Mental Health: Young People

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Thursday 9th February 2017 Grand Committee

[Lord Cashman (Lab)]

My Lords, I too wish to place on record my thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady Massey. I welcome the briefing There For You. It is eloquent, and the parents involved in the survey are hands-on, informed and know how to connect. But what about those who do not? What about those who are not connected and who, in fact, feel disconnected from where to seek help or advice? These are the groups that we need to target and, I would argue, prioritise—those who are unable to recognise or cope with the reality that their child may have a mental health problem. We need to remove the stigmas and barriers around discussion. In that respect, some of us need to come out and admit how all of us, to a greater or lesser degree, battle with mental health problems that our friends and colleagues so rarely understand or acknowledge as a health issue. We need to deal with the causes of mental health problems, both physiological and psychological.

In that regard, I wish to say a few words about young people who are overlooked and often fall through the safety nets we try to construct: lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex youths. The 2014 What about YOUth? survey of 15 year-olds presents deeply worrying facts that have, sadly, been overlooked by the Department of Health and the Department for Education. The research revealed that 31% of lesbian and gay 15 year- olds and 39% of bisexual 15 year-olds had low life satisfaction, compared with 12% of heterosexuals. Of those who had been bullied in the period under question, 74.5% were lesbian and gay and 81% were bisexual, compared with 53.4% who were heterosexual. These are 15 year-olds, crying out for help but help is not coming their way. These young people are crying out to be understood, especially among their own community and within their social structures. That is why we need comprehensive sex education that is mandatory, not something that schools or religious organisations can opt in or out of, so that people are not bullied or mistreated but are understood.

We need action plans to prevent the damage that is inflicted upon young children from a very early age. That harm affects us all. Parental support is not always there for LGBTI children because, for that to happen, the child would have to come out to their parents or teachers, and sometimes they are not ready or able to do so. If you put religious adherence in to this mix, the damage is toxic. Young people are shut out from families and religious communities and cast aside. There are some organisations doing great work in challenging circumstances, such as FFLAG, of which I am a patron. However, they are underresourced and always in demand. Schools Out is another, and is working hard to educate, particularly in this LGBT History Month. I urge the Minister to work cross-departmentally with these organisations and others to ensure that no child suffers.

Residential Care

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Monday 6th February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

The noble Baroness makes a very good point. There is clearly a need for additional capacity, because there is a much greater population. The number of people aged over 85 has increased by about 25% in the last five years and that will increase at a similar rate over the next five years, so more capacity is needed both at hospital level, in residential and nursing homes, and at a domiciliary level too.

[Lord Cashman (Lab)]

My Lords, there are worrying trends of discrimination suffered by people in vulnerable groups, people with HIV, those who are ageing and others. Therefore, will the Minister work with care providers to ensure that such discrimination, ignorance and stigma are absolutely outwith the provision of such services?

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

I completely concur with the noble Lord’s point. He is right, of course: there should be no such discrimination on those grounds or any other. I will certainly investigate that and see if there is anything worrying going on and write to him.

HIV: Barriers to Treatment

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Thursday 1st December 2016 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Cashman]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of barriers to accessing treatment to prevent the spread of HIV; and what steps they are taking to address those.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Prior of Brampton) (Con)]

My Lords, HIV treatment in itself is preventive. HIV positive people are now being given early access to HIV drugs, resulting in an undetectable viral load, which makes it very unlikely that the virus will be passed on to others. To ensure that we continue to make progress in preventing HIV, NHS England and Public Health England will say more about their further plans for a new programme in the next couple of days.

[Lord Cashman (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his response and indeed for his commitment on this issue. However, there has been much prevarication and procrastination over who is responsible for providing access to PrEP, a drug that is known to prevent transmission of HIV. More people are at risk than ever before, so will the Government explain how they are working with NHS England and Gilead, the supplier of PrEP, to take the lead on this issue? If the price of PrEP does not decrease, how and when will the Government ensure that those at significant risk from HIV will have access to it?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, negotiations have been going on between NHS England, Gilead and others, and we expect a positive outcome in the very near future—in the next few days. I cannot comment on the details at this time, but as soon as we have that information, I will ensure that it is placed in the Library of the House of Lords immediately.

Health: HIV

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Monday 4th July 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

I am not an expert in this area, but having thought and read about this issue a lot over the past few days, it seems to me that the number of people who have not been diagnosed with HIV is a critical issue. As those people are not aware that they have HIV, their behaviour is not adjusted and because they are not taking treatment, they have a greater amount of the HIV virus. It is estimated that 18,000 people have not been diagnosed so, if one had to make a choice, increasing our rate of diagnosis must be crucial. However, I do not disagree with the noble Baroness that the evidence around PrEP as a prophylaxis is strong.

[Lord Cashman (Lab)]

My Lords, I have a simple question. Does the Minister agree that we cannot afford not to provide PrEP on the NHS, given that it saves lives and prevents HIV infection?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

The critical issue is: to whom do we provide it? The whole purpose of the trials that NHS England is now funding is to ensure that when we provide PrEP, we do so for those who can most benefit from it.

NHS: Food Banks

Lord Cashman Excerpts

Thursday 26th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

I thank my noble friend for that remark. It is entirely up to local organisations and local institutions, and those doing the work in Birmingham and Tameside are to be congratulated.

[Lord Cashman (Lab)]

My Lords, I do not doubt the Minister’s sincerity in his answers, but I point out that food banks result because people are going hungry. People are starving in this country and should not have to rely on such charity. Does he agree that obesity often occurs when people on very meagre budgets have to have the worst kind of food in order to feel satisfied?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

The factors behind obesity and malnutrition are extremely complex. The all-party inquiry referred to complex and frequently overlapping factors. The work done by the University of Warwick found that there was no systematic evidence on drivers of food aid in the UK—and the evidence was drawn not just from the UK but from the US, Canada and Germany.