Question

To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of recognising (a) mental health conditions and (b) learning difficulties as distinct protected characteristics.

Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The Government is fully committed to the Equality Act 2010 (the Act), and to championing the rights of individuals with mental health issues and learning difficulties who are afforded protection in relation to the protected characteristic of disability, where their condition meets the Act’s definition of disability.

The Act defines disability as a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term negative effect on a person’s ability to do normal daily activities.

The Act makes it clear that businesses and public bodies that provide goods and services must not unlawfully discriminate against disabled people, including those who may not have physical disabilities.

The Act places an anticipatory duty on service providers to make reasonable adjustments to improve access to premises, buildings and services. The Act is clear that the failure by a service provider to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled person could amount to disability discrimination.

Similar strong protections apply in employment, where a reasonable adjustment applies where an employer is recruiting or already employing disabled people. Failure to make adjustments or generally treating disabled applicants or employees less favourably than others would amount to unlawful disability discrimination. Where the law is breached, disabled people may enforce their rights in court or at an employment tribunal.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support research into dyscalculia.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

High-quality teaching is the most important in-school factor for improving outcomes for all children, particularly those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and we are committed to ensuring that all pupils receive excellent support from their teachers, including those with dyscalculia.

We have commissioned evidence reviews from University College London to identify the most effective tools, strategies and approaches for teachers and other relevant staff in mainstream settings to identify and support children and young people (age 0-25) with different types of needs, including cognition and learning needs such as dyscalculia.

The ‘What Works in SEND’ programme will soon begin researching educational needs assessment tools used by schools to identify the needs of neurodivergent children.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the (a) identification and (b) support for neurodivergent girls at school.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

This government’s ambition is that all children with special educational needs receive the right support to succeed in their education.

We have established a neurodivergence task and finish group, chaired by Professor Karen Guldberg from Birmingham University, to provide an expert view and make recommendations on how to best meet the needs of neurodivergent children and young people within mainstream education settings. Additionally, the Expert Advisory Group (EAG) for inclusion, led by Tom Rees, is providing sector-led advice on inclusive education practice.

The department introduced the Partnerships for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in Schools (PINS) programme in 2024. The programme deploys health and education specialists to build teacher and staff capacity to identify and better meet the needs of neurodivergent children in mainstream primary schools and was delivered in over 1650 (around 10%) of all mainstream primary schools in its first year.

Building on this success, the programme has been extended for the 2025/26 financial year to a further cohort of around 1200 additional mainstream primary schools.

The programme is being evaluated, and learning from delivery of PINS approach is informing policy development around how schools support neurodivergent children.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will implement the recommendations in Breast Cancer Now’s Setting the bar too high report in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) the country.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) makes recommendations on whether new medicines should be routinely funded by the National Health Service based on an assessment of their costs and benefits. NICE has processes in place to review its methods to ensure that they keep pace with best practice and are suitable for the evaluation of emerging new medicines.

NICE concluded a comprehensive review of the methods and processes it uses for health technology evaluations in January 2022, and introduced a number of changes that make its methods fairer, faster, and more consistent.

NICE’s board considered a review of the severity modifier at its public meeting on 25 September 2024, in light of its implementation to date, and concluded that it is operating as intended, so no change to the modifier is needed at the time.

NICE has no immediate plans to make further changes to its methods in response to the Breast Cancer Now report’s recommendations, but is monitoring the impact of the changes made following the methods review, and has committed to considering modular updates to its methods and processes in the future. NICE has also commissioned research to gather further evidence on societal preferences that will inform future methods reviews.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NICE on the impact of their severity modifier on people with secondary breast cancer in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) the UK.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department has regular discussions with colleagues in the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), including on the impact of the severity modifier on people with secondary breast cancer.

NICE carried out a review of the implementation of the severity modifier in September 2024 and found that it is operating as intended. This showed that the proportion of positive cancer recommendations is higher, at 84.8%, than with the end-of-life modifier it replaced, at 75%, and the proportion of positive recommendations for advanced cancer treatments is also higher, at 81.1% compared to 69%.

Since the introduction of the severity modifier, NICE has recommended all but one of the treatments for breast cancer that it has assessed. These treatments are now available to eligible National Health Service patients.

NICE has commissioned research to gather further evidence on societal preferences that will inform future method reviews.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the gender gap in neurodiversity diagnosis in (a) Yeovil constituency, (b) Somerset and (c) England.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We recognise that diagnosis rates of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are lower in women and girls and lower than the best evidence on prevalence. This may reflect differences in how autism and ADHD present in males and females, which may make these conditions more difficult to identify in women and girls.

Some information on autism and ADHD diagnosis rates by gender can be taken from the Health and Care of People with Learning Disabilities, Experimental Statistics 2023 to 2024, published by NHS England, and based on 54.7% of registered patients. This data shows that 0.82% of females have an autism diagnosis recorded on their general practice (GP) record, whereas for males it is 1.84%. For ADHD, 0.9% of women had an ADHD diagnosis on their GP record, compared to 1.6% of men.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on autism and ADHD set out considerations for clinicians when assessing for autism or ADHD, including highlighting that autism and ADHD may be under-recognised in women and girls.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that every student leaves school with CPR training in Yeovil constituency.

Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)

All state-funded schools, including those in Yeovil, are required to teach first aid as part of the statutory health education curriculum, as part of relationships, sex and health education (RSHE). This includes dealing with common injuries, calling the emergency services and administering CPR, including developing an understanding of the purpose of defibrillators.

The department is currently reviewing the RSHE curriculum, including establishing whether any additional content is needed.

Support for people with dyscalculia

Funding and support for SEND

Provision of trained Family Liaison Officers

Food waste

Joe's Day campaign

Statutory consultees for sustainable development

Carers and social care reform

Fairtrade tea campaign

Protection of survivors of domestic abuse under the Hague Convention

Antisemitism and Holocaust inversion

Accessible facilities and responsible use of RADAR keys

Access to care and support for people living with arthritis

Mental health in farming (No. 2)

UK-based medical charities in Palestine

Brian Standring’s fundraising and campaigning in Wellington

Cool hubs

Recognition of Wiltshire schools achieving the Dyslexia-Friendly Quality Mark

Reform of the special educational needs and disabilities system

Small businesses in North Cornwall

Post Offices in rural areas

Found: Rachel Gilmour II: Luke Murphy III: Sir John Hayes, Rachel Gilmour, Damian Hinds and Ruth Jones IV: Adam Dance