Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she mas made of the number of women born in the 1950s who have died since the publication entitled Government response to PHSO’s Investigation into Women’s State Pension age, published on 17 December 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department has made no assessment.
Asked by: Shivani Raja (Conservative - Leicester 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 improve data transparency for vaccination uptake figures for the maternal respiratory syncytial virus vaccination programme by reducing the four-month lag in reporting.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) maternal vaccine uptake methodology is published on the GOV.UK website, and includes an explanation of the data sources and their reporting lags, in the monthly RSV maternal vaccination coverage reports, which are available at the following link:
The data collection methodology chosen ensures that robust and precise coverage estimates are calculated for the maternal programme.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she mas made of the number of women born in the 1950s who have died since the publication entitled Government response to PHSO’s Investigation into Women’s State Pension age, published on 17 December 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department has made no assessment.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to establish an alternative disputes resolution process for people affected by changes in state pension age for women.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We have no such plans.
Asked by: Cat Eccles (Labour - Stourbridge)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps is she taking to tackle misogyny against girls and young women.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Tackling misogyny is central to our mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade and we will address the drivers and root causes of VAWG as part of our upcoming cross-Government Strategy, due to be published this year.
Education has an important role to play in reducing misogyny; statutory guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health Education makes clear that schools must build a culture where issues such as everyday sexism, misogyny, and gender stereotyping are not tolerated. The Department for Education is reviewing this guidance to ensure that it enables schools to tackle harmful behaviour, as this Government is determined to ensure that misogyny and sexual violence are stamped out.
Asked by: Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the use of social media to promote vaccinations.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) regularly assesses both the social media landscape and its own digital content, to ensure we are identifying the right opportunities to promote vaccine uptake and are responding to mis and disinformation where possible and appropriate.
The UKHSA regularly delivers vaccine communications through social media and other channels to support national immunisation programmes. In collaboration with NHS England and the Department, the UKHSA delivers vaccine campaigns that combine paid marketing, public relations, stakeholder engagement, and operational communications to patients and health care professionals. Social media activity has been instrumental in directing users to key resources, including the National Booking System for flu and COVID-19 vaccinations.
The UKHSA produces a range of static and video content for use during cultural events, seasonal holidays, and vaccination campaigns. These assets are shared with stakeholders for use on their own platforms, while the UKHSA’s blog provides regularly updated vaccine information.
Content is tailored to reach diverse audiences, including parents, pregnant women, and individuals with long-term health conditions. Social media channels are used to share the latest news, research, and statistics on United Kingdom vaccination efforts. They also play a vital role in disseminating public health advice during infectious disease outbreaks, with the UKHSA developing targeted vaccination content for both its own platforms and for the platforms of its partners.
As more people turn to social media for news, the UKHSA’s posts continue to generate significant engagement across platforms. Daily social listening enables the agency to identify misinformation and respond to public concerns, helping to shape accurate, timely, and audience-informed vaccine messaging.
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 he is taking to encourage young girls to attend smear tests.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England provides all women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64 years old with the opportunity to be screened routinely to detect human papillomavirus (HPV) infection or cervical abnormalities at an early, more treatable stage. The screening test does not look for cancer, but for HPV, which causes nearly all cervical cancers. As it takes approximately ten years for HPV to cause cancerous cells, it is rare for women below the age of 25 years old to develop cervical cancer. This is why the age limit is set as it is.
NHS England launched its first ever cervical cancer elimination creative campaign and communications toolkit for Cervical Screening Awareness Week, which took place between 16 and 24 June 2025. The campaign included digital resources that create a strong sense of shared responsibility and aim to increase awareness of the elimination goal, educate the public, and build confidence in cervical screening.
In March 2025, NHS England published its Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England, setting out how the National Health Service will improve equitable uptake and coverage across cervical screening to meet the goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. NHS England will build on what is already working well to drive vaccination and screening uptake and coverage, focussing on five cross-cutting themes: increasing access; raising awareness; reducing inequalities; improving digital capabilities; and strengthening workforce capacity. Further information on the Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/cervical-cancer-elimination-by-2040-plan-for-england/
From early 2026, screening providers in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England will be able to offer HPV self-sampling kits to women if they have not attended their appointment for six months or more following routine invitation.
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 he is taking to encourage young women to attend cervical cancer screenings.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England provides all women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64 years old with the opportunity to be screened routinely to detect human papillomavirus (HPV) infection or cervical abnormalities at an early, more treatable stage. The screening test does not look for cancer, but for HPV, which causes nearly all cervical cancers. As it takes approximately ten years for HPV to cause cancerous cells, it is rare for women below the age of 25 years old to develop cervical cancer. This is why the age limit is set as it is.
NHS England launched its first ever cervical cancer elimination creative campaign and communications toolkit for Cervical Screening Awareness Week, which took place between 16 and 24 June 2025. The campaign included digital resources that create a strong sense of shared responsibility and aim to increase awareness of the elimination goal, educate the public, and build confidence in cervical screening.
In March 2025, NHS England published its Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England, setting out how the National Health Service will improve equitable uptake and coverage across cervical screening to meet the goal to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040. NHS England will build on what is already working well to drive vaccination and screening uptake and coverage, focussing on five cross-cutting themes: increasing access; raising awareness; reducing inequalities; improving digital capabilities; and strengthening workforce capacity. Further information on the Cervical cancer elimination plan by 2040 – plan for England is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/cervical-cancer-elimination-by-2040-plan-for-england/
From early 2026, screening providers in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme in England will be able to offer HPV self-sampling kits to women if they have not attended their appointment for six months or more following routine invitation.
Asked by: James Naish (Labour - Rushcliffe)
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 people with incurable secondary breast cancer have access to world-leading treatments.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England announced in April 2025 that eligible women with secondary breast cancer could soon have access to a new targeted treatment, capivasertib, used alongside fulvestrant, on the National Health Service.
In May, NHS England announced the world’s first roll out of liquid biopsy testing, which is now available for all eligible breast cancer patients, and which aims to speed up diagnosis and inform better treatment options for those with breast cancer.
Asked by: Douglas McAllister (Labour - West Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she plans to establish an alternative disputes resolution process for people affected by changes in state pension age for women.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We have no such plans.