Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to change by legislation any age-based legal entitlements other than voting age.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government committed in its manifesto to increasing the engagement of young people in our vibrant democracy, by giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all UK elections – and we are intent on delivering on that promise.
We want to build and encourage long-lasting engagement with our democracy. Early engagement by younger voters will build the foundations for their lifetime participation in our electoral processes. Lowering the voting age will enable 16- and 17-year-olds in England and Northern Ireland to join their peers in Scotland and Wales, who are already able to vote in local and devolved elections.
As outlined in the recently published ‘Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections’, once registered, 16- and 17-year-olds will have the same rights as any other voters.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to protect schools from party political interference after the minimum voting age has been lowered to 16.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Schools are subject to statutory duties regarding political impartiality under Sections 406 and 407 of the Equality Act 1996. This means schools must not promote partisan political views and should ensure that pupils are provided with a balanced treatment of political issues.
In 2022, the department published comprehensive guidance to support schools to meet their duties on political impartiality. This guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools.
The guidance is clear that all schools should take full responsibility for ensuring lessons and materials are age appropriate, suitable, and politically impartial.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve awareness and understanding of peripheral arterial disease among (1) the public, and (2) the primary care workforce.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), like other cardiovascular conditions, shares risk factors and is largely preventable. However, access to timely diagnosis and treatment can vary significantly across regions. The Government is working to reduce these disparities and improve outcomes for patients.
To support the reduction of inequalities in care, NHS England’s national approach is Core20PLUS5, with further information available on the NHS.UK website. The approach defines a target population cohort and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement, including cardiovascular disease. There is a specific focus on improving the detection and management of hypertension, and optimising lipid management, amongst target groups to prevent conditions such as PAD.
In addition, the National Vascular Registry (NVR) collects and publishes data on the outcomes of major vascular procedures across National Health Service hospitals. This includes procedures for PAD, such as angioplasty, bypass surgery, and amputations. By highlighting both good practice and areas needing improvement, the NVR supports hospitals and commissioners in identifying and addressing regional gaps in care quality and outcomes.
Information on PAD is available on the NHS.UK website, and NHS England continues to work with clinical experts and professional bodies to improve care and reduce regional variation.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to address inequalities in (1) access to treatment, and (2) health outcomes, for patients with peripheral arterial disease.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), like other cardiovascular conditions, shares risk factors and is largely preventable. However, access to timely diagnosis and treatment can vary significantly across regions. The Government is working to reduce these disparities and improve outcomes for patients.
To support the reduction of inequalities in care, NHS England’s national approach is Core20PLUS5, with further information available on the NHS.UK website. The approach defines a target population cohort and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement, including cardiovascular disease. There is a specific focus on improving the detection and management of hypertension, and optimising lipid management, amongst target groups to prevent conditions such as PAD.
In addition, the National Vascular Registry (NVR) collects and publishes data on the outcomes of major vascular procedures across National Health Service hospitals. This includes procedures for PAD, such as angioplasty, bypass surgery, and amputations. By highlighting both good practice and areas needing improvement, the NVR supports hospitals and commissioners in identifying and addressing regional gaps in care quality and outcomes.
Information on PAD is available on the NHS.UK website, and NHS England continues to work with clinical experts and professional bodies to improve care and reduce regional variation.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent lower-limb amputations caused by the progression of peripheral arterial disease.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), like other cardiovascular conditions, shares risk factors and is largely preventable. However, access to timely diagnosis and treatment can vary significantly across regions. The Government is working to reduce these disparities and improve outcomes for patients.
To support the reduction of inequalities in care, NHS England’s national approach is Core20PLUS5, with further information available on the NHS.UK website. The approach defines a target population cohort and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement, including cardiovascular disease. There is a specific focus on improving the detection and management of hypertension, and optimising lipid management, amongst target groups to prevent conditions such as PAD.
In addition, the National Vascular Registry (NVR) collects and publishes data on the outcomes of major vascular procedures across National Health Service hospitals. This includes procedures for PAD, such as angioplasty, bypass surgery, and amputations. By highlighting both good practice and areas needing improvement, the NVR supports hospitals and commissioners in identifying and addressing regional gaps in care quality and outcomes.
Information on PAD is available on the NHS.UK website, and NHS England continues to work with clinical experts and professional bodies to improve care and reduce regional variation.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle variation in uptake of peripheral arterial disease intervention.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD), like other cardiovascular conditions, shares risk factors and is largely preventable. However, access to timely diagnosis and treatment can vary significantly across regions. The Government is working to reduce these disparities and improve outcomes for patients.
To support the reduction of inequalities in care, NHS England’s national approach is Core20PLUS5, with further information available on the NHS.UK website. The approach defines a target population cohort and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement, including cardiovascular disease. There is a specific focus on improving the detection and management of hypertension, and optimising lipid management, amongst target groups to prevent conditions such as PAD.
In addition, the National Vascular Registry (NVR) collects and publishes data on the outcomes of major vascular procedures across National Health Service hospitals. This includes procedures for PAD, such as angioplasty, bypass surgery, and amputations. By highlighting both good practice and areas needing improvement, the NVR supports hospitals and commissioners in identifying and addressing regional gaps in care quality and outcomes.
Information on PAD is available on the NHS.UK website, and NHS England continues to work with clinical experts and professional bodies to improve care and reduce regional variation.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the Gaelic Athletic Association to ensure that Gaelic Athletic Association sporting competitions, particularly for young people, are not named after terrorists.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Everyone has the right to celebrate their culture but they should do so in a respectful and lawful manner. Sport has the unique ability to bring people together and it ought to be something which unites rather than divides us.
Any allegation of glorifying terrorism is an operational matter for the PSNI and the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland, both of which are independent of government.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will attach conditions to the funding for the Casement Park project; and whether these will include not using taxpayer-funded sports grounds for competitions named after terrorists.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK Government has committed £50m of Capital Financial Transactions funding to help the Northern Ireland Executive to redevelop Casement Park. However, it is up to the Executive to decide how to implement the development of the stadium.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what level of equity share they will obtain for their funding support for Casement Park through Financial Transactions Capital.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The UK Government has committed £50m of Capital Financial Transactions funding to redevelop Casement Park. The UK Government will continue to work with the Northern Ireland Executive; however, it is up to the Executive to take decisions on the design and implementation of the Financial Transaction, including whether to take long-term equity stake in the project. The Financial Transaction will be provided to the Executive on a net basis, it does not need to be repaid to the UK Government and the Executive can recycle any repayments indefinitely.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the integrity of elections carried out without the requirement for photographic voter identification.
Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Legitimate electors should not be prevented from voting and we are committed to ensuring that everyone eligible is able and encouraged to do so. We believe it is appropriate to retain the requirement to show ID to protect our electors from the risk of personation, but the current rules are too restrictive.
Allowing the use of UK issued bank cards will improve the policy by increasing accessibility and ease for legitimate electors to prove their identity, while maintaining a proportionate and secure ID check. UK banks conduct a range of rigorous identity verification and anti-money laundering processes before opening bank accounts for their clients and issuing bank cards.