Asked by: Baroness Hussein-Ece (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of inequalities in access to, and the quality of, reproductive, maternal and newborn healthcare services in fragile states.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is proud to champion and protect reproductive, maternal, and newborn health services, and seeks to take a 'no regrets' approach to supporting the provision of sexual and reproductive health services in all settings, including in conflict and crises.
Reproductive, maternal, child and newborn health outcomes are inextricably linked to strong health systems and the attainment of universal health coverage. The UK works with partners to enable health systems to respond quickly including in humanitarian disasters: from access to skilled health workers, to clean and sanitary health facilities to prevent infection and strong, predictable, supply chains. We provide core funding to the International Confederation of Midwives to strengthen midwifery globally, enabling midwives to save lives, reduce complications, and uphold the fundamental rights of women and girls including in humanitarian settings.
UK investment in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) supports delivery of emergency reproductive health and dignity kits to meet immediate needs in acute crises and focuses on strengthening supply and healthcare systems in fragile states.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with counterparts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda over the seizure of Goma by M23 militia, and what assessment they have made of the security, humanitarian and human rights implications.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Foreign Secretary spoke to President Kagame to urge Rwanda to de-escalate this conflict and return to negotiations. We made clear that an attack on Goma would provoke a strong response from the international community. The Foreign Secretary spoke with President Tshisekedi to express his deep concern about M23 and the Rwandan Defence Force's advances. I have spoken to the Rwandan Foreign Minister and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Foreign Minister to urge both countries to return to the negotiating table. The UK condemns the occupation of Goma and other territories in eastern DRC by M23 and Rwandan Defence Forces as an unacceptable breach of DRC's sovereignty and the United Nations Charter, which poses a fundamental risk to regional stability. The humanitarian situation is now critical, with hundreds of thousands of people re-displaced, acute food insecurity and an increased risk of violence against civilians, especially women and girls. More than 800,000 people in the area who were prioritised for support may no longer receive vital food and nutritional assistance.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 21997 on Syria: Armed Conflict, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that aid will reach women and girls.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Support to women and girls is at the heart of the UK's policy and programmes in Syria. In the financial year of 2023/24, 53 percent of UK humanitarian programming in Syria has helped provide health, sexual and reproductive health services, education and vocational training to over 690,000 women and girls. UK support delivered through trusted aid organisations on the ground, including United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNPF) and non-governmental organisations - targets those most vulnerable in a crisis, including women and girls, the elderly, and people with disabilities. We continue to call for unhindered access for and facilitation of humanitarian operations across the whole of Syria.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support sexual and reproductive health and rights for women and girls in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This ceasefire provides a real opportunity now to halt the suffering in Gaza and the UK is doing all it can to support a sustained surge of aid, including to meet the sexual and reproductive health needs of women and girls. The UK has already announced £112 million of assistance this financial year for the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Palestinian refugees in the region. Additionally, £4.25 million of UK assistance to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has supported UNFPA to distribute reproductive health kits and midwifery kits across Gaza.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve the diagnosis of primary biliary cholangitis (a) overall and (b) in women.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
The Government is committed to improving the lives of those living with rare diseases, including non-genetic rare diseases such as primary biliary cholangitis. The UK Rare Diseases Framework sets out four priorities, collaboratively developed with the rare disease community, to help patients get a final diagnosis faster, increase awareness of rare diseases amongst healthcare professionals, better coordinate care, and improve access to specialist care, treatment, and drugs. All four nations of the United Kingdom have published action plans setting out how these priorities will be delivered. We remain committed to delivering under the framework and will publish our fourth annual England action plan in 2025, which will report on progress. Actions include research to improve our understanding of the diagnostic journey and the development of innovative digital resources, making information on rare conditions easily available to healthcare professionals, including general practitioners. Continued development of educational resources through the NHS England Rare Disease Education Hub is helping to increase health care professionals’ awareness of rare conditions.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to include a reference to allocating 10 per cent of national development budgets and development assistance budgets to the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development Programme of Action in the National Statement to be delivered by the UK at the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March 2025.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK's National Statement at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will highlight our commitment to reaffirming the principles of the Beijing Declaration and putting women and girls at the heart of everything we do. This will include our commitment to defending and promoting their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
The FCDO is committed to maintaining a strong portfolio of SRHR programming and spend. There are currently no plans to set spending targets on SRHR.
Asked by: Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to include a reference to allocating 10 per cent of Official Development Assistance to sexual and reproductive health and rights to achieve gender equality in the National Statement to be delivered by the UK at the 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March 2025.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK's National Statement at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will highlight our commitment to reaffirming the principles of the Beijing Declaration and putting women and girls at the heart of everything we do. This will include our commitment to defending and promoting their sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
The FCDO is committed to maintaining a strong portfolio of SRHR programming and spend. There are currently no plans to set spending targets on SRHR.
Asked by: Blair McDougall (Labour - East Renfrewshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to support a female appointment as General Secretary of the United Nations.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports a merit-based appointment for UN Secretary-General, based on principles of transparency and inclusiveness. The Government would like to see women's representation strengthen across the multilateral system, and we welcome the Secretary-General's ambition for gender parity. We encourage member states to nominate women for the top jobs. The UK is proud to continue to support the objectives of the UN's Senior Women Talent Pipeline (SWTP), including programme funding totalling £50,000 in the current financial year.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the recommendations from the United Nations Secretary General's High-level Panel on the Teaching Profession, published in February 2024, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those recommendations in supporting teachers in emergencies.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
Education is critical to our vision for a world free from poverty on a liveable planet. Ensuring access to education in emergencies provides children with normality, protection and hope. Teachers are crucial to this, and supporting teachers underpins FCDO education policies and programmes. The UK is the second largest bilateral donor to Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies. ECW recruited or financially supported 23,449 teachers in 2022-23 (45 percent women). ECW also provided psychosocial support for teachers in Afghanistan, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Syria and Uganda, to help them to continue to teach in the most difficult circumstances. The UK is working in partnership with the World Bank and UN Refugee Agency on a new programme, the Inclusion Support Programme for Refugee Education (INSPIRE), to unlock funding for host countries that are committed to including refugees within their own education systems. The programme works with teachers to address issues such as language of instruction, psychosocial support for children and teachers and negative stereotyping towards refugee children.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Department of Health in Northern Ireland on improving health outcomes for people on waiting lists for the treatment of endometriosis.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that patients across the United Kingdom continue to wait lengthy periods for treatment, including for endometriosis. Cutting waiting lists is a key priority for the Government. We recognise the challenges faced by women with endometriosis and the significant impact it has on their lives, their relationships and their participation in education and the workforce.
Departmental officials have met and continue to meet with counterparts across the four nations to share learning across a range of women’s health policy issues, including menstrual health. Together we aim to deliver faster, improved, and more equitable health outcomes for all patients across the UK, and to strengthen our collaboration in achieving these common goals.
The Department of Health in Northern Ireland has identified challenges within gynaecology care, including for endometriosis and commissioned NHS England's Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme to conduct an independent review of gynaecology waiting lists in Northern Ireland, published in January 2024. The report set out a number of recommendations and is available at the following link:
https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/gynaecology-girft-report-january-2024