Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to create women’s health hubs to prevent women and girls requiring multiple medical appointments to address different gynaecological and reproductive health needs.
Answered by Lord Bethell
There are currently no plans to create women’s health hubs. The Government is committed to supporting the National Health Service and local authorities to deliver joined-up care for women across the full range of health and care services.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the uptake of telemedicine as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and what assessment they have made of the impact of any such uptake on women’s health services.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Online consultations are available in almost 6,000 practices, covering 90% of the population, an increase from about 40% of general practitioner (GP) practices in December 2019. About half a million online consultations between patients, GPs and general practice staff now happen every week, around 12 million in the last six months. Face-to-face appointments are available and routine screening services for cervical and breast cancer have re-started. Women are encouraged to attend screening appointments when invited to do so and to contact their GP if they have any unusual symptoms or concerns.
Three national evaluations are underway to evaluate the impact of online and video consultations, including assessment of the impact on people’s health.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the stigma associated with menstruation for women and girls in sport.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Periods should never be a taboo subject. Women and girls should feel comfortable discussing their menstrual cycle, and how it affects their attitude to sport and their sporting performance.
We are determined to encourage more women and girls to get active and break down the barriers that prevent them from doing so, something we set out in our sport strategy Sporting Future. Sport England’s This Girl Can campaign was created to get more women active regardless of shape, size and ability, and aims to tackle head on the social barriers that can prevent women from feeling like they can join in. The latest phase of the campaign, launched earlier this year, addressed periods, showing a tampon string towards the end of the advert. The reaction to this in the press and in online discussion was overwhelmingly positive with a recognition that it shows the truth of women’s lives.
Sport England are also supporting the government taskforce to tackle period poverty, primarily around actions to tackle the stigma relating to women in sport, and particularly their impact on teenage participation in physical activity in schools.
In addition, we welcome the work that the English Institute of Sport is doing through their SMARTHer campaign to open up conversations amongst athletes, coaches and staff in high performance sport around athletes’ menstrual cycles in order to improve support.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that (1) the Access to Work programme, and (2) related programmes, give participants the opportunity to volunteer at major UK sporting events, including (a) the Rugby League World Cup 2021, (b) the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and (c) the UEFA Women's Euro 2022.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Access to Work support is available for disabled people and those who have a health condition whose disability or health condition affects the way they do their job. To be eligible for Access to Work the customer must be aged 16 years or over and satisfy certain criteria. As volunteering does not satisfy all the eligibility criteria, volunteers are not eligible for Access to Work support. Where individuals are employed into paid roles, the government will assist applications to the Access to Work programme if requested.
The Rugby League World Cup 2021 Board has launched a volunteer programme called The Power Squad. This programme makes a commitment to celebrate the inclusive and diverse population of England as well as the rich history of host towns and cities.
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games provides a fantastic opportunity to accelerate employment and skills opportunities for residents of the West Midlands. A comprehensive volunteering programme is due to launch in 2021, with up to 1000 roles ring-fenced for West Midlands residents and with a focus on disadvantaged groups.
UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 will create a number of paid employment opportunities, plus a sizeable volunteer programme of stadium and host city volunteers. These paid and voluntary roles will be open to all and will enable as many people as possible to be part of the tournament.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many of the sexual assaults in women's prisons since 2016 recorded in the Safety in Custody statistics published on 30 April were carried out by transgender prisoners.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
There were 97 sexual assaults in female establishments between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2019 and 7 of these assaults involved a transgender prisoner. Of those, 6 were assaults where a transgender individual was identified as the assailant or suspected assailant. One incident was recorded as a transgender prisoner having ‘active involvement’, which means they did not necessarily start the assault.
These figures have been drawn from the HMPPS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Although the figures are shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.
All sexual assaults in prison are referred to the police and HMPPS have strong safeguards in place to manage risks to all those in custody, regardless of their gender. HMPPS has robust processes in place to care for and manage transgender individuals in custody. The safety of all those in our care is of paramount importance. All known risks, both towards or presented by a transgender person in prison, will always be taken into account in their care and management. Individuals will be cared for and managed in the gender with which they identify, regardless of their location in a male or female prison.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the ability of supermarkets to identify vulnerable people to ensure that they are able to arrange food deliveries, and (2) the concerns raised by many disabled people that personal information may be sold on via marketing companies.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Defra works closely with supermarkets to ensure that people who have registered with the Government as extremely clinically vulnerable, and have indicated that they need help to access food, are supported by offering them emergency food parcels provided by the Government.
Supermarkets have been working at pace to expand the total number of delivery and click and collect slots for people in the wider non-shielded vulnerable category.
Data has been made available to supermarkets on a strictly limited and controlled basis for the purpose of helping vulnerable people; supermarkets cannot contact anyone who does not have an account with them and individuals’ data will not be passed anywhere apart from to participating supermarkets. We have written agreements in place governing the sharing, use and retention of data. This precludes the sale of data that has been shared with them, or its use in any way contrary to the purpose under which it is shared.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Department for International Development's disability strategy will require their water, sanitation and hygiene partners to be disability inclusive.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID’s future work on disability inclusion will set an expectation on DFID’s partners, including its water, sanitation and hygiene partners, to demonstrate their technical understanding of, and commitment to, disability inclusion.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Department for International Development's disability strategy will include the involvement of girls with disabilities in menstrual hygiene related work.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID’s future work on disability inclusion will involve girls with disabilities in DFID’s menstrual hygiene related work.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Department for International Development's disability strategy will include investment in menstrual hygiene management.
Answered by Lord Bates
The UK is committed to enabling all girls, women and people who menstruate to manage their periods safely, hygienically and with dignity, allowing them to stay in school and fully participate in society. DFID’s future work on disability inclusion will look at how its investments in menstrual hygiene management can be more disability inclusive.
Asked by: Baroness Grey-Thompson (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Department for International Development's disability strategy will include the provision of accessible and safe water, sanitation and hygiene facilities in public places and workplaces.
Answered by Lord Bates
DFID’s future work on disability inclusion will support people with disabilities to access water, sanitation and hygiene services, including in public places and workplaces such as schools and health care facilities.