Alice Macdonald

Data from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) states that around 52,500 patients had in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and 3,000 had donor insemination (DI) treatment, at HFEA licensed fertility centres in the UK in 2022. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) does not hold any additional data on how many of those individuals were working, either nationally or by region.

DBT has not specifically assessed the potential impacts on women in the workplace of seeking fertility treatment, however, the Government recognises how important that treatment is to individuals and couples undertaking it. We have set out our immediate priorities for reforming employment law in the Plan to Make Work Pay, and while the Plan does not include any specific measures on fertility treatment, our plan aims to deliver change so that people are more able to balance working life with their personal circumstances.

Data from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) states that around 52,500 patients had in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and 3,000 had donor insemination (DI) treatment, at HFEA licensed fertility centres in the UK in 2022. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) does not hold any additional data on how many of those individuals were working, either nationally or by region.

DBT has not specifically assessed the potential impacts on women in the workplace of seeking fertility treatment, however, the Government recognises how important that treatment is to individuals and couples undertaking it. We have set out our immediate priorities for reforming employment law in the Plan to Make Work Pay, and while the Plan does not include any specific measures on fertility treatment, our plan aims to deliver change so that people are more able to balance working life with their personal circumstances.

Data from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) states that around 52,500 patients had in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and 3,000 had donor insemination (DI) treatment, at HFEA licensed fertility centres in the UK in 2022. The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) does not hold any additional data on how many of those individuals were working, either nationally or by region.

DBT has not specifically assessed the potential impacts on women in the workplace of seeking fertility treatment, however, the Government recognises how important that treatment is to individuals and couples undertaking it. We have set out our immediate priorities for reforming employment law in the Plan to Make Work Pay, and while the Plan does not include any specific measures on fertility treatment, our plan aims to deliver change so that people are more able to balance working life with their personal circumstances.

The Department is committed to increase home insulation and renewable energy sources in all parts of the country, including in Norwich North and Norfolk.

The Warm Homes Plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment in insulation and other improvements to cut bills. We will announce policy details of the Warm Home Plan soon.

Delivering on our renewable electricity ambitions is integral to delivering our clean power by 2030. We are working in collaboration with the private sector to radically increase the deployment of onshore wind, solar and offshore wind.

The Government is committed to doing more to ensure that everyone from all backgrounds have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. Sport and physical activity is central to achieving our health and opportunity manifesto missions, with the biggest gains coming from supporting those who are inactive to move more.

Sport England, the Government’s arm’s length body for grassroots sport, provides long term investment to the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the National Governing Body for tennis in Britain. The LTA is receiving up to £10.2 million for five years, to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit everyone, including disabled people, women and girls and older people.

Responsibility for keeping buildings safe and well-maintained lies with responsible bodies, such as local authorities and academy trusts, along with their schools. The department supports them by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support.

The department provides good estate management for schools (GEMS), which is a manual and toolkit to support responsible bodies and schools with their estate management. The guidance can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools.

The guidance contains a range of information that can help organisations to manage their school estate, including strategic estate management, maintenance and health and safety compliance. This includes guidance on carrying out condition surveys and how to procure professional services, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/understanding-land-and-buildings#assessing-the-condition-of-your-estate and here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools/planning-and-organising-your-estate-resources#buying-goods-works-and-services.

Greater Anglia are in the final stages of the £1.4 billion fleet transformation programme with all services now operated by new trains which provide many more seats and greater capacity for customers across the region. In addition, the Government is funding the construction of new stations at Cambridge South and Beaulieu Park, both of which are due to open in 2025 and will create additional rail capacity for the East.

At the Autumn Budget, the Government announced a £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day health spending and a £3.1 billion increase in the capital budget over this year and the next. Building a National Health Service fit for the future is one of the five missions of the Government.

Women’s health hubs aim to improve access to and experiences of care, improve health outcomes for women, and reduce health inequalities. Integrated care boards are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health care needs of their local population, which includes women's health hubs.

The Government does recognise that patients, including those with migraines, have been let down for too long whilst they wait for the care they need. The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time, and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care.

We have made a commitment that 92% of patients should wait no longer than 18 weeks from Referral to Treatment within our first term. This includes those waiting for treatment for migraines. As a first step to achieving this, we will deliver an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments across all specialities during our first year in Government, which is equivalent to 40,000 per week.  The Government announced £1.5 billion of new capital investment in the Autumn Budget, including investment for new diagnostic scanners and surgical hubs. This investment in scanners will build capacity for over 30,000 additional procedures and 1.25 million diagnostic tests as they come online.

There are a number of initiatives supporting service improvement and better care for patients with migraines in England, including the Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) Programme for Neurology, the RightCare Headache and Migraine Toolkit, and the Neurology Transformation Programme (NTP).

The GIRFT National Specialty Report made recommendations designed to improve services nationally and to support the National Health Service to deliver care more equitably across the country. It makes several recommendations in relation to improving recognition and diagnosis of migraines by general practitioners. Additionally, the RightCare Headache and Migraine Toolkit sets out key priorities for improving care for patients with migraines, which includes correct identification and diagnosis of headache disorders.

The NTP has developed a model of integrated care for neurology services to support integrated care boards to deliver the right service, at the right time, for all neurology patients, including providing care closer to home. The NTP has developed an online, interactive adult neurology dashboard to support systems to understand their local neurology landscape and benchmark against other integrated care boards in England. It sets out key metrics and visualisations for neurology services locally, providing information about the scope and quality of local neurology services using existing whole population, whole pathway data.

The Royal College of General Practitioners has developed two e-learning modules about migraines and cluster headaches, which the aim to raise awareness amongst primary care clinicians about the different types of migraines and their associated symptoms, and how to differentiate.

Over the last four years, a new class of drugs, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors, have been made available on the NHS for the prevention and treatment of episodic and chronic migraines. On 15 May 2024, Atogepant became the latest CGRP inhibitor for which the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has published guidance. The NICE recommended Atogepant for use as a preventive medication for the treatment of migraines on the NHS in England.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research has funded a number of research projects on the prevention and treatment of chronic and episodic migraines. The relevant awards are named the Co-production and testing of an online resource to support the diagnosis and self-management of migraine, with an award number of NIHR202614, and the What is the comparative clinical and cost- effectiveness of pharmacological treatments for adults with chronic migraine?, with an award number of NIHR132803. Further information is available at the following links:

https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR202614

https://fundingawards.nihr.ac.uk/award/NIHR132803

The Department has commissioned research and undertaken analysis to assess the effectiveness of women’s health hubs.

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In 2023, a rapid mixed methods evaluation was undertaken by the NIHR’s Birmingham RAND and Cambridge Evaluation Rapid Evaluation Centre to explore the current state and experiences of delivering and using women’s health hubs. It identified 17 women’s health hubs in England which were established between 2001 and 2022. The final report was published in September 2024, and is available at the following link:

https://www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/hsdr/JYFT5036#/abstract

The Department has published a cost benefit analysis, which estimated that for every £1 spent on implementing a primary care network-sized hub, there are estimated to be £5 of benefits. The cost benefit analysis is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/womens-health-hubs-information-and-guidance/womens-health-hubs-cost-benefit-analysis

The Department and NHS England are also committed to learning from the ongoing two-year women’s health hubs pilot programme, in 2023/24 and 2024/25. For example, the NIHR has commissioned two projects through the Policy Research Unit in Reproductive Health and the Policy Innovation Unit, which will explore mechanisms for commissioning women’s reproductive health services in England and what influences choice of, access to, and satisfaction with these services, including women’s health hubs.

Work continues to improve health outcomes for women, including the £25 million women’s health hubs pilot, new NICE guidance on endometriosis and menopause and extending the Baby Loss Certificate service.

The government continues to call for the human rights of all Afghans to be protected. We condemned the Taliban's actions against women and girls in a statement at the UN Third Committee on 8 October and in a statement on Afghanistan at the 57th UN Human Rights Council on 9 October. The future of Afghanistan as a country at peace with itself, its neighbours and the international community, relies on there being human rights for all.

We are urgently addressing catastrophic forms of hunger through diplomatic and humanitarian channels. The Foreign Secretary recently committed to doubling our aid for those affected by war in Sudan. Last week, the Prime Minister announced the UK’s Board-level role in the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty. This will pool resources and expertise for long-term solutions, backed by new £70m UK support, including for climate-resilient food production.