Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
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.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to allow patients with HIV, where the virus is undetectable, to have access to medical trials for new cancer drugs and treatments.
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).
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.
In 2024, the Department made equity, diversity, and inclusion a condition of funding for all domestic research awards funded through the NIHR. This means applicants must demonstrate how their research will contribute towards the NIHR’s mission to reduce health and care inequalities, with a focus on participant inclusion from diverse populations of the United Kingdom. From March 2026, all NIHR applicants across all award types are required to design their research inclusively in order to receive NIHR funding.
The NIHR funds a broad portfolio of research on HIV including research on a range of health and care issues conducted with people living with HIV but not specifically about HIV. Between April 2020 and March 2025, the NIHR committed over £74 million on new research projects on HIV, including research on addressing barriers to healthcare access for people with HIV.
In addition, cancer is a major area of NIHR spending at £141.6 million in 2024/25, reflecting its high priority.
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.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance they have given to parts of the NHS regarding allowing individual members of staff to attend LGBT+ Pride marches in uniform.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Policies regarding the wearing of uniforms outside of the workplace remain the responsibility of individual organisations in the NHS.
National uniform guidance was published by the Department of Health in 2010 and set out specific requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 to support effective hand hygiene. It was updated in 2020 by NHS England to include equality and diversity measures and stipulates that “it is good practice for staff to change at work or cover their uniforms as they travel to and from work”. The guidance identified shopping in uniform or engaging in other activities as examples of poor practice.
The Mann review into antisemitism and other forms of racism was published on 4 June 2026 and includes recommendations for the NHS to review and strengthen uniform guidance to ensure that political identifiers do not deter patients from seeking and receiving NHS care. The new NHS England guidance on uniforms, which will be published shortly, will draw on staff and stakeholder input and existing best practice in the NHS, including existing guidance at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and University College London Hospitals.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce secondary legislation to clarify how different public bodies should carry out their duty to further the purposes of Protected Landscapes.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government has published guidance on how the Protected Landscapes duty is intended to operate and broad principles to guide relevant authorities in complying with it.
It will explore further the most appropriate approach through legislation to clarify that developers of Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects are not required to pay financial compensation to protected landscape organisations in order to comply with the duty.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Merron on 11 March (HL15210), what insurance arrangements they envisage for NHS-accredited hospitals providing services commissioned by public health authorities which were previously part of the NHS but are now part of local government.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Where National Health Service accredited hospitals provide services commissioned by public health authorities which were previously part of the NHS but are now part of local government, any liability arising from clinical negligence is covered by the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts (CNST). CNST is a state indemnity scheme administered by NHS Resolution.