Women’s Health Strategy

Debate between Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton and Baroness Merron

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

As my noble friend rightly observes, the Government have committed to rolling out fracture liaison services across every part of the country by 2030. We already expect musculoskeletal services to be fully incorporated into integrated care planning and decision-making. I am also glad that, since 2022, NICE has recommended two new drugs for treatment. The women’s health strategy will look at what gaps there are in the original strategy, but this is one area in which progress is already committed to.

[Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton (Con)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the women’s health strategy should be clear that female genital mutilation is an abhorrent practice and a crime? Has she seen the article in the British Medical Journal suggesting that it should be rebranded as “female genital practices” and somehow normalised? Will she be clear that the Government will have no truck with this and that the Department of Health will produce a proper rebuttal, so that this argument does not gain any traction in our country? It is a worry that this is happening to young British girls, whether here or overseas. We have to stop the practice and carry on the good work that the Government I led put in place.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for his clear and powerful points. I certainly agree about the abhorrence of this practice and its total unacceptability and illegality in our country. I can say to him that this is a cross-government matter. I work closely with Ministers in other departments and will continue to do so to ensure that policies across many departments deal with the matter of FGM in the way that he describes. We cannot allow it to have any continued existence in this country.