Lord Winston
Main Page: Lord Winston (Labour - Life peer)
Lord Bethell
The noble Baroness makes a very important point. Engagement with groups from BAME organisations has highlighted that question. There is undoubtedly a change in behaviours around sexual conduct that it is extremely difficult to address. Advertising and engagement with groups play a part, but clearly the problem is more complicated and sophisticated than that. That is why we will put innovation at the centre of our strategy. The HIV Prevention Innovation Fund was an interesting precedent and may be one way in which we can address the kinds of problems that she rightly highlights.
Lord Winston (Lab)
My Lords, the Minister mentions the issue of chlamydia with grave concern. He can write to me if he does not have the figures, but how often is chlamydia clearly implicated in damage in the female pelvis—in other words, in damage to fertility? It is greatly overexaggerated, and it is important to know that, because it causes a great deal of concern and guilt among a lot of women.
Lord Bethell
The noble Lord’s interest in this area is well known and he makes his point very well. The chlamydia screening programme is reviewing the way in which it looks at chlamydia and the possible implications of chlamydia, and I would be glad to chase down the numbers that he requested.