Better Start Longitudinal Programmes

Baroness Deech Excerpts

Tuesday 10th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

As my noble friend knows, we are absolutely focused on improving quality and consistency of care for women throughout pregnancy, birth and the critical months that follow. That is why we have appointed the noble Baroness, Lady Amos, to lead an independent investigation and why the Secretary of State will chair a maternity and neonatal taskforce to address the recommendations of the investigation. It is very much part of our work to give babies the very best start in life.

[Baroness Deech (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister has expressed the commendable ambition of raising the healthiest generation of young children ever. So why have the Government done nothing to condemn and educate about, if not prohibit, cousin marriage, the babies from which suffer twice the number of birth defects as those from non-cousin marriage?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My recollection from debating that point previously is that we are looking at the evidence and the best way to tackle the issue that the noble Baroness raises: in other words, what best supports children to have that healthy and best start in life? We are looking at this in the round and I am sure that we will return to it, but I will also be pleased to follow up in writing to the noble Baroness.

Battery Shortage for NHS Hearing Aids

Baroness Deech Excerpts

Thursday 29th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

Well, it is of course a matter for local ICBs to decide what their best response is, depending on their local community. I should emphasise to your Lordships’ House that the reason for the increased demand is that there was a cyber attack on the alternative supply of batteries. That was an unpredictable issue, but is always one for which we need to have resilience. I do recognise what the noble Lord is saying, but that is why I answered to the noble Baroness that there are alternative ways of getting batteries to individuals.

[Baroness Deech (CB)]

My Lords, I checked my batteries and I am glad to say they were made in England. But we know that the Chinese dominate the world supply of batteries. Will she send a message to the Prime Minister while he is in China to ensure that, overall, our reliance on China for batteries is not increased? It is really important that we supply ourselves.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I am sure that the Prime Minister will be checking Hansard and will hear what the noble Baroness has said. The important point she made was about expanding our domestic manufacturing capability. These particular batteries are very specific in their manufacture—the noble Baroness is quite right—and that is why I welcome the company’s investment in Tyne and Wear: it is a vote of confidence in the British economy, as well as assisting us in our supplies.

Artificial Intelligence: Safeguarding

Baroness Deech Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I understand the need for training, as the noble Baroness rightly outlines, but I would emphasise that AI chatbots are in scope of the Act, as I mentioned just now to my noble friend. What matters is the fact that they actually search the live internet. The point the noble Baroness raises is very important, and it is also about literacy in terms of using the internet, equipping individuals to try to stay safe, and safeguarding those who are more vulnerable, as she describes; training is certainly part of that.

[Baroness Deech (CB)]

My Lords, I have consulted ChatGPT on this. It calls me “dear Ruth”, and it says that when people write to it about suicide, it responds with empathy and compassion. It does not encourage suicide, and it sends a guide to human support. I do not want to make light of this or condemn it outright. On the contrary, there may be something to be said, certainly at a light level, for unhappy people consulting ChatGPT. I do not want to discourage or limit freedom of speech any further than it is already limited. There may be some help for people in ChatGPT.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

The noble Baroness makes a helpful challenge about how to regard AI services. Generative AI can indeed offer opportunities to enhance mental health support, and the National Health Service is looking at how we can, particularly through the NHS app, assist and support people. But such technologies must not replace trained professionals, including in crisis situations. It is about getting the right support, at the right place, at the right time—that is a delicate balance, but we should use AI for its great benefits.

Apricity Fertility Closure

Baroness Deech Excerpts

Wednesday 12th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

Women’s health hubs—which are a huge success and we continue to support and promote them, without any shadow of a doubt—do not deal with fertility treatment in the way this Question is discussing. I gently point out to the noble Lord that, as he rightly said, commitments were made to improve access to fertility services, which is very variable across the country. They were made under the last Government’s women’s health strategy but, regrettably, were not delivered. It now falls to us to look at how we can improve both availability and quality, and to equalise what is available, which is a huge challenge. This continues to concern me.

[Baroness Deech (CB)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a former chair of the HFEA. The problem the Minister has referred to is increasing commercialisation. Vulnerable patients are more or less captured by clinics—for example, by being charged ever-increasing amounts for the storage of their embryos. How can the Government get to grips with the market element in an area that is largely private? Can they encourage the NHS? I know the difficulty of taking on more. What legislation can there be to control this commercialisation and the huge amount earned by the private doctors?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

The noble Baroness and other noble Lords are quite right in what they are reporting on the change. Fertility treatment is now overwhelmingly obtained through private means. It is in a very different place from the rest of healthcare in our country.

On the point the noble Baroness made—I am grateful for her contribution in view of her previous service in this area—there are many claims made, for example, about egg freezing. It is crucial that anyone considering freezing their eggs understands that there is an optimum age for freezing, that it is a serious medical procedure and that the risks should be taken into account. That chimes with the point made by my noble friend Lord Winston.

The market has changed—it has very much become a market. The demand is huge and has multiplied many times over the decades. We are not in a situation where we have either the regulation or the NHS provision to deal with that. I assure your Lordships’ House that we are working with NHS England, particularly on the variability up and down the country.