Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.
Answered by Simon Hoare
I refer the Hon Member to paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code which states: “The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority”.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information her Department holds on how much local authorities spent on sexual health services in (a) 2017, (b) 2018, (c) 2019, (d) 2020, (e) 2021, (f) 2022 and (g) 2023.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The following table shows how much local authorities have reported spending on sexual health services, including testing and treatment, contraception and sexual health advice, and prevention and promotion, each financial year from 2017 to 2023:
Financial Year | Spend |
2017/18 | £572,054,000 |
2018/19 | £555,906,000 |
2019/20 | £539,484,000 |
2020/21 | £507,167,000 |
2021/22 | £530,595,000 |
2022/23 | £546,928,000 |
Source: Data has come from annual published local authority revenue expenditure which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/local-authority-revenue-expenditure-and-financing
Local authorities are responsible for commissioning comprehensive open access to most sexual health services. It is for individual local authorities to decide their spending priorities based on an assessment of local need, and to commission and evaluate the service lines that best suit their population, including online and in-person provision.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what change there has been in the rate of sexually transmitted infections since 2012.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The total rate of new sexually transmitted infections (STIs) decreased from 844.8 per 100,000 in 2013 to 764.4 per 100,000 in 2017. The rate increased in 2018 and 2019, to 801.7 per 100,000 and 831.9 per 100,000 respectively, before falling in 2020 to 550.8 per 100,000. The rate has been increasing since 2021 and 2022, to 560.7 per 100,000 and 694.2 per 100,000 respectively. A table showing the STI diagnosis numbers and rates in England, each year from 2013 to 2022, is attached.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS sexual health consultants were there in England in (a) 2017 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department does not hold information about the total number of staff delivering sexual health services in the National Health Service. However, the table below shows the number of full-time equivalent consultants working in sexual health specialties in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England, as of October 2017 and October 2023:
Specialty | October 2017 | October 2023 |
Consultants Working in Community Sexual and Reproductive Health | 83 | 135 |
Consultants Working in Genito-Urinary Medicine | 268 | 241 |
Source: Data is drawn from the monthly NHS workforce statistics published by NHS England.
Notes: Data excludes staff directly employed by general practitioner surgeries, local authorities, and other providers such as community interest companies and private providers. This is relevant as local authorities are responsible for commissioning most sexual health services and some will be commissioned from bodies outside of NHS trusts, of which the Department holds no staffing information.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many staff worked in sexual health services in (a) 2017 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
The Department does not hold information about the total number of staff delivering sexual health services in the National Health Service. However, the table below shows the number of full-time equivalent consultants working in sexual health specialties in NHS trusts and other core organisations in England, as of October 2017 and October 2023:
Specialty | October 2017 | October 2023 |
Consultants Working in Community Sexual and Reproductive Health | 83 | 135 |
Consultants Working in Genito-Urinary Medicine | 268 | 241 |
Source: Data is drawn from the monthly NHS workforce statistics published by NHS England.
Notes: Data excludes staff directly employed by general practitioner surgeries, local authorities, and other providers such as community interest companies and private providers. This is relevant as local authorities are responsible for commissioning most sexual health services and some will be commissioned from bodies outside of NHS trusts, of which the Department holds no staffing information.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department’s call for views on new local authority capital flexibilities published on 19 December 2023, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of the listed options in that publication on sales of local authority assets that are not classified under IAS 40.
Answered by Simon Hoare
The Government does not collect data on individual local authority assets, including investment assets. Details of these assets should be held locally by councils.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department’s call for views on new local authority capital flexibilities, published on 19 December 2023, if he will publish a list of investment properties valued at an estimated £23.2 billion.
Answered by Simon Hoare
The Government does not collect data on individual local authority assets, including investment assets. Details of these assets should be held locally by councils.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the number of workers that do not qualify for statutory sick pay because they earn less than the Lower Earnings Limit.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Department’s latest estimate is that in Quarter 1 of the financial year 2022/23 there were around 1.5 million employees in the UK who earned below the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL). This figure does not include workers who are self-employed. This is an update to the position from the DWP’s 2019 ‘Health is Everyone’s Business’ consultation using data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS).
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many workers in Scotland do not qualify for statutory sick pay because they earn less than the Lower Earnings Limit.
Answered by Jo Churchill
Information on those who earn below the Lower Earnings Limit in Scotland is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall and Camberwell Green)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the number and proportion of workers that earn less than the Lower Earnings Limit.
Answered by Jo Churchill
The Department’s latest estimate is that in Quarter 1 of the financial year 2022/23 there were around 1.5 million employees, 5% of th, in the UK who earned below the Lower Earnings Limit (LEL). This figure does not include workers who are self-employed.
This is an update to the position from the DWP’s 2019 ‘Health is Everyone’s Business’ consultation using data from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). In the 2022/23 financial year, the LEL was set at £123 per week.