Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2025 to Question 44517 on Domestic Waste: Birmingham, when he expects the risk assessment on the potential public health impacts of uncollected waste in Birmingham to be published.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Thirsk and Malton on 25 April 2025 to Question 45661.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent meetings (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with relevant stakeholders to discuss the potential risks to public health posed by uncollected rubbish in Birmingham.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many cases of salmonella infections have been reported in Birmingham in each of the last six months.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information is not held in the format requested. Weekly reports with figures for food poisoning by region are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notifiable-diseases-weekly-reports-for-2025.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what meetings (a) he and (b) his Ministers have had with the doctors and dentists review body since July 2024.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I along with my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Care, both met with the Review Body on Doctors' and Dentists' Remuneration at the scheduled oral evidence sessions in February 2025, one focussing on secondary care doctors, and the other on general practitioners and dentists.
Oral evidence sessions are a regular feature of the annual pay review process and enable the pay review body to ask questions directly of ministers or to clarify points from the Department’s written evidence. Officials accompany ministers to these meetings. All parties to the pay review process, including the British Medical Association, are invited to give oral evidence.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to ensure that biological women can access single-sex healthcare provision in NHS hospital wards.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex. The Supreme Court ruling about the meaning of ‘sex’ in the Equality Acy 2010 case has provided much needed confidence and clarity to service providers.
The National Health Service is reviewing its ‘delivering same-sex accommodation’ guidance and will ensure it reflects the Supreme Court ruling. Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by the Government.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what guidance her Department plans to provide to schools on ensuring that biological girls have access to female-only (a) spaces, (b) sports and (c) facilities.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
Single-sex spaces based on biological sex are protected in law and will always be protected by this government.
The department is currently reviewing the draft non-statutory guidance for schools and colleges on gender questioning children, in addition to reviewing the statutory guidance on relationships, sex and health education. The guidance on gender questioning children will reflect the legal protection for single-sex spaces and facilities in schools, as well as the Equality Act protection for single-sex sport in schools to ensure fairness and safety.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has been clear that children’s wellbeing must be at the heart of this guidance and, as such, the government is looking carefully at the consultation responses, discussing with stakeholders and considering the relevant evidence, including the final report of the Cass Review which was published post-consultation, before setting out next steps.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many biological men are in female prisons.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As per the latest published data on the placement of transgender prisoners (which covers transgender prisoners without gender recognition certificates, and is taken from a snapshot of the prison population on 31 March 2024), there were 2 or fewer transgender women housed within the women’s estate.
This government inherited the policy regarding allocation of transgender prisoners from the previous government, and have not moved any transgender women into the women’s estate since taking office.
Following the Supreme Court ruling in the For Women Scotland case, the Lord Chancellor has commissioned a review of transgender prisoner allocation policy.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the rights of biological women are protected in female prisons.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We have a range of policies in place to ensure that the rights of female prisoners are protected.
With regard to transgender prisoners, the Supreme Court ruling brings clarity and confidence for women and service providers.
We inherited the current policy regarding allocation of transgender prisoners from the previous Government, and have not moved any transgender women into the women’s estate since taking office.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, we will be reviewing the transgender prisoner allocation policy we inherited, as well as staff searching policy.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
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 increase the uptake of measles vaccination.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is working alongside its partners to increase vaccine uptake and coverage across all childhood vaccination programmes, including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) programme.
The National Health Service and general practices (GPs) have been sending reminders to the families of children who are not fully vaccinated, with GPs providing catch-up doses for any missed vaccinations.
NHS England works with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and local health partners and communities to understand the needs of their populations, and to tailor immunisation programmes to meet the needs of under-vaccinated communities.
Regional outbreaks of measles and overall increases in cases since autumn 2023 led to a renewed focus on MMR coverage and targeted catch-up activity, including an NHS campaign which ran from November 2023 until April 2024 and resulted in over 180,000 additional doses given. The UKHSA and NHS England ran a second wave of England-wide childhood immunisation campaigns targeted towards parents and carers of children in autumn 2024. The campaign reminded parents of the risks to their children due to missing out on protection against the serious diseases that are re-emerging in the country, with an urgent call to action to catch up on missed vaccinations.
It is vitally important that everyone takes up the vaccinations they are entitled to, for themselves, their families, and wider society. The MMR vaccine is highly effective, safe, and is the best way to prevent measles.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of tuberculosis cases show evidence of (a) multi drug resistance and (b) rifampicin resistance.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Detailed analysis on drug resistance is published in the annual Tuberculosis Diagnosis and Microbiology England reports, with the most recent being from 2023. Rifampicin-resistant (RR) and multidrug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (TB) is reported in a single category, in line with World Health Organization’s categorisation. The full report is available at the following link:
Definitive diagnosis of RR or MDR TB requires the TB bacteria to be isolated from culture. 71 people, or 2.4% of the 2,973 individuals with positive cultures, were diagnosed with RR or MDR TB in 2023. An additional 37 individuals were treated for RR or MDR TB in England in 2023 in the absence of a positive culture. Overall, 108 out of 4,855 people, or 2.2%, were treated for RR or MDR TB in 2023.
The UK Health Security Agency routinely undertakes whole genome sequencing of all TB strains through the National Mycobacterial Reference Service, to support treatment decisions based on resistance profiles.