Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 1.10 of the Three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services, published on 30 March 2023, what steps her Department is taking with NHS England to monitor the provision of access to interpreters for patients in maternity services by NHS trusts.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Integrated care boards and National Health Service providers are responsible for ensuring that translation and interpretation services are in place, as they are better placed to make decisions about how they use their funding based on the needs of their local populations. To support them in this, NHS England has developed a framework agreement with suppliers of translation and interpretation services, whose experience and capability has been robustly tested. The services include face to face spoken language, British sign language, telephone interpretation and translation, document translation, and video translation and interpretation. Further information is available at the following link:

https://www.sbs.nhs.uk/services/framework-agreements/interpretation-and-translation-services/

To identify the most effective way to improve interpretation provision across all clinical services, including maternity and neonatal care, NHS England has completed a strategic review during 2023/24. The review considered the breadth and complexity of issues across the patient pathway, and completed an options appraisal of potential interventions. The review will inform how we best help improve interpretation services so that they meet the needs of communities and support equitable access, experience, and outcomes for all, and includes the development of an NHS Framework for Action for Community Language Translation and Interpreting during 2024/25.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, which topics she has approved for sustained monitoring by the National Security Online Information Team.

Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

NSOIT remit and function is to tackle the greatest national security risks facing the UK from mis and disinformation. It is specifically tasked with looking at threats posed by foreign states, risks to elections and understanding how AI and deepfakes can be used by hostile actors to spread mis and disinformation narratives which are aimed at UK audiences. This remit is kept under regular review.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the prevalence of discrimination towards young ethnic minorities seeking employment.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Employment statistics show the ethnic minority employment rate at 68%, up 9.2 percentage points on the same quarter in 2010, with 5.4m people from an ethnic minority background in employment which is a record high.

The Department supports people to move into employment by providing access to a range of mainstream services and bespoke programmes that are designed to be flexible to individual needs. We also take targeted action where there is a high ethnic minority employment gap and work with partners, employers, and specific sectors to improve opportunities for all.

The Youth Offer provides individually tailored Work Coach support to young people aged 16 to 24 who are claiming Universal Credit. This support includes the Youth Employment Programme, Youth Employability Coaches for young people with additional barriers to finding work, and Youth Hubs across Great Britain. This was expanded in 2023 to include additional young people on Universal Credit not currently searching for work, including young parents and carers.

In April 2023, the Government's Equality Hub published updated guidance for employers on how to use the positive action provisions in the Equality Act 2010. This is to help people who share a particular protected characteristic overcome barriers and to level the playing field.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on evacuation routes for Palestinians displaced from eastern Rafah.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

As I told the House last week, Israel must facilitate immediate, uninterrupted humanitarian access in the south, especially the entry of fuel, and ensure the protection of civilians and safe passage for those who wish to leave Rafah.

We have been clear that we would not support a major operation in Rafah unless there is a very clear plan for how to protect people and save lives. We have not seen that plan so, in these circumstances, we would not support a major operation in Rafah.

The Foreign Secretary and I continue to press these points with our Israeli counterparts.

Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she has had discussions with employers on the (a) public reporting of ethnicity pay gaps and (b) inclusive early talent pipelines.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

As part of the government’s ambitious Inclusive Britain action plan, we published comprehensive guidance in April 2023 for employers on how they can measure, report on and address any unfair ethnicity pay gaps within their workforce. We have engaged with employers and representative bodies in both developing and promoting the new guidance.

We have also worked with employers to deliver other relevant actions in Inclusive Britain including:

• Updated guidance for employers on positive action in the workplace, published last April, on how to widen opportunities in a way that is consistent with equalities legislation.
• The report by the independent Inclusion at Work Panel, published on 20 March, on how to achieve fairness and inclusion in the workplace.
• Introducing a voluntary in-work progression offer for low paid Universal Credit claimants, a disproportionate number of whom are from an ethnic minority background.
• Measures to increase the number of young ethnic minorities in apprenticeships.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to improve rates of retention in HIV care among (a) Black African women, (b) Black Caribbean women, (c) White women and (d) women of other ethnicities.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The HIV Action Plan is the cornerstone of our approach to drive forward progress and achieve our goal of ending new human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) transmissions, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. A key principle of our approach is to ensure that all populations benefit equally from improvements made in HIV outcomes, including through testing, and high-quality care for those with a positive HIV status.

While the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant drop in HIV testing, we are pleased that services are recovering, and testing rates among gay and bisexual men are now at the highest level on record, with a 23% increase from 2019 to 2022. However, more progress is needed across all groups, which we are targeting through various initiatives.

As part of the HIV Action Plan, the Department funds the HIV Prevention Programme, which annually runs a National HIV Testing Week (NHTW) campaign to encourage those in underrepresented groups, such as women and black ethnic groups, to test for HIV. In 2023, we introduced the self-testing option, which we know is very popular with harder to reach groups. During the 2024 NHTW campaign, self-testing orders from black African women nearly doubled when compared with 2023, and orders of these kits by heterosexual women increased by 39%.

The introduction of opt-out testing for HIV in emergency departments, in the areas with extremely high diagnosed HIV prevalence, is also a crucial strategy to help us identify those living with undiagnosed or untreated HIV. By normalising testing as part of an emergency department attendance when blood is drawn, we help reach communities that are currently underserved by testing opportunities, such as black African and black Caribbean ethnic groups and women, and reduce the number of people presenting with a late HIV diagnosis.

A subgroup of the HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group (ISG), the Retention and Re-engagement in Care Task and Finish Group, is providing advice on increasing the number of people retained and re-engaged in care and receiving effective medical care, in particularly considering women and other groups disproportionally affected by HIV, which will be reviewed by the ISG in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure that HIV testing rates among women (a) return to and (b) exceed pre covid-19 levels.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The HIV Action Plan is the cornerstone of our approach to drive forward progress and achieve our goal of ending new human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) transmissions, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030. A key principle of our approach is to ensure that all populations benefit equally from improvements made in HIV outcomes, including through testing, and high-quality care for those with a positive HIV status.

While the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a significant drop in HIV testing, we are pleased that services are recovering, and testing rates among gay and bisexual men are now at the highest level on record, with a 23% increase from 2019 to 2022. However, more progress is needed across all groups, which we are targeting through various initiatives.

As part of the HIV Action Plan, the Department funds the HIV Prevention Programme, which annually runs a National HIV Testing Week (NHTW) campaign to encourage those in underrepresented groups, such as women and black ethnic groups, to test for HIV. In 2023, we introduced the self-testing option, which we know is very popular with harder to reach groups. During the 2024 NHTW campaign, self-testing orders from black African women nearly doubled when compared with 2023, and orders of these kits by heterosexual women increased by 39%.

The introduction of opt-out testing for HIV in emergency departments, in the areas with extremely high diagnosed HIV prevalence, is also a crucial strategy to help us identify those living with undiagnosed or untreated HIV. By normalising testing as part of an emergency department attendance when blood is drawn, we help reach communities that are currently underserved by testing opportunities, such as black African and black Caribbean ethnic groups and women, and reduce the number of people presenting with a late HIV diagnosis.

A subgroup of the HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group (ISG), the Retention and Re-engagement in Care Task and Finish Group, is providing advice on increasing the number of people retained and re-engaged in care and receiving effective medical care, in particularly considering women and other groups disproportionally affected by HIV, which will be reviewed by the ISG in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the (a) outcomes and (b) experiences of women with HIV; and what steps she plans to take to reflect those in the next HIV action plan.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to ensuring everyone benefits equally from progress on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), including women, as set out in our HIV Action Plan. In collaboration with the UK Health Security Agency, we are continuing to monitor the experiences of people living with HIV within the health and social care system, as well as within community settings, via the Positive Voices survey. Data from the latest Positive Voices report, published in January 2024, revealed that HIV treatment and care service provision has continued to be highly rated and equitable across the country.

We are encouraged by the progress made to date by the HIV Action Plan, driven by excellent leadership and joint efforts with partners across the system. We will be working closely together with our HIV Action Plan Implementation Steering Group partners and other key stakeholders, to understand the data trends and agree on the most effective strategies to continue driving our way forward. We will be considering and sharing next steps for the HIV Action Plan shortly.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has consulted children and young people on the plan for those in school with SEND.

Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The consultation on the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) Green Paper ran from 29 March to 22 July 2022. During this time, the department received around 6,000 responses to the online consultation and delivered 175 consultation events hearing from over 4,500 people.

The department designed specific consultation questions for children and young people and consulted children and young people at a significant number of consultation events. Specific consultation events were also delivered with stakeholders such as the Council for Disabled Children’s Friendship, Learning, Achieve, Reach and Empower (FLARE) children and young people’s group to ensure their views were captured in the consultation feedback.

The department continues to engage with children, young people and their families, including stakeholders such as FLARE and the National Network of Parent Carer Forums, as it designs and tests reforms through the Change Programme. This will ensure a wide range of perspectives are considered to improve the outcomes and experiences of children and young people with SEND and in AP.

Protecting Our Democracy from Coercion report

Armenian Genocide

Public ownership of water

Imperial War Museums and union derecognition

Teachers’ Pension Scheme and universities

Scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and arms exports to Israel

Access to State Pension for people with a terminal illness

One year anniversary of the kidnapping of Elizabeth Tsurkov

Found: ) Lord Murray of Blidworth (Conservative, Life peer) (added 31 Jan 2024) 11 of 11 (100.0%) Bell

Found: Ribeiro -Addy 1.

Found: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party, East Renfrewshire) (added 12 Sep 2023) 16 of 20 (80.0%) Bell

Found: Johnson MP (Conservative, Sleaford and North Hykeham Jill Mortimer MP (Conservative, Guildford ) Bell

Found: Kate Osborne MP (Labour, Jarrow ) Kirsten Oswald MP (Scottish National Party, East Renfrewshire) Bell

Found: )Kate Osborne MP (Labour, Jarrow) Kirsten Oswald MP (Scottish National Party, East Renfrewshire) Bell

Found: Kate Osborne MP (Labour, Jarrow ) Kirsten Oswald MP (Scottish National Party, East Renfrewshire) Bell

Found: Kate Osborne MP (Labour, Jarrow ) Kirsten Oswald MP (Scottish National Party, East Renfrewshire) Bell

Found: Ribeiro-Addy .

Found: Ribeiro-Addy .

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Caroline Dinenage Sir Robert Buckland Jess Phillips Rebecca Long Bailey

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Caroline Dinenage Sir Robert Buckland Jess Phillips Rebecca Long Bailey

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Caroline Dinenage Sir Robert Buckland Jess Phillips Rebecca Long Bailey

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Caroline Dinenage Sir Robert Buckland Jess Phillips Rebecca Long Bailey

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Caroline Dinenage Sir Robert Buckland Jess Phillips Rebecca Long Bailey

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Caroline Dinenage Sir Robert Buckland Jess Phillips Rebecca Long Bailey

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Caroline Dinenage Sir Robert Buckland Jess Phillips Rebecca Long Bailey

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Hywel Williams Dame Diana Johnson Olivia Blake .

Found: Stella Creasy Dawn Butler Caroline Lucas Cat Smith Debbie Abrahams Mohammad Yasin Ian Lavery Bell

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Dame Margaret Beckett Dame Caroline Dinenage Lloyd Russell-Moyle Olivia Blake

Found: Ribeiro-Addy Hywel Williams Dame Diana Johnson REPORT STAGE Monday 13 May 2024 48 .