Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of peer reviewed medical journals publishing articles that propose alternative terminology for practices that are criminal offences in the United Kingdom on patient safeguarding and public confidence.

In the United Kingdom, regulated healthcare professionals are required by law to maintain standards in competence, ethics, patient safety, and accountability. Independent professional regulators, such as the General Medical Council and the Nursing and Midwifery Council, safeguard public health by establishing and enforcing standards. They maintain registers and ensure accountability. Although they operate independently from the Government, they function within statutory frameworks and are accountable to Parliament.

Funders of research, including UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), builds assessment of skills into the research funding process. During the grant application process, proposals undergo expert peer review where all relevant skills, including statistical skills are assessed. In addition, UKRI and NIHR are signatories to the Concordat to Support Research Integrity.

The Department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of peer reviewed medical journals publishing articles that propose alternative terminology for practices that are criminal offences in the United Kingdom on patient safeguarding and public confidence.