Asked by: Chris Webb (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We have published our transformative VAWG Strategy, which sets out an ambitious cross-government vision and concrete commitments to halve VAWG in a decade. I chair a cross-government ministerial Board with Minister Davies-Jones to oversee the implementation of these commitments. We have already delivered a pilot for the Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in five forces and £13.1 million of funding for the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection to improve the policing response to these crimes. We have also appointed Richard Wright KC to lead the Stalking Legislation Review ensuring the criminal law on stalking is fit for purpose.Asked by: Warinder Juss (Labour - Wolverhampton West)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle violence against women and girls.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We have published our transformative VAWG Strategy, which sets out an ambitious cross-government vision and concrete commitments to halve VAWG in a decade. I chair a cross-government ministerial Board with Minister Davies-Jones to oversee the implementation of these commitments. We have already delivered a pilot for the Domestic Abuse Protection Orders in five forces and £13.1 million of funding for the National Centre for VAWG and Public Protection to improve the policing response to these crimes. We have also appointed Richard Wright KC to lead the Stalking Legislation Review ensuring the criminal law on stalking is fit for purpose.Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
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 ensure that efforts to improve access to diagnosis and treatment for lipoedema adequality align with the Government’s commitments under the Women’s Health Strategy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The refreshed Women’s Health Strategy will play a central role in improving outcomes for women living with long‑term conditions like lipoedema by addressing the systemic barriers that have historically contributed to delayed diagnosis, variability in care, and poorer health experiences.
The refreshed strategy places a strong emphasis on creating a healthcare system that listens to women, reduces diagnostic waiting times, and tackles entrenched inequalities, ensuring services are better aligned with women’s needs. By strengthening clinical awareness, supporting earlier and more accurate diagnosis, and embedding high‑quality, evidence‑based care across the system, the updated strategy, fully aligned with the 10‑Year Health Plan, will enhance support for women managing a wide range of long‑term conditions, including lipoedema.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South and Walkden)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on expanding access to women's health hubs.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that women’s health hubs are an effective model for improving access to and experiences of care for women and girls.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, how many women have been prescribed GLP1 weight-loss injections on the NHS in the last year.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Business Services Authority holds data on drugs that have been submitted for reimbursement from English dispensing contractors in community settings. Patient information has been captured where possible. No data about the clinical indication for a prescription can be captured.
The following table provides the total number of identified patients who were dispensed injectable medicines listed in the NHS Obesity Guidance and licenced for the use of weight loss management, between December 2024 and November 2025, regardless of where prescribed:
Products | Male patients | Female patients |
Injectable weight loss medication | 146,900 | 163,400 |
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she has taken with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure women over 55 years old have adequate opportunities to participate in skill and development training for using AI in the public sector.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Through the UK Government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan and the GDS Roadmap for a Modern Digital Government, we are taking a whole‑of‑government approach to expanding access to digital skills and embedding the responsible use of AI across public services.
Together they include the significant £7.5 million upskilling initiative designed to expand access to AI skills for everyone across the economy, including those in the public sector, and the plan for government to lead by example and ensure public sector staff are equipped to use and embed digital and AI‑enabled tools.
Technology should be open to all. That is why DSIT Secretary of State set up a Women in Tech Taskforce. The first meeting was held on Monday 15th December 2025. The Taskforce will examine the systemic barriers that prevent women and other underrepresented groups from entering, progressing, and leading in the tech sector.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on young people seeking employment.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
The Government is firmly committed to supporting women to enter, stay and progress in work, tackling gender pay gaps and ensuring women can reach their full potential in the labour market. To help make work pay for mothers in particular, we are improving access to affordable childcare through the Tax-Free Childcare scheme and 30 hours of funded childcare a week.
The Government is committed to supporting young people to earn and learn. That is why we are delivering a Youth Guarantee, backed by £820m over the Spending Review period. This includes providing guaranteed paid work placements to young people on Universal Credit, who are unemployed for over 18 months, granting an opportunity for young people to gain essential skills and experience and prevent the damaging effects of long-term unemployment. The Youth Guarantee will also create nearly 300,000 additional work experience and training opportunities, further expand Youth Hubs to every local area of Great Britain, and increase investment to prevent young people from falling out of education, employment or training in future.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the increase in employer National Insurance contributions on female employees.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
The Government is firmly committed to supporting women to enter, stay and progress in work, tackling gender pay gaps and ensuring women can reach their full potential in the labour market. To help make work pay for mothers in particular, we are improving access to affordable childcare through the Tax-Free Childcare scheme and 30 hours of funded childcare a week.
The Government is committed to supporting young people to earn and learn. That is why we are delivering a Youth Guarantee, backed by £820m over the Spending Review period. This includes providing guaranteed paid work placements to young people on Universal Credit, who are unemployed for over 18 months, granting an opportunity for young people to gain essential skills and experience and prevent the damaging effects of long-term unemployment. The Youth Guarantee will also create nearly 300,000 additional work experience and training opportunities, further expand Youth Hubs to every local area of Great Britain, and increase investment to prevent young people from falling out of education, employment or training in future.
Asked by: Mims Davies (Conservative - East Grinstead and Uckfield)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has conducted an equality impact assessment for the increase in employer National Insurance contributions.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
A Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.
The Government is firmly committed to supporting women to enter, stay and progress in work, tackling gender pay gaps and ensuring women can reach their full potential in the labour market. To help make work pay for mothers in particular, we are improving access to affordable childcare through the Tax-Free Childcare scheme and 30 hours of funded childcare a week.
The Government is committed to supporting young people to earn and learn. That is why we are delivering a Youth Guarantee, backed by £820m over the Spending Review period. This includes providing guaranteed paid work placements to young people on Universal Credit, who are unemployed for over 18 months, granting an opportunity for young people to gain essential skills and experience and prevent the damaging effects of long-term unemployment. The Youth Guarantee will also create nearly 300,000 additional work experience and training opportunities, further expand Youth Hubs to every local area of Great Britain, and increase investment to prevent young people from falling out of education, employment or training in future.
Asked by: Jeremy Hunt (Conservative - Godalming and Ash)
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 ensure that women accessing care for (a) menopause and (b) menstrual disorders via the NHS online hospital can be referred efficiently to in-person specialist services when needed.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Online will be a new, optional online service allowing patients to digitally connect with clinicians across England. When a patient is referred to NHS Online, should a consultation be required, they will see the next available specialist, who may be anywhere in the country. For patients who are diagnosed with menopause or menstrual disorders conditions, where the NHS Online clinician determines that in-person specialist services are the appropriate treatment, they will be transferred to appropriate local services, including in-person specialist care.
Patients will always have the choice of face-to-face appointments, and those who need physical examinations or procedures will continue to receive them either at hospital or local hubs nearby. If a patient displays more complex symptoms after the original referral to NHS Online, then they can be referred back on to a more traditional pathway.