Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much they spend on iodine fortification programmes via international aid.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) does not directly fund traditional iodine fortification programmes but currently supports a range of nutritionally impactful interventions, including home fortification and supplementation containing iodine. Through our support to initiatives like the Child Nutrition Fund, a platform that aims to transform how nutrition is financed and delivered, the fund intends to contribute to reaching 320 million children and women annually with essential nutrition services by 2030. FCDO is also a long-standing and significant funder of CGIAR, which drives progress on biofortified crops. With UK support, 300 million people were estimated as consuming CGIAR-supported biofortified foods by 2024.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they have taken since the publication of National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2019 to 2023: report on 11 June, in particular in regard to the finding that females of reproductive age in the UK have less than the World Health Organization thresholds for adequate iodine concentration.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The latest National Diet and Nutrition Survey showed that iodine levels in urine in women of reproductive age, 16 to 49 years old, were below the World Health Organisation threshold for adequacy, indicating insufficient iodine intake. Similar findings were seen in men aged 19 to 64 years old and girls aged 11 to 18 years old.

The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) maintains a watching brief on emerging evidence on iodine and health, including the iodine status of women of reproductive age in the United Kingdom. The SACN considered the topic of iodine at its horizon scans in 2022 and 2024 and agreed to add this topic to its work programme, with work on iodine due to start in 2026.

Government advice remains that individuals should be able to obtain all the iodine they need from a balanced diet, as depicted in The Eatwell Guide.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government whether Equality and Human Rights Commission's guidance on single-sex spaces following the Supreme Court decision has been sent to the devolved administrations in draft.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The EHRC has submitted its Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations to the Government. The Code addresses a broad range of issues for service providers, beyond those relating to single sex spaces. The Government is considering the draft updated Code and, if the decision is taken to approve it, the Code will be laid before Parliament.

Under Section 14 of the Equality Act 2006, the Secretary of State is required to consult with Scottish and Welsh Ministers at relevant stages in this process. Ministers are following this process.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government whether Equality and Human Rights Commission's guidance on single-sex spaces following the Supreme Court decision requires either a general impact statement or a regulatory impact statement; and who makes the decision.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

I refer the noble Lord to my contribution in Hansard, Volume 849, column 1924: debated on Wednesday 5 November 2025: Equality and Human Rights Commission: Draft Updated Code of Practice:

"…the EHRC has not been asked to carry out a full regulatory impact assessment, but rather to provide a minimum proportionate cost assessment to evidence exclusion from a full regulatory impact assessment and enable us to take an informed decision. Understanding costs and impacts is not new; it would have been a consideration in the 2011 code.”

Found: Lord Lennie No relevant interests declared Lord Mancroft No relevant interests declared Lord Rooker

Found: Duncan of Springbank; Lord Jay of Ewelme; Lord Krebs; Lord Layard; Lord Lennie; Lord Mancroft; Lord Rooker

Found: Duncan of Springbank; Lord Jay of Ewelme; Lord Krebs; Lord Layard; Lord Lennie; Lord Mancroft; Lord Rooker

Found: Springbank; Lord Jay of Ewelme; Lord Krebs; The Earl of Leicester; Lord Lennie; Lord Mancroft; Lord Rooker