Health: Sexually Transmitted Infections

Lord Black of Brentwood Excerpts

Monday 24th February 2020 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Black of Brentwood]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to tackle the spread of sexually transmitted infections in England.

[Lord Black of Brentwood (Con)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, and I declare an interest as a trustee of the Bloomsbury Network and a patron of the Terrence Higgins Trust.

[Lord Bethell (Con)]

My Lords, while we have made progress in some areas, particularly in reducing new HIV infections, we are concerned at the increases in some sexually transmitted infections. To address this, we are working with Public Health England, local government, NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop a new sexual and reproductive health strategy.

[Lord Black of Brentwood]

I thank my noble friend for that Answer. The desperate truth is that we are fast approaching a crisis in sexual health. Sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhoea and syphilis are skyrocketing, new infections such as trichomoniasis and shigella are emerging, antimicrobial resistance is on the march, and demand for services at sexual health clinics is vastly outstripping supply as clinics close as a result of brutal cutbacks.

All this was set out in chilling detail in the recent The State of the Nation report from the Terrence Higgins Trust, which underlined how action is needed immediately to deal with this crisis. Does my noble friend agree with the report that the long-term implications of all this are extremely alarming? When will the promised sexual health strategy be published, and what immediate steps will the Government take to improve access to sexual health services in England? Time is not on our side.

[Lord Bethell]

My Lords, I completely commend the work of The State of the Nation report by the Terrence Higgins Trust, which the noble Lord was greatly involved with. It points to a serious situation in the nation’s sexual health, but one that the Government take very seriously indeed. It is worth mentioning that consultations at sexual health services between 2014 and 2018 increased by 15%—from 3.1 million to 3.5 million. This has been in part through the use of new technology such as online testing services and delivery kits, which have proved to open up sexual testing to audiences who find attendance at GUM clinics awkward and embarrassing. However, his point on the sexual health strategy is well made. The Government are focused on delivering this strategy at the soonest possible moment. Engagement is ongoing, and as soon as that is wound up the strategy will be published.