Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many criminal prosecutions related to abortion have been brought in each of the last five years, and what assessment they have made of connection between the number of such prosecutions and the availability of telemedicine for early medical abortion.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions across England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.
The offences that constitute unlawful abortion include procuring an illegal abortion under sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, as well as child destruction under section 1 of the Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929. This data is held on a principal-offence basis and therefore reports information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt for. The Department of Health and Social Care is responsible for the policy relating to telemedicine for early medical abortion. The available data does not specify how many of these prosecutions are linked to the use of telemedicine for early medical abortion. The Government has not made an assessment on the connection between the number of such prosecutions and the availability of telemedicine for early medical abortion.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the National Telecare Campaign is delivered bilingually in (a) English and (b) Welsh across all platforms.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government supports the industry-led National Telecare Campaign. The objective of this campaign is to identify telecare users so that they can receive additional support when their landlines are upgraded from analogue to digital.
It is important for the campaign to reach vulnerable customers across the UK, which is why the campaign is being delivered bilingually. In Wales, a TV advert is being broadcast on ITV Wales in English with Welsh subtitles, as well as in Welsh on Welsh community radio. A combination of English and Welsh, as well as Welsh-only content, is being used for printed adverts and video on demand.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve the standard of care for people with Hidradenitis Suppurativa in Newbury constituency.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Dermatology services are being transformed to make sure that patients are seen on time. NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time (GIRFT) programme for dermatology is working with National Health Service trusts to deliver rapid clinical transformation. The work brings together clinicians and operational teams to work collectively to transform patient pathways, reduce unnecessary appointments, and improve access and waiting times for patients, including for patients with hidradenitis suppurativa.
A clinical transformation group for dermatology was established in summer 2023, focusing on sharing and learning from best practice. Topics for collaboration have included innovative clinic models, for instance super clinics, best practice in the use of technology for telemedicine, best practice in reducing did not attends, reducing unnecessary follow ups through patient initiated follow-up, the role of artificial intelligence, how to develop nurses into advanced roles, and factors to help motivate and retain staff.
GIRFT is also planning a programme to support primary care colleagues, offering training for new staff to recognise harmless skin lesions such as moles and warts, with the aim of reducing unnecessary referrals to hospital and freeing up capacity for other patients on the waiting list.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published technology appraisal guidance recommending two biologics, adalimumab and secukinumab, for the treatment of moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa, opening the way for patients with this condition to access these medications on the NHS.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 ensure there will be no disruption to telecare users' service with the end of the Public Switched Telephone Network.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is determined to ensure that any risks arising from the industry-led migration of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) are mitigated for all customers across the UK.
Communication providers and network operators signed voluntary charters in December 2023 and March 2024, ensuring their commitment to protect vulnerable consumers during the PSTN migration. On 18 November 2024, the major communication providers agreed to adhere to further safeguards in the Non-Voluntary Migrations Checklist. Safeguards include signing data sharing agreements with local authorities to identify telecare users and a commitment to ensuring no disruption to telecare users' service when their landlines are migrated. As of April 2025, over 90% of local authorities have signed a data sharing agreement with at least one communication provider.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help detect coercion in women seeking abortions during remote (a) phone and (b) video consultations.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Safeguarding is an essential aspect of abortion care, and all providers are required to have effective arrangements in place to safeguard children and vulnerable adults, in compliance with the Department’s Required Standard Operating Procedures for the approval of independent sector places for termination of pregnancy in England. Providers must ensure that all staff are trained in recognising the signs of potential abuse and coercion in adult women, and know how to respond. This applies to remote phone, video, and in-person consultations.
In addition, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has published national safeguarding guidance for under 18 year olds accessing early medical abortion services, which will ensure that robust safeguarding processes are embedded across all abortion services. We expect all providers to have due regard to the RCPCH’s safeguarding guidance.
Asked by: Kirith Entwistle (Labour - Bolton North East)
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 ensure that meeting patients' communications needs is included in the 10 year plan objective to shift from analogue to digital.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have committed to develop a 10 Year Plan to deliver a National Health Service fit for the future. While it is too soon to say exactly what will be in the plan, digital services will support and complement face to face care and will help meet patients’ communication needs.
The Government will create a more modern NHS by bringing together a single patient record, summarising patient health information, test results, and letters in one place, through the NHS App. It will put patients in control of their own medical history, meaning they do not have to repeat it at every appointment, and that staff have the full picture of patients’ health.
Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's joint policy paper entitled Telecare National Action Plan: protecting telecare users through the digital phone switchover, published on 11 February 2025, if he will publish the (a) targets (b) key performance indicators (c) other relevant metrics used for (i) the Plan overall (ii) each headline outcome and (iii) each individual outcome.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are currently in the process of agreeing targets and Key Performance Indicators for each of the actions included in the Telecare National Action Plan, working with action owners and wider stakeholders.
The Telecare National Action Plan commits to providing updates every six months. We will comment on the progress against the actions in these updates. We will include relevant metrics, where the data and evidence are considered sufficiently robust.
Asked by: Ann Davies (Plaid Cymru - Caerfyrddin)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to support the effective delivery of the National Telecare Campaign.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are very focused on making sure that the transition - which is industry-led - happens safely and securely. The objective of the National Telecare Campaign is to identify vulnerable customers. The campaign is one method of identifying vulnerable customers, by raising awareness among telecare users and their family and friends. In addition, communication providers are identifying vulnerable people through data sharing agreements with local authorities, including in Ceredigion Preseli, and private telecare providers.
The Government is monitoring the development of the campaign and the number of data sharing agreements made by communication providers to identify vulnerable customers.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how he plans to measure the progress of the National Telecare Campaign in Ceredigion Preseli constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are very focused on making sure that the transition - which is industry-led - happens safely and securely. The objective of the National Telecare Campaign is to identify vulnerable customers. The campaign is one method of identifying vulnerable customers, by raising awareness among telecare users and their family and friends. In addition, communication providers are identifying vulnerable people through data sharing agreements with local authorities, including in Ceredigion Preseli, and private telecare providers.
The Government is monitoring the development of the campaign and the number of data sharing agreements made by communication providers to identify vulnerable customers.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport to support the effective delivery of the National Telecare Campaign in Ceredigion Preseli constituency.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is working with industry to support the industry-led and industry-funded National Telecare Campaign. The objective of this campaign is for telecare users to be identified so that they can be provided with additional support when their landlines are upgraded from analogue to digital.
It is important that the campaign reaches vulnerable customers across the UK. In Wales, a TV advert will be broadcast on ITV Wales, in English with Welsh subtitles. A mix of English and Welsh, and Welsh only will be used for printed adverts, video on demand, and social media.