Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what services NHS England gender services provide for children and young people.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England commissions gender services for children and young people in line with its interim service specification for children and young people with gender incongruence.
Children and young people are cared for holistically by specialist multi-disciplinary teams based in specialist children's hospitals. The multi-disciplinary team should include expertise in paediatrics, psychological health, and neurodevelopmental conditions.
Each child or young person will have a tailored individual care plan to meet their needs. Depending on individual need, the gender service for children and young people will provide psychosocial and clinical interventions, including support for the family. Further information from the interim service specification is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) medical professionals, (b) charities, (c) organisations and (d) other groups the Commission on Human Medicines consulted on the provision of puberty blockers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s response to the targeted consultation on proposed changes to the availability of puberty blockers was published on 11 December 2024, and details the individuals and organisations with which the Commission on Human Medicines consulted. It is available at the following link:
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Pakistan government on (a) freedom of protest and (b) the (i) safety and (ii) rights of protestors.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK strongly supports individuals' rights to expression without censorship, intimidation or unnecessary restriction, and we will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people as laid down in Pakistan's Constitution and in accordance with international standards. I raised the importance of upholding civil and political rights with senior Ministers, including the Minister for Human Rights and Interior Minister, on my visit to Pakistan last month. The British High Commission also regularly raises these issues with the Pakistani authorities at a senior level.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential risk of transnational repression for British Pakistani critics of the Pakistan government.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government continually assesses potential threats and takes the protection of individuals' rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously, including in relation to Pakistan. Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated. Wherever we identify such threats, we will use all measures, including through our world-class police and intelligence services, to mitigate risk to individuals.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help protect British Pakistanis critical of the Pakistan government from transnational repression.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government continually assesses potential threats and takes the protection of individuals' rights, freedoms, and safety very seriously, including in relation to Pakistan. Any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK will not be tolerated. Wherever we identify such threats, we will use all measures, including through our world-class police and intelligence services, to mitigate risk to individuals.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We recognise that there are human rights concerns in both India-administered-Kashmir and Pakistan-administered-Kashmir. We encourage all states to ensure domestic laws are in line with international standards. Any allegation of human rights violations or abuse is deeply concerning and must be investigated thoroughly and transparently.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling people over 65 who are not eligible for the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance to access mobility vehicle support.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Disability Living Allowance is aimed at providing additional help with the extra costs of disability to people who are severely disabled early, or relatively early, in life and who as a result, have had fewer opportunities to work, earn and save. Those who become disabled, or develop mobility needs, after reaching the age of 65 will have had no disadvantage on grounds of their disability during their working lives. It is normal for pensions and benefits systems to contain different provisions for people at different stages of their lives, because the help provided needs to reflect varying priorities and circumstances.
We will keep the policies of the department under review, to ensure they meet current needs.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support first time buyers with stamp duty.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget 2024, the higher rates of Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) for additional dwellings were increased by two percentage points from 3% to 5%. This measure will ensure that those looking to move home, or purchase their first property, have a greater advantage over second home buyers, landlords, and companies purchasing residential property. The OBR certified costing estimates that increasing the higher rates of SDLT by two percentage points is expected to result in 130,000 additional transactions over the next five years by first-time buyers and other people buying a primary residence.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with telecoms companies on preventing fraudulent phone calls.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government takes fraud seriously. DSIT works closely with the Home Office, who are responsible for fraud policy, as well as Ofcom who have duty to ensure that UK numbers are not misused, to ensure telecoms companies are doing all they can to prevent criminals hijacking their networks to reach victims. From January, new Ofcom rules will require operators to block calls from abroad which present as a UK number.
We continue to work with the telecoms sector to ensure that as threats evolve so too does the response.
Asked by: Sarah Owen (Labour - Luton North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to help tackle fraudulent phone calls.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government takes fraud seriously. DSIT works closely with the Home Office, who are responsible for fraud policy, as well as Ofcom who have duty to ensure that UK numbers are not misused, to ensure telecoms companies are doing all they can to prevent criminals hijacking their networks to reach victims. From January, new Ofcom rules will require operators to block calls from abroad which present as a UK number.
We continue to work with the telecoms sector to ensure that as threats evolve so too does the response.