Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if funding will be allocated to address HIV stigma.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On World AIDS Day, 1 December 2025, the Department published the new HIV Action Plan, which was developed in collaboration with the UK Health Security Agency and NHS England. The plan is backed by over £170 million in funding and sets out five core priorities needed to reach our ambition to end new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmissions within England by 2030. One of these priorities is to address stigma and improve the quality of life for people living with HIV, with several actions to achieve this.
The Department is investing £4.8 million from 2026 to 2029 in the newly procured National HIV Prevention England Programme, which will be delivered by a consortium of the Terrence Higgins Trust and the Africa Advocacy Foundation. This programme includes an aim to reduce levels of HIV related stigma, particularly self-stigma and stigma within different communities.
NHS England is commissioning a new HIV anti-stigma programme to be rolled out across trusts with the emergency department Blood Borne Viruses (BBV) opt-out testing programme, to ensure that staff have the right knowledge on HIV and can tackle stigma and discrimination. Currently, NHS England promotes and funds HIV peer support services in the BBV emergency department opt-out testing programme, recognising the role of lived-experience facilitators in reducing isolation and stigma. Case studies highlight how peer-led support fosters empowerment and combats stigma-related barriers.
Local areas will also monitor progress through staff surveys, service user feedback, and quality assurance mechanisms to promote a culture of understanding and respect.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
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 address the finding from the Positive Voices 2022 survey.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Positive Voices survey is used to monitor levels of stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) within the health and social care system. The Positive Voices survey 2022 found that one in 13 people had avoided accessing healthcare services and one in seven had worried about being treated differently to other patients by healthcare staff during the previous year.
Therefore, the new HIV Action Plan, developed by the Department, the UK Health Security Agency, and NHS England, and backed by over £170 million in funding, sets out five core priorities to reach our ambition to end new HIV transmissions within England by 2030, including addressing stigma and improving the quality of life for people living with HIV.
The Department is investing £4.8 million from 2026 to 2029 in the newly procured National HIV Prevention England Programme, which will aim to reduce levels of HIV related stigma, particularly self-stigma and stigma within different communities. NHS England is commissioning a new HIV anti-stigma programme to be rolled out across trusts with the emergency department Blood Borne Viruses opt-out testing programme, to ensure that staff have the right knowledge on HIV and can tackle stigma and discrimination. Local areas will also monitor progress through staff surveys, service user feedback and quality assurance mechanisms to promote a culture of understanding and respect.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
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 raise public awareness of Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) through the £4.8 million HIV Prevention England programme.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is investing £4.8 million from 2026 to 2029 in the newly procured National HIV Prevention England Programme, which will be delivered by a consortium of the Terrence Higgins Trust and the Africa Advocacy Foundation.
One of the key aims of the programme is to improve awareness, knowledge, understanding and uptake of combination HIV prevention interventions, among populations most affected by HIV. This includes using local outreach and partnerships and digital and non-digital health promotion to provide consistent messaging and education to improve awareness and understanding about U=U.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how the £5 million trial of HIV home testing through the NHS App will address the ASSIST study finding that postal testing uptake is higher among White and affluent populations, risking widening inequalities among populations who already experience higher stigma.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) home testing programme has engaged directly with the ASSIST research team to understand the risks of open access, first come first served models. The insights from the ASSIST study are informing thinking not only for HIV testing but for the wider home testing ambition, where effective targeting of key populations will be important across multiple conditions. Recommendations such as invitation‑based approaches and simplified journeys are being considered as part of ongoing service design.
The programme is working with local authority commissioners to explore approaches to reaching people who have never tested before. This includes considering how population-level data, such as UK Health Security Agency insights, might inform future targeting without reinforcing stigma.
While the NHS App is one access route, the service is being designed with flexibility in mind, including consideration of alternative, non-digital or assisted routes to testing. This reflects evidence from ASSIST on barriers linked to digital access, health literacy, age, and housing circumstances.
The programme is working in partnership with commissioners and providers so that it complements, rather than replaces, existing face-to-face services and does not create unmanaged pressure in local systems.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will set out the Government's negotiating priorities will be at the UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in June 2026; and whether the Government plans to ensure that the new Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031 includes measurable commitments to (a) reduce stigma and discrimination, and (b) increase funding for community-led responses in low and middle-income countries.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The High-Level Meeting comes at a critical moment for the global HIV response and offers an opportunity to reaffirm international commitments to end AIDS for good. The UK has endorsed the Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031 and will work to ensure the political declaration upholds its ambitions, particularly on human rights, and harnesses the opportunity presented by long-acting injectable HIV prevention and treatment.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to raise access to long-acting injectable HIV prevention and treatment technologies in low and middle-income countries at the UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in June 2026.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The High-Level Meeting comes at a critical moment for the global HIV response and offers an opportunity to reaffirm international commitments to end AIDS for good. The UK has endorsed the Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031 and will work to ensure the political declaration upholds its ambitions, particularly on human rights, and harnesses the opportunity presented by long-acting injectable HIV prevention and treatment.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations the UK plans to make at the UN High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS in June 2026.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The High-Level Meeting comes at a critical moment for the global HIV response and offers an opportunity to reaffirm international commitments to end AIDS for good. The UK has endorsed the Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031 and will work to ensure the political declaration upholds its ambitions, particularly on human rights, and harnesses the opportunity presented by long-acting injectable HIV prevention and treatment.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to address the potential impact of HIV stigma on women, particularly Black African women and menopausal women.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On World AIDS Day, 1 December 2025, the Department published the new HIV Action Plan, which was developed in collaboration with UK Health Security Agency and NHS England. The plan is backed by over £170 million in funding and sets out five core priorities needed to reach our ambition to end new HIV transmissions within England by 2030. One of these priorities is to address stigma and improve the quality of life for people living with HIV, including an action to ensure the needs of women living with HIV are considered and addressed in future work, and the role of care for menopausal women living with HIV is included in women’s health hubs best practice.
The Department is also investing £4.8 million from 2026 to 2029 in the newly procured National HIV Prevention England Programme, which will be delivered by a consortium of the Terrence Higgins Trust and the Africa Advocacy Foundation. This programme includes an aim to reduce levels of HIV related stigma, particularly self-stigma and stigma within different communities, including Black African women.
In high and very high prevalence areas, routine HIV testing is normalised within emergency departments, through the Blood Borne Virus (BBV) emergency department opt-out testing programme. This helps to reduce stigma, avoids singling out individuals, and improves early diagnoses, including among people from Black African heritage who are less likely to access traditional sexual health services.
NHS England promotes and funds HIV peer support services in the BBV emergency department opt-out testing programme, recognising the role of lived-experience facilitators in reducing isolation and stigma. Case studies, including for women in their 50s diagnosed via emergency department testing, highlight how peer-led support fosters empowerment and combats stigma-related barriers.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of running buses from Qatar to Oman for the purposes of repatriation.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The safety and security of British nationals is our top priority. On 3 March, the Foreign Secretary spoke to the House about the consular support available to individuals in the Middle East, and assisted departures have now taken place from both Oman and Dubai. We will provide further updates on a regular basis, including details of our ongoing evacuation flights, as well as our efforts to secure an end to Iran's attacks on countries in the region, and the full resumption of normal commercial flights.
Asked by: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)
Question
To ask the Right hon. Member for Kenilworth and Southam, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what discussions he has had with the Royal Mail's on its ability to deliver outgoing and returned postal votes.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The Electoral Commission regularly engages with Royal Mail to consider the logistics and operational pressures of postal vote delivery, particularly in the run up to elections. This engagement informs the support the Commission provides to Returning Officers, who are responsible for issuing postal votes, and Royal Mail, who are responsible for delivery.
The Commission provides guidance to electoral administrators on how to plan and manage postal votes. The guidance recommends Returning Officers liaise early and regularly with their Royal Mail contact about postal vote pack delivery and returns.
The Commission has recommended the postal vote system should be reformed to improve the service for voters and strengthen resilience. Key areas for improvement include the information given to postal voters, considering whether the current deadline to return a postal vote should be extended and more flexibility for reissuing postal votes.
The Commission responded to Ofcom's consultation on the universal post service in 2025 highlighting the implications of postal service reforms for the management and funding of UK elections. The Commission's view is that reform proposals must ensure that electoral processes can continue to depend on an agile, flexible and reliable universal postal service.