Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 16 June (HL761), what assessment they have made of the reasons why some HIV-positive patients have been told that they are ineligible for participation in cancer clinical trials.

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

The Department invests £1.8 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

Whilst no assessment has been made of the reasons why HIV-patients have been told they are ineligible for participation in cancer trials, the Department is committed to ensuring that all patients, including those with HIV, have access to cutting-edge clinical trials, and innovative, lifesaving treatments through the NIHR. The NIHR does not set participant eligibility criteria for individual clinical trials. These are determined by study sponsors and investigators, subject to regulatory and ethics approval.

The NIHR continues to welcome high quality applications for research into any aspect of human health and care, including HIV and cancer. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to the public and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what their timetable is for (1) the issuance of guidance under the Down Syndrome Act 2022, and (2) the full implementation of that Act.

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

I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided in the House of Commons on 14 July 2026 in response to Question 16199, which, for ease of reference, is reproduced below.

Under the Down Syndrome Act, my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, is required to give statutory guidance to relevant authorities in health, social care, education, and housing services on what they should be doing to meet the needs of people with Down syndrome. The public consultation on the draft guidance was launched on 5 November 2025.

The consultation on draft guidance closed on 30 March 2026, and the Government is carefully considering the responses received to inform the final guidance to be published.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago regarding laws criminalising same-sex intimacy.

Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is proud to defend the human rights of LGBT+ people around the world. In Trinidad & Tobago we have funded small-scale projects to raise awareness of the rights of the LGBT+ community and train media personnel on reporting LGBT+ issues. Our officials regularly engage with the government of Trinidad & Tobago on these and other issues and will continue to do so.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that the rights of LGBTQ+ people in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago are upheld and respected.

Answered by Lord Wood of Anfield - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK is proud to defend the human rights of LGBT+ people around the world. In Trinidad & Tobago we have funded small-scale projects to raise awareness of the rights of the LGBT+ community and train media personnel on reporting LGBT+ issues. Our officials regularly engage with the government of Trinidad & Tobago on these and other issues and will continue to do so.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government how they reconcile their support for the withdrawal of UK judges from Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal on human rights grounds with the continued participation of UK judges in appeals concerning colonial-era laws that ham the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ people in Caribbean countries.

Answered by Lord Lemos - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is an independent court which serves as the final court of appeal for jurisdictions that have chosen to retain it in this role.

The circumstances of the JCPC are different from those which led serving UK judges to cease sitting on Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal.

The Government does not regard the participation of UK judges in JCPC cases as an endorsement of the laws which form the subject of proceedings. The role of the court is to determine the legal disputes brought before it independently and in accordance with the law of the relevant jurisdiction.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to commence section 14 of the Equality Act 2010 relating to dual characteristics; and what assessment they have made of the potential impact of commencement on older LGBTQ+ people.

Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

In our manifesto, we committed to strengthening protections against dual discrimination. Last year we launched a Call for Evidence on this commitment, as well as a number of other areas of equality law.

The Government is considering how to strengthen protections against dual discrimination in the most effective way. This objective is being informed by comprehensive analysis, including of the responses to the call for evidence. The Government plans to set out the next steps for this work, along with other equality law issues addressed in the 2025 Call for Evidence on Equality Law, in due course.