Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing patient records to be used to research the impact of the use of puberty blockers on people throughout their lives.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to supporting the NHS in making research central to new gender services for children and young people.
This includes a retrospective data linkage study to identify associations in former GIDS patients’ experiences and outcomes, through analysis of available digital information within health records and other nationally held databases. This will not, however, establish causation.
The rigorous, randomised controlled PATHWAYS clinical trial which will offer puberty suppression within comprehensive NHS assessment and support will provide robust evidence needed to guide future NHS gender care decisions. Participants will also be asked to consent to long-term follow-up into adult life.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the reasons why over 4,100 women from the most deprived deciles of multiple deprivation have donated their eggs in return for payment of £750 since 2011.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not plan to undertake an assessment, however, academic research in the United Kingdom has consistently found that donating eggs and sperm is driven by altruism.
The compensation rate for egg donation is set by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), as provided for in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The HFEA has advised that the donor compensation levels originally set in 2011 followed a thorough ethical review, which identified a set of principles that ensured altruism remained at the heart of donation and that there weren’t any unjustifiable barriers to donation.
HFEA published data shows that egg and sperm donors in England from 2011 to 2020 lived in similar or more affluent socio-economic areas than the general population.
The HFEA’s Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee recently reviewed the published evidence of health outcomes for those having fertility treatment, including egg donors. The last 10 years of evidence were reviewed and the HFEA will update the relevant information on its website as needed.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of (a) the health impacts of egg retrieval on and (b) the financial motivations of the 829 women aged between 18 and 20 who donated their eggs between 2000 and 2022.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not plan to undertake an assessment, however, academic research in the United Kingdom has consistently found that donating eggs and sperm is driven by altruism.
The compensation rate for egg donation is set by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), as provided for in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. The HFEA has advised that the donor compensation levels originally set in 2011 followed a thorough ethical review, which identified a set of principles that ensured altruism remained at the heart of donation and that there weren’t any unjustifiable barriers to donation.
HFEA published data shows that egg and sperm donors in England from 2011 to 2020 lived in similar or more affluent socio-economic areas than the general population.
The HFEA’s Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee recently reviewed the published evidence of health outcomes for those having fertility treatment, including egg donors. The last 10 years of evidence were reviewed and the HFEA will update the relevant information on its website as needed.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take legislative steps to require the listing of health risks on adverts placed by fertility clinics seeking egg donors.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the United Kingdom’s fertility sector regulator, sets out strict requirements in its Licence Conditions and Code of Practice in relation to the recruitment of donors and the information that must be given to egg donors in advance of donating at UK-licensed fertility clinics, which includes information about the potential immediate or longer-term health risks and the psychological consequences of being a donor, as well as offering counselling to everyone involved.
In addition, the HFEA’s Code of Practice states that advertising should be designed with regard to the sensitive issues involved in recruiting donors and should follow the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) codes. This includes that advertising or publicity aimed at recruiting gamete or embryo donors, or encouraging donation, should not refer to the possibility of financial gain or similar advantage, although it may refer to compensation permitted under relevant HFEA Directions.
The ASA and HFEA issued a joint enforcement notice in 2021 to ensure fertility clinics and others were aware of the advertising rules, which remains in place.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will meet with women's rights campaigners to discuss the impact of egg donation on young women.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), as the regulator of the United Kingdom’s fertility sector, met with Surrogacy Concern and Stop Surrogacy Now in October and December 2024.
The HFEA provided information about the strict requirements in its Licence Conditions and Code of Practice relating to donor recruitment, the data published by the HFEA, and the information clinics must provide to patients and donors about the risks of any treatment prior to it taking place at HFEA licensed clinics.
The HFEA’s Scientific and Clinical Advances Advisory Committee recently reviewed the published evidence of health outcomes for those having fertility treatment, including egg donors. The last 10 years of evidence were reviewed and the HFEA will update the relevant information on its website as needed.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commission research on the effects on UK citizens of a ban on pursuing surrogacy abroad.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has no plans to commission research on the effects of a ban on international surrogacy arrangements.
The Government supports surrogacy as a part of assisted conception options, to help people who have difficulty starting their own family.
The Government recognises that international surrogacy is a complex area, and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office has published guidance for British nationals seeking international surrogacy arrangements.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commission research in to the long term effects of egg retrieval on women's bodies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Reigate on 22 July 2025 to Question 68253.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people waiting to sit a Dental Overseas Registration Examination.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on exactly how many candidates are waiting to sit the General Dental Council’s (GDC) Overseas Registration Exam (ORE), as this data is held by the GDC.
In April 2025, we understand from the GDC that there were approximately 5,000 candidates on the combined waiting lists for both parts of the ORE exam.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Nursing and Midwifery Council's review entitled Independent Culture Review, published in July 2024, if his Department will launch an independent review into that organisation.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, and nursing associates in England. The NMC is independent of the Government, directly accountable to Parliament, and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties.
The Department has no current plans to launch an independent review, but we expect the NMC to ensure swift and robust action is taken to deliver against the 36 recommendations set out in the Independent Culture Review report.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne
My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has been discussing the new United Kingdom-wide Tobacco and Vapes Bill with Neil Gray, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care for Scotland, and will send formal correspondence prior to its introduction. As the bill covers the whole of the UK, the Department will stay in close contact with all our devolved government counterparts, throughout the passage of the bill.
Department officials have engaged frequently with officials from Public Health Scotland, and the rest of the devolved governments, to help shape and develop proposals for new legislation. Each of the devolved governments, including the Scottish Government, are in support of a new and strengthened bill, and the benefits it will provide to the health of our nations. Once the bill has been introduced to the UK Parliament, the devolved governments will seek consent motions from their respective legislatures, including the Scottish Parliament.