Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kirsten Oswald and Maria Caulfield

Wednesday 8th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

As I highlighted to the Leader of the House last week, the gender pay gap between women and men currently sits at nearly 15%. We know that women are not a homogenous group, so that gap will vary further based on intersecting characteristics, including ethnicity and disability status. Will the Minister, in line with the theme for this International Women’s Day, embrace equity by mandating gender pay gap reporting and action plans for all employers, as well as introducing ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting requirements?

[Maria Caulfield]

As I set out, this Government in 2017 set out world-leading regulations requiring larger employers to publish their average salaries, but that does not stop other employers from doing the same. We would have to pass new regulations to reduce that threshold and change the Equality Act 2010, but we are seeing all employers wanting to reduce the gender pay gap, and we are leading the way in government, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Work and Pensions having eliminated that gap in their Departments.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kirsten Oswald and Maria Caulfield

Tuesday 7th March 2023 Commons Chamber

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

12. What steps he is taking to help reduce the cost of hormone replacement therapy for people with menopause symptoms.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maria Caulfield)]

This is a great opportunity to remind the House that, from 1 April, women will be able to apply for an HRT prepayment prescription for less than £20 a year to pay for all their HRT, whether they are on patches, gels or dual hormones.

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

Although these cost reductions are welcome, England is still the only UK nation not to offer free prescriptions. Instead, the UK Government are penalising those who are experiencing menopause who need these medications to improve their symptoms. Will the Minister not consider following Scotland’s lead and scrap prescription charges to better provide accessible menopause support?

[Maria Caulfield]

I remind the hon. Lady that about 60% of women in England who are on hormone replacement therapy are already exempt from prescription charges, but we are reducing the cost by hundreds of pounds a year for the remaining women who do pay. We respect the Scottish Government’s decision to provide free prescriptions, but it would cost us in England £651 million a year to provide free paracetamol to millionaires and we do not think that is the best use of taxpayer money.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kirsten Oswald and Maria Caulfield

Tuesday 19th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

22. If he will make an estimate with Cabinet colleagues of the amount of unusable PPE procured by Government since the outbreak of covid-19.

[The Minister of State, Department for Health and Social Care (Maria Caulfield)]

Around 3% of PPE that the Department purchased was unusable. We are working to dispose of this unusable stock in the most environmentally friendly way.

[Kirsten Oswald]

I am grateful for that response. From the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, the Scottish Government have worked with the NHS and Scottish suppliers, as well as on a four-nation basis, to ensure that Scotland has adequate stocks of PPE. In Scotland, 88% of PPE is produced locally, and the overall cost of pandemic procurement was a third less than for the UK. The Scottish Government have committed to retaining powerful safeguards on the use of public money in healthcare through strong procurement rules. Will the UK Government follow suit and replicate this ethical model?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kirsten Oswald and Maria Caulfield

Tuesday 1st March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Kirsten Oswald (East Renfrewshire) (SNP)]

T9. According to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, less than 3% of medical research funding in the UK is focused on women-specific diseases such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. They are serious conditions, but too little is known about them and we do not hear enough about them, especially polycystic ovary syndrome. The failure to increase research funding is holding back women’s outcomes and experiences. What are the UK Government doing to increase the priority given to research funding for both those conditions?

[Maria Caulfield]

The hon. Lady raises an important point. She is right that women are under-represented in clinical research and are waiting far too long for diagnoses of conditions such as endometriosis. The women’s health strategy will be published very shortly and I think that she will be pleased with some of its recommendations to drive improvements forward.