Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
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 implement the recommendation in the Cass Review to undertake a comprehensive tracing and long-term follow-up study of the approximately 9,000 children and young people who were seen by the Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government and NHS England have made a clear commitment to implement all the recommendations in the Cass Review’s final report, and this includes the data linkage study.
The data linkage study remains an important commitment within the wider national research programme underpinning the design and delivery of the new model of National Health Service care in place in England for children and young people with gender incongruence / dysphoria. The study is observational in nature, linking and analysing existing, routinely collected healthcare data for adults who, as children, were referred into the former Gender Identity Development Service, previously operated by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
The data linkage study design will enable consideration of any associations observed within currently available data, rather than providing direct evidence on the cause and effect of any individual treatment approach. Nonetheless the study aims to provide valuable additional insights into the characteristics, healthcare experience and intermediate outcomes of this previous cohort of children and young people accessing NHS gender care, and to inform future gender care.
The Department has continued to regularly engage with and support NHS England, which has taken on responsibility for study delivery. Since taking over responsibility for delivering the data linkage study, NHS England has taken time to undertake further due diligence on the data sources that will underpin the study, and to re-engage with data-sharing organisations, on which the study will be dependent. This has led to small but important proposed improvements in study design, subject to the approval of the Health Research Authority (HRA), that both respond positively to stakeholder feedback and that will better facilitate the collaboration of study data sharing partners. This will include carefully monitoring and considering whether any further steps may be required to ensure timely progress on data collaboration.
These improvements also include a more appropriately confined data ask of adult gender clinics, planned phasing so that initial linkages can be completed against national data sets already available to NHS England, before additional adult clinic data becomes available from study partners, and the option for individuals in the study cohort to register via a single, more simply accessed study specific data opt-out which can remain open up until just before the study analysis is finalised.
Important final steps are currently being taken to enable the study to begin. On 26 February, an updated order was laid in both Houses of Parliament to facilitate delivery of the data linkage study. The order will provide appropriate legal protections for those individuals and organisations who will be sharing or processing data potentially subject to the specific protections of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, for the purpose of the study. The order is expected to come in to force on 20 March 2026. Final HRA study approval will also need to be in place before the study can begin.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has held discussions with NHS adult gender clinics on cooperation with researchers commissioned to undertake follow-up work on former Gender Identity Development Service patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government and NHS England have made a clear commitment to implement all the recommendations in the Cass Review’s final report, and this includes the data linkage study.
The data linkage study remains an important commitment within the wider national research programme underpinning the design and delivery of the new model of National Health Service care in place in England for children and young people with gender incongruence / dysphoria. The study is observational in nature, linking and analysing existing, routinely collected healthcare data for adults who, as children, were referred into the former Gender Identity Development Service, previously operated by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
The data linkage study design will enable consideration of any associations observed within currently available data, rather than providing direct evidence on the cause and effect of any individual treatment approach. Nonetheless the study aims to provide valuable additional insights into the characteristics, healthcare experience and intermediate outcomes of this previous cohort of children and young people accessing NHS gender care, and to inform future gender care.
The Department has continued to regularly engage with and support NHS England, which has taken on responsibility for study delivery. Since taking over responsibility for delivering the data linkage study, NHS England has taken time to undertake further due diligence on the data sources that will underpin the study, and to re-engage with data-sharing organisations, on which the study will be dependent. This has led to small but important proposed improvements in study design, subject to the approval of the Health Research Authority (HRA), that both respond positively to stakeholder feedback and that will better facilitate the collaboration of study data sharing partners. This will include carefully monitoring and considering whether any further steps may be required to ensure timely progress on data collaboration.
These improvements also include a more appropriately confined data ask of adult gender clinics, planned phasing so that initial linkages can be completed against national data sets already available to NHS England, before additional adult clinic data becomes available from study partners, and the option for individuals in the study cohort to register via a single, more simply accessed study specific data opt-out which can remain open up until just before the study analysis is finalised.
Important final steps are currently being taken to enable the study to begin. On 26 February, an updated order was laid in both Houses of Parliament to facilitate delivery of the data linkage study. The order will provide appropriate legal protections for those individuals and organisations who will be sharing or processing data potentially subject to the specific protections of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, for the purpose of the study. The order is expected to come in to force on 20 March 2026. Final HRA study approval will also need to be in place before the study can begin.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will mandate data sharing across NHS trusts and adult gender services to enable a robust, independent longitudinal study consistent with the recommendations of the Cass Review.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government and NHS England have made a clear commitment to implement all the recommendations in the Cass Review’s final report, and this includes the data linkage study.
The data linkage study remains an important commitment within the wider national research programme underpinning the design and delivery of the new model of National Health Service care in place in England for children and young people with gender incongruence / dysphoria. The study is observational in nature, linking and analysing existing, routinely collected healthcare data for adults who, as children, were referred into the former Gender Identity Development Service, previously operated by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
The data linkage study design will enable consideration of any associations observed within currently available data, rather than providing direct evidence on the cause and effect of any individual treatment approach. Nonetheless the study aims to provide valuable additional insights into the characteristics, healthcare experience and intermediate outcomes of this previous cohort of children and young people accessing NHS gender care, and to inform future gender care.
The Department has continued to regularly engage with and support NHS England, which has taken on responsibility for study delivery. Since taking over responsibility for delivering the data linkage study, NHS England has taken time to undertake further due diligence on the data sources that will underpin the study, and to re-engage with data-sharing organisations, on which the study will be dependent. This has led to small but important proposed improvements in study design, subject to the approval of the Health Research Authority (HRA), that both respond positively to stakeholder feedback and that will better facilitate the collaboration of study data sharing partners. This will include carefully monitoring and considering whether any further steps may be required to ensure timely progress on data collaboration.
These improvements also include a more appropriately confined data ask of adult gender clinics, planned phasing so that initial linkages can be completed against national data sets already available to NHS England, before additional adult clinic data becomes available from study partners, and the option for individuals in the study cohort to register via a single, more simply accessed study specific data opt-out which can remain open up until just before the study analysis is finalised.
Important final steps are currently being taken to enable the study to begin. On 26 February, an updated order was laid in both Houses of Parliament to facilitate delivery of the data linkage study. The order will provide appropriate legal protections for those individuals and organisations who will be sharing or processing data potentially subject to the specific protections of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, for the purpose of the study. The order is expected to come in to force on 20 March 2026. Final HRA study approval will also need to be in place before the study can begin.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what timetable he has set for commissioning and commencing a tracing and follow-up study of former GIDS patients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government and NHS England have made a clear commitment to implement all the recommendations in the Cass Review’s final report, and this includes the data linkage study.
The data linkage study remains an important commitment within the wider national research programme underpinning the design and delivery of the new model of National Health Service care in place in England for children and young people with gender incongruence / dysphoria. The study is observational in nature, linking and analysing existing, routinely collected healthcare data for adults who, as children, were referred into the former Gender Identity Development Service, previously operated by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
The data linkage study design will enable consideration of any associations observed within currently available data, rather than providing direct evidence on the cause and effect of any individual treatment approach. Nonetheless the study aims to provide valuable additional insights into the characteristics, healthcare experience and intermediate outcomes of this previous cohort of children and young people accessing NHS gender care, and to inform future gender care.
The Department has continued to regularly engage with and support NHS England, which has taken on responsibility for study delivery. Since taking over responsibility for delivering the data linkage study, NHS England has taken time to undertake further due diligence on the data sources that will underpin the study, and to re-engage with data-sharing organisations, on which the study will be dependent. This has led to small but important proposed improvements in study design, subject to the approval of the Health Research Authority (HRA), that both respond positively to stakeholder feedback and that will better facilitate the collaboration of study data sharing partners. This will include carefully monitoring and considering whether any further steps may be required to ensure timely progress on data collaboration.
These improvements also include a more appropriately confined data ask of adult gender clinics, planned phasing so that initial linkages can be completed against national data sets already available to NHS England, before additional adult clinic data becomes available from study partners, and the option for individuals in the study cohort to register via a single, more simply accessed study specific data opt-out which can remain open up until just before the study analysis is finalised.
Important final steps are currently being taken to enable the study to begin. On 26 February, an updated order was laid in both Houses of Parliament to facilitate delivery of the data linkage study. The order will provide appropriate legal protections for those individuals and organisations who will be sharing or processing data potentially subject to the specific protections of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, for the purpose of the study. The order is expected to come in to force on 20 March 2026. Final HRA study approval will also need to be in place before the study can begin.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the transparency data entitled the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts, Data for July to September 2025 for all departments, published on 25 December 2025, UK Export Finance, Workforce Solutions, Alexander Mann Solutions, what was the purpose of the "Social Value - The number of Social Value network events delivered to the supply chain in the financial year" as a KPI, and what were the topics and nature of the specific network events that were delivered.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government Departments are required to apply at least 10% weighting to Social Value in tender evaluations, in line with the Social Value Model. Additionally, procurement regulations require that for all contracts worth more than £5 million, departments report and publish four Key Performance Indicators, including at least one relating to Social Value.
The Social Value events delivered for UK Export Finance by Alexander Mann Solutions aimed to educate participants in the delivery of Social Value commitments and Government requirements.
The event delivered in that quarter covered 'Wellbeing in the Workplace'.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the absence of outcome data on the cohort of young people treated by the Gender Identity Development Service during the period in which referral patterns and clinical presentations changed significantly on (a) patient safety and (b) public confidence.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government and NHS England have made a clear commitment to implement all the recommendations in the Cass Review’s final report, and this includes the data linkage study.
The data linkage study remains an important commitment within the wider national research programme underpinning the design and delivery of the new model of National Health Service care in place in England for children and young people with gender incongruence / dysphoria. The study is observational in nature, linking and analysing existing, routinely collected healthcare data for adults who, as children, were referred into the former Gender Identity Development Service, previously operated by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
The data linkage study design will enable consideration of any associations observed within currently available data, rather than providing direct evidence on the cause and effect of any individual treatment approach. Nonetheless the study aims to provide valuable additional insights into the characteristics, healthcare experience and intermediate outcomes of this previous cohort of children and young people accessing NHS gender care, and to inform future gender care.
The Department has continued to regularly engage with and support NHS England, which has taken on responsibility for study delivery. Since taking over responsibility for delivering the data linkage study, NHS England has taken time to undertake further due diligence on the data sources that will underpin the study, and to re-engage with data-sharing organisations, on which the study will be dependent. This has led to small but important proposed improvements in study design, subject to the approval of the Health Research Authority (HRA), that both respond positively to stakeholder feedback and that will better facilitate the collaboration of study data sharing partners. This will include carefully monitoring and considering whether any further steps may be required to ensure timely progress on data collaboration.
These improvements also include a more appropriately confined data ask of adult gender clinics, planned phasing so that initial linkages can be completed against national data sets already available to NHS England, before additional adult clinic data becomes available from study partners, and the option for individuals in the study cohort to register via a single, more simply accessed study specific data opt-out which can remain open up until just before the study analysis is finalised.
Important final steps are currently being taken to enable the study to begin. On 26 February, an updated order was laid in both Houses of Parliament to facilitate delivery of the data linkage study. The order will provide appropriate legal protections for those individuals and organisations who will be sharing or processing data potentially subject to the specific protections of the Gender Recognition Act 2004, for the purpose of the study. The order is expected to come in to force on 20 March 2026. Final HRA study approval will also need to be in place before the study can begin.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the risk that intervention in British Steel establishes a precedent in UK company law, and (2) the implications of any such precedent for future inward investment into strategically important manufacturing sectors.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Steel is strategically important to the UK’s industrial base, the delivery of the Industrial Strategy and the maintenance of critical infrastructure. In April 2025, the Government we intervened introduced the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act to avoid the premature and disorderly closure of the blast furnaces at British Steel and ensure uninterrupted steel production. The Act is a temporary measure to ensure that critical steel facilities remain operational. The passing of the Act, and use in relation to British Steel, does not itself establish any sort of precedent in UK company law. We continue to work with Jingye, the owner, to find a pragmatic and realistic solution to the future of British Steel.
The published impact assessment for the Special Measures Act considered the potential impact on the wider business community. It highlighted the exceptional nature of the intervention, which should limit any wider effect on investment. To date, DBT has provided approximately £370 million to British Steel, of this, £57 million (15%) was used for payroll costs, £104 million (28%) for other operational expenses, and £209 million (57%) for raw material purchases. This will be reflected in the Department for Business and Trade’s accounts for 2025-26.
The Government keeps British Steel’s financial position under constant review to protect taxpayers’ interests while ensuring continuity of safe and responsible operations. British Steel continues trading commercially and Government officials continue to provide on-site support in Scunthorpe monitoring, reviewing and scrutinising the use of taxpayer funds with robust financial governance in place.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish a full breakdown of working capital support provided to British Steel, including expenditure on wages, raw materials for steel production, debt servicing, and supplier payments.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Steel is strategically important to the UK’s industrial base, the delivery of the Industrial Strategy and the maintenance of critical infrastructure. In April 2025, the Government we intervened introduced the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act to avoid the premature and disorderly closure of the blast furnaces at British Steel and ensure uninterrupted steel production. The Act is a temporary measure to ensure that critical steel facilities remain operational. The passing of the Act, and use in relation to British Steel, does not itself establish any sort of precedent in UK company law. We continue to work with Jingye, the owner, to find a pragmatic and realistic solution to the future of British Steel.
The published impact assessment for the Special Measures Act considered the potential impact on the wider business community. It highlighted the exceptional nature of the intervention, which should limit any wider effect on investment. To date, DBT has provided approximately £370 million to British Steel, of this, £57 million (15%) was used for payroll costs, £104 million (28%) for other operational expenses, and £209 million (57%) for raw material purchases. This will be reflected in the Department for Business and Trade’s accounts for 2025-26.
The Government keeps British Steel’s financial position under constant review to protect taxpayers’ interests while ensuring continuity of safe and responsible operations. British Steel continues trading commercially and Government officials continue to provide on-site support in Scunthorpe monitoring, reviewing and scrutinising the use of taxpayer funds with robust financial governance in place.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure value for money for taxpayers while they remain in operational control of a loss-making steel producer.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Steel is strategically important to the UK’s industrial base, the delivery of the Industrial Strategy and the maintenance of critical infrastructure. In April 2025, the Government we intervened introduced the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act to avoid the premature and disorderly closure of the blast furnaces at British Steel and ensure uninterrupted steel production. The Act is a temporary measure to ensure that critical steel facilities remain operational. The passing of the Act, and use in relation to British Steel, does not itself establish any sort of precedent in UK company law. We continue to work with Jingye, the owner, to find a pragmatic and realistic solution to the future of British Steel.
The published impact assessment for the Special Measures Act considered the potential impact on the wider business community. It highlighted the exceptional nature of the intervention, which should limit any wider effect on investment. To date, DBT has provided approximately £370 million to British Steel, of this, £57 million (15%) was used for payroll costs, £104 million (28%) for other operational expenses, and £209 million (57%) for raw material purchases. This will be reflected in the Department for Business and Trade’s accounts for 2025-26.
The Government keeps British Steel’s financial position under constant review to protect taxpayers’ interests while ensuring continuity of safe and responsible operations. British Steel continues trading commercially and Government officials continue to provide on-site support in Scunthorpe monitoring, reviewing and scrutinising the use of taxpayer funds with robust financial governance in place.
Asked by: Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what contingency provision they have made in the event that losses at British Steel’s Scunthorpe steelworks materially exceed current forecasts.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Steel is strategically important to the UK’s industrial base, the delivery of the Industrial Strategy and the maintenance of critical infrastructure. In April 2025, the Government we intervened introduced the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act to avoid the premature and disorderly closure of the blast furnaces at British Steel and ensure uninterrupted steel production. The Act is a temporary measure to ensure that critical steel facilities remain operational. The passing of the Act, and use in relation to British Steel, does not itself establish any sort of precedent in UK company law. We continue to work with Jingye, the owner, to find a pragmatic and realistic solution to the future of British Steel.
The published impact assessment for the Special Measures Act considered the potential impact on the wider business community. It highlighted the exceptional nature of the intervention, which should limit any wider effect on investment. To date, DBT has provided approximately £370 million to British Steel, of this, £57 million (15%) was used for payroll costs, £104 million (28%) for other operational expenses, and £209 million (57%) for raw material purchases. This will be reflected in the Department for Business and Trade’s accounts for 2025-26.
The Government keeps British Steel’s financial position under constant review to protect taxpayers’ interests while ensuring continuity of safe and responsible operations. British Steel continues trading commercially and Government officials continue to provide on-site support in Scunthorpe monitoring, reviewing and scrutinising the use of taxpayer funds with robust financial governance in place.