Intersex Citizens

Lord Black of Brentwood Excerpts

Monday 9th September 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Lord outlined the very point articulated by the noble Baroness, Lady Barker. Obviously, we would never want children to have to go through something they might later regret, or which they feel has been imposed upon them and can destroy the rest of their lives. That is why we did the call for evidence and why we will proceed carefully and responsibly in this sensitive area.

[Lord Black of Brentwood (Con)]

My Lords, these issues are complex to understand and highly sensitive, even for those of us steeped in LGBT+ issues. One problem is that, at the moment, there is no official data on the number, frequency and types of interventions for intersex people. Would it be a good idea for the NHS to start collecting this?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I do not know whether my noble friend knows this, but the LGBT survey we conducted had 108,000 responses—the largest of its kind ever undertaken in the world. Almost 2,000 respondents identified as intersex. However, my noble friend is right: that proportion is a snapshot of those who responded. People have been calling for the census to record this; there will be the opportunity to do just that in the next census.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Lord Black of Brentwood Excerpts

Monday 3rd December 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Black of Brentwood (Con)]

My Lords, can my noble friend tell us what plans the Government have to improve access to HIV treatment for children? Globally, only 52% of children living with HIV have access to antiretrovirals and, tragically, half of those without treatment will die before their second birthday. There will soon be a high-level discussion on scaling up early HIV diagnosis and treatment for children. Will the Government be sending a delegate to it?

[Lord Bates]

I cannot give an answer on that point, but I am very happy to write to my noble friend. He is absolutely right. We believe that this issue will be addressed in the investment case. It is also touched upon in the political declaration that accompanied the UN General Assembly high-level meeting. However, I will certainly write to him on the specifics of the issue and I thank him for raising it.

Health: Tuberculosis

Lord Black of Brentwood Excerpts

Thursday 29th November 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

That is very true, and that is why the vast majority of cases of TB around the world—an estimated 10 million new cases in just the past year, leading to the potential deaths of 1.6 million people—are predominantly in low-income countries, which is also where the UK aid budget is focused most.

[Lord Black of Brentwood (Con)]

My Lords, does my noble friend agree that the greatest barrier to tackling HIV and its comorbidities, such as TB and hepatitis, is the continuing burden of the criminalisation of homosexuality in so many countries, which makes proper health education almost impossible? Will he restate the Government’s strong and very welcome commitment to tackling that scourge of criminalisation?

[Lord Bates]

We will of course do that. I think some 72 countries around the world criminalise same-sex relationships to some, degree and 36 of those are Commonwealth countries. That is why we mentioned that at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. We have to strike a note of some humility there; in some of the conversations I had at that meeting, it was pointed out to me that the legislation came from British colonial rule. We therefore need to be humble and careful in how we approach the matter, but it is absolutely right that we should highlight that these laws should be changed. They are something from the past and they inhibit the tackling of this prevalent disease.

Air Guns

Lord Black of Brentwood Excerpts

Monday 5th March 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Black of Brentwood]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to introduce a regime for the purchase, possession and use of air guns.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, the purchase, possession and use of air weapons are already regulated. However, we are reviewing the regulatory position in England and Wales. We asked for the views of interested parties in December and we received a large number of representations from the wider public. We will consider these carefully before deciding how to proceed and we will publish the outcome in due course.

[Lord Black of Brentwood (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for that Answer. Is she aware that a growing number of crimes involving air weapons relate to senseless attacks on domestic animals, particularly cats, nearly half of which die as a result of the often horrific injuries? The Cats Protection charity recorded 164 attacks on cats and kittens with an airgun last year, while the RSPCA received nearly 900 calls to its cruelty hotline reporting air weapon attacks on animals. This makes 4,500 attacks in the last five years. Is it time to license these weapons, to ensure that they are possessed only for legitimate purposes by responsible owners, not by those who would cruelly inflict pain and suffering—and often death—on defenceless domestic animals?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

As a cat lover and cat owner, I totally sympathise with my noble friend’s Question. The Government take animal welfare very seriously. Anyone who shoots a domestic cat is liable to be charged and prosecuted, under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, with causing unnecessary suffering. We are increasing the maximum penalty for this offence from six months’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine to five years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. The number of offences involving air weapons in the year to March 2017 was similar to that in the previous year and there were 64% fewer air weapon offences than a decade previously. Following the recommendation from the coroner in the case of Benjamin Wragge, we are looking at the regulation of air weapons with an open mind. The review will also consider the position in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where licensing regimes are in place for air weapons.