Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the adoption of Recommendation CM/Rec(2025)7 by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, what steps they are taking to implement this recommendation; and what plans they have to prohibit non-consensual medical interventions on intersex children until they are old enough to decide for themselves.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I would like to assure you that the Government is committed to improving the lives of intersex people, who deserve our support, respect, and understanding.
We were interested to read the Council of Europe’s report and are grateful for its work in this important area.
The Government is committed to improving the lives of intersex people, who deserve support, respect and understanding. The Government is also committed to furthering the understanding of intersex people and the challenges they face. The Office for Equality and Opportunity regularly engages with representatives from a range of intersex rights based organisations.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the (1) feasibility, and (2) benefits, of promoting the use of digital identification in retail and hospitality settings to help address the spread of COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Having a more open economy is reliant on having measures in place to minimise transmission of the virus and keep the public safe. Where someone who has visited a venue in the hospitality sector or other designated sectors tests positive, NHS Test and Trace or local public health officials may request the records maintained by that venue of staff, customers and visitors. This will help them to identify people who may have been exposed to the virus and provide the necessary public health advice.
Since 18 September 2020, the Test and Trace strategy has included mandatory requirements for designated venues, including displaying an official National Health Service QR code poster from 24 September, so that customers and visitors can ‘check in’ using the NHS COVID-19 app as an alternative to providing their contact details.
Asked by: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the report <i>Destination Cure</i>; and whether they plan to support the calls for a stem cell donor for every person who needs one, a successful transplant for every blood cancer patient, and the right post-transplant care for every patient who needs it.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Government remains committed to improving stem cell transplantation services and doing all we can to help those in need of a transplant to find a suitable donor.
Since 2011, the Department has provided our delivery partners, NHS Blood and Transplant and the Anthony Nolan (formerly the Anthony Nolan Trust), a total of £16 million in additional new funding to improve stem cell transplantation services in the United Kingdom. A further £3 million investment was announced in March 2015.
This funding has led to a tangible improvement in the availability of stem cells in the UK and the achievements include:
5. An increase in UK patients receiving a transplant from 802 in 2010/11 to 1060 in 2013/14. The increased use of UK-sourced stem cells has meant that more donors than ever are available to donate leading to a significant cost saving by reducing the need to import stem cells.
The report ‘Destination Cure – arriving at a better future’ from Anthony Nolan is a timely contribution to the debate on the future of this work.