Asked by: Marsha De Cordova (Labour - Battersea)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what his priorities are for the UN Summit of the Future on 22-23 September 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The UK welcomes the Summit of the Future as an opportunity to secure UN reform, so that it can meet the challenges of today and those of tomorrow. Our priorities are to: support a New Agenda for Peace which commits to conflict prevention through national prevention approaches, and localised warning mechanisms; shape shared principles for digital co-operation; accelerate the full achievement of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), based on the International Development White Paper priorities; and defend positions on human rights and gender, notably sexual health and reproductive rights and Female Genital Mutilation, and advance women's participation at all levels of decision-making.
Apr. 22 2024
Source Page: I. List of ministerial responsibilities. 88p. II. List of non-ministerial departments and executive agencies. 22p. III. Letter dated 19/04/2024 from Alex Burghart MP to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee regarding documents for deposit, and copying them for deposit in the House libraries. 1p.Found: Procurement), Ministry of Defence 7Maria CAULFIELD MP Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Women's
Asked by: Virendra Sharma (Labour - Ealing, Southall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure that (a) young and (b) vulnerable people have access to free contraception.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Local authorities across England are responsible for commissioning comprehensive, openly accessible sexual and reproductive health services, which includes the provision of free contraception to meet local demand. Local authorities decide on commissioning arrangements based on an assessment of local need, including the needs of young and vulnerable people. Contraception is also widely available free of charge through general practices (GPs).
The Government is committed to improving access to contraception, and reducing reproductive health inequalities. The Women’s Health Strategy sets out our 10-year ambition and the actions we are taking to improve disparities in access to services, experiences of services, and outcomes for all women and girls.
As part of our work to deliver the Women’s Health Strategy we have launched a dedicated women’s health area on the National Health Service website as a first port of call for women’s health information, including contraception. We have also worked closely with NHS Digital to create a new YouTube series on contraception, which has been designed to help answer common questions often found in search engines, as well as more detailed information on the range of contraceptive methods available.
In 2023 we also introduced the NHS Pharmacy Contraception Service. This service offers greater choice in how people can access contraception services. It will also create additional capacity in GPs and sexual health clinics, to support meeting the demand for more complex assessments.
We are working with the Women’s Health Ambassador and others to provide health information to diverse groups of women, across their life course. We know that young people who receive effective relationships and sex education are more likely to use contraception and condoms, and less likely to have an unplanned pregnancy as a teenager, and in later life.
The 2020 roll-out of statutory relationships and sex education in all schools means that more young people receive support to prevent early unplanned pregnancy through learning about the full range of contraceptive choices and sexual health services available. The statutory guidance is available at the following link:
As set out in the Women's Health Strategy, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education are working to understand women’s health topics that teachers feel less confident in teaching, and we will work to improve provision of high-quality teaching resources.
Report Apr. 22 2024
Committee: Health, Social Care and Sport CommitteeFound: scrutiny of the general principles of the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Scotland) Bill by the Health
Apr. 19 2024
Source Page: Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2024Found: group and selected componentsTable 4: Benefit expenditure to support disabled people and people with health
Apr. 19 2024
Source Page: Benefit expenditure and caseload tables 2024Found: group and selected components Table 4: Benefit expenditure to support disabled people and people with health
Apr. 19 2024
Source Page: Convention of the Highlands and Islands minutes: March 2024Found: In recognition of International Women's Day held just a few weeks ago, I thought it is also of note that
Written Evidence Apr. 16 2024
Inquiry: Grassroots music venuesFound: The second show, Old Trafford New Recruits, features members of the Old Trafford Mental Health
Apr. 16 2024
Source Page: Meetings between Engender and any Ministers or Cabinet Secretaries since 01 April 2023: FOI releaseFound: Women's Health Inequalities Engender have been involved in the development and delivery of the Women
Asked by: Craig Tracey (Conservative - North Warwickshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of using breast density assessment software at women's first breast cancer screening appointments; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of that technology on women's awareness of their personal risk of developing breast cancer.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Breast Screening Risk Adaptive Imaging for Density trial is looking into the use of supplementary imaging techniques for women, within the standard breast screening programme, who are found to have radiographically dense breast tissue. The UK National Screening Committee, which advises ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries in the United Kingdom, will review this evidence when it becomes available.