this week, and they are all attending smaller classes for smaller amounts of time on different days of the week. As a parenting challenge this is considerable, but it has meant that they have returned to both the social and disciplinary aspects of school. I embrace this development and entirely agree with the noble Lord’s prioritising of this important subject.

Nurses: Recruitment

Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the Covid pandemic has underlined the vital role of nurses in the health system. Bearing in mind that nursing students do unpaid work while learning, does the Minister agree that the £5,000 bursary is not enough to meet the fees and living costs of those whom the Government are trying to attract?

[Lord Bethell [V]]

The noble Lord is entirely right that the role of nurses in the healthcare system has been extremely well exemplified by the response to Covid. The £5,000 bursary was agreed in collaboration with, and with the input of, the Royal College of Nursing. There is of course other support that students can already access through the student loans system and the existing learning support fund, and that goes a long way towards paying for childcare, travel and other costs in cases of exceptional hardship.

Covid-19: Masks

Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts

Thursday 11th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, on the excellent way in which he introduced this topic. While it is important to understand that the wearing of the face mask offers only slight protection to the wearer, it will offer a degree of protection to others, especially where social distancing rules become difficult. It is also important to understand that we need protection against those who may have the virus without realising it. A face mask worn by a carrier will reduce the chance of the spreading of the infection. A rudimentary mask or scarf is better than nothing; common sense requires that we must use all means if we are to defeat this deadly virus.

Hospitals: Patient Safety

Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts

Thursday 21st May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell]

My Lords, every member of the NHS or social care employee can currently get a test when they present symptoms. They can do that through their employer, directly through the online service or a hotline. The turnaround time in 95% of tests is within 48 hours.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

There is a widespread fear of contracting Covid-19 on entering hospital, even where there are Covid and non-Covid zones. What steps can the Government take to reduce this real fear by limiting Covid patients to certain hospitals or by other measures?

[Lord Bethell]

The noble Lord speaks of a fear that I recognise. It is a sad feature of our times that patients who should be in hospital are anxious about attending because of possible infection with Covid. Different trusts approach this in different ways. Some sites have been deemed Covid-free and are used for, for instance, cancer treatment, whereas larger sites manage differently, perhaps by allocating certain buildings to be Covid-free and others not. We have tried our hardest to reassure the public that they can proceed in the NHS with safety.

Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Mitochondrial Donation) Regulations 2015

Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts

Tuesday 24th February 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Maginnis of Drumglass (Ind UU)]

My Lords—

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lords—

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Con)]

My Lords, it is a rule of this House that only one person speaks at one time. I ask noble Lords to be seated, please. We are in some difficulty. A number of noble Lords still want to speak. I understand that; this is a serious matter. Perhaps I might suggest to them that they will attract the approval of the House if they keep their remarks brief. Most noble Lords have come here with contributions to make, and they are speaking from extensive notes. It would help us all if we could move this debate to a conclusion; many noble Lords have indicated that to me. Therefore, while I do not for a moment suggest that we move to that stage now, I ask noble Lords to be orderly in allowing others to speak and to be brief.

Alcohol: Impact on Accident and Emergency Services

Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts

Wednesday 21st January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, again, there has been a great deal of progress in alcohol labelling. Independent research published in November showed that just under 80% of bottles and cans of alcohol on shelves now have the correct health labelling: a clear unit content, the CMO’s lower-risk drinking guidelines and a warning about drinking when pregnant. That fulfils an industry-wide responsibility deal pledge.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the drinks industry should bear the cost of treating people with alcohol-related sickness and illness who end up in A&E that is proportionate to their number? For example, it is 80% in some hospitals on a Saturday evening.

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, as I said earlier, there is actually no evidence that the A&E pressures we are now seeing are attributable to trends in alcohol-related attendances, and we have a mechanism through duties on alcohol to compensate society for the harms that alcohol causes.

Abortion

Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts

Thursday 3rd April 2014 Grand Committee

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lords, as a Sikh, I am totally opposed to abortion on any grounds except that of real and serious danger to the mother’s health, and it is important that those who facilitate gender-selective abortions should be punished with the full rigour of the law. However, laws cannot create good behaviour; they can only define the boundaries of unacceptable behaviour. We must also look to education in tackling negative and outmoded cultural practices.

The Sikh religion is not a religion in which “thou shalt” or “thou shalt not” are strictly imposed; Sikh teachings are couched in terms of gentle guidance about what we should or should not do to lead a responsible life. One of the few exceptions is a total condemnation of female infanticide. Sadly, this was all too common in the India of 500 years ago and was linked to the inferior status of women throughout the world.

From the very start of the religion, Guru Nanak taught the dignity and complete equality of women. Sikh women have always been able to lead prayers and occupy any religious position. The 10th guru, Guru Gobind Singh, gave women the name or title Kaur—literally, “princess”—to emphasise their dignity and complete equality. A Sikh woman does not have to take her husband’s name but remains an individual in her own right.

Despite the clarity of such teachings, negative sub-continent culture for some, even in the Sikh community, leads to discrimination against women and girls. Perversely, it is women who are often responsible, with mothers lavishing extra attention on male children. Even in the West today, a new birth is frequently accompanied by a joyous cry, “It’s a boy!”. It is not so long ago that the birth of a girl to royalty was greeted as a national calamity, on a par with the loss of a test match.

We all have to work much harder to fight gender discrimination and gender prejudice through tighter laws and education.

Abortion

Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts

Wednesday 12th February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the analysis recently reported in the Independent newspaper was based on census data, as my noble friend pointed out, for households with usually-resident dependent children. The gender balance of dependent children in these households is affected by a number of events that occur after birth, such as the age at which dependent children leave the parental home. As there are a number of alternative explanations for these observations, it cannot be concluded from the Independent’s analysis that sex-selective abortions are taking place. The best available data on which to base gender ratio analysis continue to be births data, which were the basis on which we did our analysis last year. I can tell my noble friend that that analysis will be updated on an annual basis when new data are available.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon (CB)]

My Lords, gender-selection abortions are an extreme form of gender discrimination. Sadly, it is all too prevalent in sub-continent communities. The Sikh guru, Guru Nanak, taught from day one the total equality of women; they can join in and lead any part of the Sikh service. Unfortunately, culture sometimes gets the better of religion; even in the Sikh community, that sort of discrimination can take place. Will the Minister ensure that funding given to sub-continent communities is conditional—indeed, is predicated—on promoting gender equality and respect for women because, at the moment, it often feels as if it is given to those who shout the loudest?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, the provisions of the Equality Act 2010 must be adhered to by all who provide a public service. Any specific allegations about gender-selective abortions being undertaken will be reported to the police. Abortion on the grounds of gender alone is illegal, as I have said. The Abortion Act is very clear on that point.

Health: Diabetes

Lord Singh of Wimbledon Excerpts

Wednesday 25th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I agree wholeheartedly with the thrust of the noble Lord’s question. As he will know, Diabetes UK has pioneered a programme of diabetes community champions from ethnic-minority communities to raise awareness of the condition in their communities. The Department of Health has awarded Diabetes UK a grant through the volunteering fund national awards for the programme to be rolled out across 12 English cities over the next two years. I gather that 111 community champions have already been recruited in London. This is exactly the sort of initiative that we need if we are to reach those who are most at risk of developing or, indeed, being diagnosed with diabetes.

[Lord Singh of Wimbledon]

My Lords, for many years, the Network of Sikh Organisations has been active in working in clinics in gurdwaras, or Sikh temples, to promote an understanding of health issues and to do checks for blood sugar and raised cholesterol. These tests and other health advice have been very effective. Will the Minister consider ways of giving impetus to such initiatives and perhaps extending them to other faith groups and centres in order to combat the evil of bad genes and the subcontinental taste for sweetness and sugars?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I am aware of several local initiatives that are doing great work in accessing those in both black and minority-ethnic communities along the lines mentioned by the noble Lord. We have made important progress in strengthening our approach to promoting equality in health and social care and in tackling these inequalities that exist. That is especially important in relation to the Asian community. I am thinking in particular—the noble Lord mentioned the need to roll out initiatives—of the NHS Heath Check programme supported by the guidance on prevention issued by NICE and the Change4Life Programme, which now has a bespoke element to it targeted specifically at ethnic-minority communities.