Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with private fertility clinics on their profit levels.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such discussions have taken place with private fertility clinics.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is the UK-wide regulator for fertility treatment but has no powers over the commissioning of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or the cost of fertility treatment. All fertility clinics are free to set their own costs.
The Competition and Markets Authority produced guidance for patients and clinics explaining more about the costs of fertility treatment. It states that costs should be clearly set out to a patient before starting treatment, in order to comply with consumer law. More information is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/fertility-clinics-compliance-with-consumer-law-findings-published
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 ensure that men accessing fertility services are routinely offered comprehensive diagnostic testing.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care. We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services.
The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion in additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. Further details and allocations will be set out in due course.
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of routine sperm health testing as an indicator of wider physiological health conditions.
All people undergoing fertility treatment in a United Kingdom licenced fertility clinic must, by law, be offered a suitable opportunity for counselling before they begin treatment. Further information can be found on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology website, at the following link:
https://www.hfea.gov.uk/treatments/explore-all-treatments/getting-emotional-support/
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 improve access to mental health support for people undergoing fertility treatment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care. We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services.
The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion in additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. Further details and allocations will be set out in due course.
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of routine sperm health testing as an indicator of wider physiological health conditions.
All people undergoing fertility treatment in a United Kingdom licenced fertility clinic must, by law, be offered a suitable opportunity for counselling before they begin treatment. Further information can be found on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology website, at the following link:
https://www.hfea.gov.uk/treatments/explore-all-treatments/getting-emotional-support/
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
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 potential merits of routine sperm health testing as an indicator of wider physiological health conditions.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to putting patients first. This means making sure that patients are seen on time and ensuring that people have the best possible experience during their care. We are committed to transforming diagnostic services and will support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity to meet the demand for diagnostic services.
The 2025 Spending Review confirmed over £6 billion in additional capital investment over five years across new diagnostic, elective, and urgent care capacity. Further details and allocations will be set out in due course.
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of routine sperm health testing as an indicator of wider physiological health conditions.
All people undergoing fertility treatment in a United Kingdom licenced fertility clinic must, by law, be offered a suitable opportunity for counselling before they begin treatment. Further information can be found on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology website, at the following link:
https://www.hfea.gov.uk/treatments/explore-all-treatments/getting-emotional-support/
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the performance of NHS-commissioned fertility clinics.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government recognises that fertility treatment across the National Health Service in England is subject to variation in access. Work continues between the Department and NHS England to better understand NHS-funded fertility services and the effectiveness of these services.
All fertility clinics offering licensed fertility treatment are regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and must comply with related legislation and guidance. All licensed clinics must be physically inspected every two years to assess their compliance with the law and guidance and inspections ensure the clinic’s services are up to standard. The success rates of HFEA-licensed clinics are published by the HFEA.
Following each inspection, a report identifying both areas of good practice and those that require improvement is presented to a separate licensing committee, to review and make a final decision. The report and committee decision is then published on the HFEA website, on the clinic’s individual Choose a Fertility Clinic webpage, available at the following link:
https://www.hfea.gov.uk/choose-a-clinic/clinic-search/
The HFEA publishes an annual snapshot of regulatory work for the year. The most recent report is available at the following link:
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has engaged the Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) as an external provider.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Department has not engaged the Sport, Leisure and Culture Consultancy (SLC) as an external provider.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent progress her Department has made on increasing international cooperation to help tackle organised immigration crime.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
This government has strengthened co-operation on organised immigration crime with countries near and far – forging new and deeper partnerships through action such as our landmark border security statement with Iraq.
Deals have been struck that no other government thought possible, including the returns deal with France and new agreements with Germany to stop the warehousing of small boats by criminal gangs.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of battery enabled boilers could make on decarbonising domestic heating in smaller homes.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Heat batteries, sometimes referred to as ‘battery enabled boilers’, can utilise time-of-use tariffs and do not require outside space; however, they are less efficient than heat pumps. Heat batteries could meet the needs of some smaller homes, however if they do not have sufficient storage capacity they could draw electricity at peak times, adding burden on the electricity network and increasing energy bills.
Government will continue to review our position on heat batteries, as the supporting evidence base develops, including considering evidence from the Homes for Net Zero project.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent steps she has taken with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to reform the Gender Recognition Certificate process.
Answered by Nia Griffith
We are absolutely clear that trans people should be able to live openly with dignity and respect.
We have set out our immediate priorities in our Plan for Change. Our priorities for trans people are to pass a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, strengthen protections from hate crime for trans people and improve their healthcare. This Government is committed to delivering gender recognition reform, and we will deliver on that.
Asked by: Josh Newbury (Labour - Cannock Chase)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with the Northern Ireland Executive to support sustainable agriculture.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Agriculture is a devolved policy in the UK. Defra and the other UK nations work closely together through the consensus-based and well-established governance arrangements we have set up and operate under the Agricultural Support Framework. The regular meetings established under this Framework provide an opportunity for Defra and Northern Ireland Government officials to meet regularly and discuss emerging issues, share good practice, and proactively discuss and coordinate policy innovation.