Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Türkiye on the continued use of entry bans and deportations affecting foreign Christian workers and clergy.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is a priority for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the right to FoRB is clearly enshrined in the Turkish constitution. We continue to urge respect for religious freedoms, which are essential to the long-term health of Turkish democracy.
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 whether the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework will include measures to test levels of lipoprotein (a) among people with a family history of premature heart disease or familial hypercholesterolaemia.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for improving how familial hypercholesterolaemia is identified and treated, with support from national genetic testing services. Once someone is diagnosed, they are cared for using national guidance, which usually involves starting cholesterol-lowering treatment early and managing it closely to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Lipoprotein measurement is not currently recommended by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. There are currently no medications available which specifically target lipoprotein in terms of management. NHS England will look to NICE for guidance on the role of lipoprotein testing to inform cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention policy. The National CVD Prevention Programme aims to improve the uptake of lipid lowering therapies for both primary and secondary prevention to treat people with established CVD to NICE treatment targets.
The Government is committed to reducing premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next 10 years. To accelerate progress on this ambition, we will publish a new Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) this Spring. The CVD MSF will support consistent, high quality, and equitable care across the CVD pathway while fostering innovation, and will help to improve the detection and management of cardiovascular risk factors.
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 improve the detection and treatment of cases of familial hypercholesterolaemia as part of cardiovascular disease prevention programmes.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards are responsible for improving how familial hypercholesterolaemia is identified and treated, with support from national genetic testing services. Once someone is diagnosed, they are cared for using national guidance, which usually involves starting cholesterol-lowering treatment early and managing it closely to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Lipoprotein measurement is not currently recommended by National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. There are currently no medications available which specifically target lipoprotein in terms of management. NHS England will look to NICE for guidance on the role of lipoprotein testing to inform cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention policy. The National CVD Prevention Programme aims to improve the uptake of lipid lowering therapies for both primary and secondary prevention to treat people with established CVD to NICE treatment targets.
The Government is committed to reducing premature mortality from heart disease and stroke by 25% in the next 10 years. To accelerate progress on this ambition, we will publish a new Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) this Spring. The CVD MSF will support consistent, high quality, and equitable care across the CVD pathway while fostering innovation, and will help to improve the detection and management of cardiovascular risk factors.
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 as part of the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework to improve the identification of patients with raised cholesterol.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to tackling the biggest killers, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). Improving early detection and diagnosis of the key risk factors for CVD, including raised cholesterol levels, is vital to deliver on this commitment.
To tackle unwarranted variation, support consistent, high-quality care across the CVD pathway, and to support the Government’s ambition to reduce premature deaths from heart disease and stroke by 25% within a decade, we will publish a new cardiovascular disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) this spring.
In developing the CVD MSF, we are reviewing evidence and engaging stakeholders on a range of pathway areas, including lipid management. The framework will support integrated care boards by identifying the best-evidenced interventions, setting clear implementation standards. This approach will help ensure greater consistency in the detection, treatment, and management of CVD.
In addition, the Government continues to support the NHS Health Check, England’s CVD prevention programme. For every 1.4 million NHS Health Checks delivered annually, there are 900,000 people identified with raised cholesterol levels.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they did not include Herbie's Law on animal testing in the King's Speech; and what plans they have to introduce such legislation.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK’s legal framework already limits the use of animals in science to cases where no validated alternatives exist. The Government’s alternative methods strategy sets out a vision to eliminate animal use in all but exceptional circumstances. However, science is unpredictable, so we will not be setting arbitrary timelines for overall reduction but will publish timelines for specific actions.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government to outline the proposed timetable for the introduction of the Education for All Bill in this Parliamentary session.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
As set out in the ‘Every Child Achieving and Thriving’ White Paper and the accompanying consultation document, the government’s reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system will be a long-term programme delivered over the next decade. Until then, the current system, with its existing duties, rights, and funding routes, will remain in place.
Alongside this, the department has committed over £4 billion investment in SEND reform over the next three years to strengthen the system now. This will ensure appropriate high-quality school places are available for children with SEND, ahead of legislative changes.
The SEND consultation has now closed. We are carefully reviewing responses to the consultation alongside feedback from over 200 engagement events we held over 12 weeks and we will set out our response in due course.
We will introduce the Education for All Bill in this Parliamentary session, when Parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of the detention of religious leaders and attacks on places of worship in Myanmar; and what steps are they taking to support accountability for violations of freedom of religion or belief in that country.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer provided on 10 April to Question HL15957.
Asked by: Lord Weir of Ballyholme (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to increase the current period of statutory paternity leave entitlement to more than two weeks.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Through the Employment Rights Act, the Government have made Paternity Leave a ‘day one’ right as of 6 April this year. This brings an extra 32,000 fathers and partners into scope of the entitlement.
However, we recognise that more can be done. That is why we launched the Parental Leave and Pay Review on 1 July 2025, which will consider all existing parental leave entitlements, including Paternity Leave and Pay, and is due to report in early 2027.
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 assessment they have made of the impact on a carer's quality of life when supporting someone with (1) mild, (2) moderate, and (3) severe, dementia.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has not made a specific assessment of the impact on an unpaid carer’s quality of life by severity of the dementia condition of the cared-for person. The Survey of Adult Carers in England 2023/24 has questions on the impact of people’s caring responsibilities on their quality of life and general wellbeing. These results can be seen specifically for carers of people with dementia, although there is no breakdown for different severities of dementia.
We will deliver the first ever Modern Service framework for Frailty and Dementia to deliver rapid and significant improvements in quality of care and productivity, and will include consideration of carers. The Government is also investing in dementia research across all areas, from causes, diagnosis, and prevention, to treatment, care, and support, including for carers.
Through measures in the 10-Year Health Plan, we are also equipping and supporting carers by making them more visible, empowering their voices in care planning, joining up services, and streamlining their caring tasks by introducing a new MyCarer section to the NHS App.
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, with reference to paragraph 4.3.17 of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence health technology evaluations: the manual, published on 27 June 2023, under what circumstances it would be relevant to consider health effects for carers.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) methods for health technology evaluation allow its independent committees to take health benefits for carers into account where relevant in determining whether a technology can be recommended for National Health Service use. The scope for the technology appraisal topic, which is developed using a process that includes consultation with stakeholders, will normally identify where carer benefits are a relevant outcome in decision-making.
NICE’s methods are set out in NICE technology appraisal and highly specialised technologies guidance: the manual, reference code PMG36, which states that “evaluations should consider all health effects for patients, and, when relevant, carers. When presenting health effects for carers, evidence should be provided to show that the condition is associated with a substantial effect on carer's health related quality of life and how the technology affects carers.” NICE appraisals specifically consider health-related quality of life, for both patients and carers, rather than quality of life as a whole.