Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking to ensure that employers provide supportive, flexible environments, including temperature control, modified duties, and open dialogue to prevent talent loss due to employees' menopausal and peri-menopausal symptoms.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As part of Employment Rights Act 2025, we took the first step towards requiring large employers from the private and voluntary sectors in England, Wales and Scotland and the public sector in England to publish an action plan detailing what they are doing to support employees through the menopause. In order to support employers to produce their plans, we will provide guidance on the actions we recommend they take, drawn from existing evidence. This is likely to include elements around workplace flexibility and training for line managers and will be publicly available for all employers.
In addition, the Department for Work and Pensions has already published guidance for small employers on measures to consider relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence. This is available on the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service website.
Furthermore, broader measures introduced as part of the Employment Rights Act 2025 will encourage more supportive workplaces. With elements around access to flexible working and changes to Statutory Sick Pay helping employees managing menopause symptoms.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 waiting times for gynaecological (i) consultant appointments and (ii) surgery.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are committed to cutting waiting times across all specialities, including gynaecology. We have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard, that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, by March 2029. We are making good progress, as waiting lists have been cut by over 310,000 since the Government came into office, which includes almost 20,000 patients waiting for gynaecology treatment over the same period.
Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, set out the reforms we are making to improve gynaecology waiting times, across England. This includes innovative models of care that offer care closer to home and in the community, piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding, and increasing the relative funding available to incentivise providers to take on more gynaecology procedures. It also includes expanding the number of surgical hubs, which provide valuable and protected capacity across elective specialities, including gynaecology. Currently, over half of the 125 operational elective surgical hubs in England provide gynaecology services. Wider elective reforms will help cut waiting times for gynaecology services, including more consistent clinical triage, tackling missed appointments, and scaling up remote monitoring and use of patient-initiated follow ups. We are also introducing an “online hospital”, through NHS Online. From 2027, people on certain pathways, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis or fibroids, will have the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to provide additional resources to gynaecology services to help reduce waiting times.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing waiting lists is a key part of the Government’s Health Mission, and we are committed to cutting waiting times across all specialities, including gynaecology. We have committed to return to the National Health Service constitutional standard, that 92% of patients wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, by March 2029. We are making good progress, as waiting lists have been cut by over 310,000 since the Government came into office, which includes almost 20,000 patients waiting for gynaecology treatment over the same period.
Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, set out the reforms we are making to improve gynaecology waiting times, across England. This includes innovative models of care that offer care closer to home and in the community, piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding, and increasing the relative funding available to incentivise providers to take on more gynaecology procedures. It also includes expanding the number of surgical hubs, which provide valuable and protected capacity across elective specialities, including gynaecology. Currently, over half of the 125 operational elective surgical hubs in England provide gynaecology services. Wider elective reforms will help cut waiting times for gynaecology services, including more consistent clinical triage, tackling missed appointments, and scaling up remote monitoring and use of patient-initiated follow ups. We are also introducing an “online hospital”, through NHS Online. From 2027, people on certain pathways, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis or fibroids, will have the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times.
Asked by: Nadia Whittome (Labour - Nottingham East)
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 reduce diagnostic waiting times for gynaecological conditions in Nottingham; and if he will make additional funding available to support gynaecological services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Reducing diagnostic waiting times, including for gynaecology, is a key part of the Government’s health mission. That is why we are transforming diagnostic services and are taking steps to support the National Health Service to increase diagnostic capacity, including those tests typically used in gynaecology services such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasound.
As set out in the Elective Reform Plan, we plan to build up to five more community diagnostic centres (CDCs), as part of £600 million capital funding for diagnostics in 2025/26. The plan also commits to CDCs opening 12 hours per day, seven days a week, delivering more same-day tests and consultations. In August 2025, we confirmed that 100 CDCs were delivering these extended services.
There are already two CDCs located within the NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board. These are Broad Marsh CDC in Nottingham and Mansfield CDC in Mansfield, which offer patients across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire key diagnostic tests, including MRI and ultrasound.
More generally, to support gynaecological services, we are prioritising gynaecology pathways as part of the launch of NHS online. This will give people on certain pathways, such as those with severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems, the choice of getting specialist case from their home and provide additional capacity to cut waiting times.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Neath and Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will include the British Standard Institution's health and safety document entitled BS 30416 on Menstruation, Menstrual Health and Menopause in the Workplace, published on 31 May 2023, in her Department's guidance on the Employment Rights Act 2025.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We recognise that employers already have access to a wide range of guidance on supporting employees experiencing menopause, including resources produced by the British Standards Institution. While current government guidance does not specifically reference BS 30416: Menstruation, Menstrual Health and Menopause in the Workplace, our aim is to ensure that current and future government advice complements and aligns with such materials.
As part of the Employment Rights Act 2025, this government took the first step towards requiring large employers to publish an action plan detailing what steps they are taking to support employees through the menopause. To support employers to develop these plans, the Office for Equality and Opportunity will provide guidance on recommended actions. This will be drawn from existing evidence, such as DWP's own Menopause in the Workplace Literature Review, while recognising that some actions may also support women managing other reproductive health conditions at work.
Additionally, as part of Government’s wider commitment to Make Work Pay, DWP committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures to consider relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence. This is available on the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS): Managing the menopause - Menopause at work - Acas. Actions set out in this guidance are aligned with, and complement, the advice set out in BS 30416 on Menstruation, Menstrual Health and Menopause in the Workplace.
We will keep the evidence base and our guidance under review to ensure it reflects emerging research and best practice in supporting employees experiencing menopause and wider reproductive health conditions.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce the number of women waiting for gynaecological treatment in a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to returning to the National Health Service constitutional standard that 92% of patients are treated within 18 weeks of referral to consultant-led care, including in gynaecology, by March 2029.
The Department only holds data at a trust and integrated care board level. Newcastle-under-Lyme is served by the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNB), and Staffordshire is served by the NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board (SSOT ICB). Performance against this standard at the UHNB’s gynaecology service has improved by 7.6% since the Government came into office, to 55.5%, with a 16% reduction in the waiting list. At the SSOT ICB, performance for gynaecology services has improved by 6.9% to 55.2% over the same period, with a 15% reduction in waiting list size.
Our Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the reforms we are making to improve gynaecology waiting times, across England. This includes innovative models of care that offer care closer to home and in the community, piloting gynaecology pathways in community diagnostic centres for patients with post-menopausal bleeding, and increasing the relative funding available to incentivise providers to take on more gynaecology procedures.
Wider elective reforms will help cut waiting times for gynaecology services in Staffordshire and across England. These include more consistent clinical triage, tackling missed appointments, delivering new and expanded surgical hubs, and scaling up remote monitoring and use of patient-initiated follow ups.
We also provided new funding for general practices (GPs) to expand Advice and Guidance (A&G) services. A&G helps to keep patients out of hospital and delivers more care closer to home, saving time, protecting capacity, and improving care experience. A&G for gynaecology is available in all GPs within the SSOT ICB.
We are also introducing an “online hospital” via NHS Online. From 2027, people on certain pathways, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis or fibroids, will have the choice of getting the specialist care they need from their home, providing additional appointments to cut waiting times.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
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 introducing mandatory training for GPs on (a) identifying symptoms and (b) offering treatment for the Menopause.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We know that more needs to be done to support women experiencing the menopause. This Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we reform the NHS.
General practitioners are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge, including on menopause, remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients.
All United Kingdom registered doctors are expected to meet the professional standards set out in the General Medical Council’s (GMC’s) Good Medical Practice. The training curriculum for postgraduate trainee doctors is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners and has to meet the standards set by the GMC.
NICE published its updated guideline in November 2024 and recommended more treatment choices for menopause symptoms. The updated guideline aims to support healthcare professionals by providing them with information they need to support evidence-based decisions about treatment choices, as well as information and support about menopause. The guideline recommends hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as the most effective treatment for vasomotor symptoms, and also recommends that for people aged over 40 years old, healthcare professionals should consider menopause-specific cognitive behavioural therapy as an option for vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause in addition to HRT. HRT is the main treatment for menopause symptoms, and NICE recommends that for most women it is safe and effective.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what representations did he receive from women with (a) endometriosis and (b) adenomyosis on provisions within the Employment Rights Bill to support employees with these conditions.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to improving women’s health and supporting employees through the Employment Rights Act (ERA). Officials have engaged with women’s health organisations, including endometriosis groups, informing voluntary Employer Action Plans on menopause from April 2026. We’re helping people with health conditions stay and thrive at work through programmes such as Keep Britain Working and greater access to flexible working. Statutory Sick Pay may also apply which, from April, becomes payable from day one of sickness absence. Beyond the ERA, endometriosis and adenomyosis may be considered disabilities, and if so, employers must offer reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Jeremy Hunt (Conservative - Godalming and Ash)
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 women accessing care for (a) menopause and (b) menstrual disorders via the NHS online hospital can be referred efficiently to in-person specialist services when needed.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Online will be a new, optional online service allowing patients to digitally connect with clinicians across England. When a patient is referred to NHS Online, should a consultation be required, they will see the next available specialist, who may be anywhere in the country. For patients who are diagnosed with menopause or menstrual disorders conditions, where the NHS Online clinician determines that in-person specialist services are the appropriate treatment, they will be transferred to appropriate local services, including in-person specialist care.
Patients will always have the choice of face-to-face appointments, and those who need physical examinations or procedures will continue to receive them either at hospital or local hubs nearby. If a patient displays more complex symptoms after the original referral to NHS Online, then they can be referred back on to a more traditional pathway.
Asked by: Jeremy Hunt (Conservative - Godalming and Ash)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the NHS online hospital on levels of regional variation in gynaecology waiting times.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Women’s health issues, including severe menopause symptoms and menstrual problems that may be a sign of endometriosis, fibroids, polycystic ovary syndrome, adenomyosis, or pelvic infection, will be among the conditions available for referral to NHS Online from 2027.
NHS Online will be unconstrained by geographical boundaries, able to better align clinical capacity with patient demand, and will help tackle deep rooted inequalities in the healthcare system by ending the postcode lottery of care and waiting times, including for women’s health issues. Once referred by their general practitioner, patients can be seen quickly by National Health Service specialists online. Remote consultations, follow-ups, and condition management can be delivered digitally. Streamlined pathways will shorten delays between referral and treatment and help patients start their care sooner.
NHS Online will help to reduce patient waiting times, delivering the equivalent of up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years, four times more than an average trust, while enhancing patient choice and control over their care.
NHS Online is undertaking a detailed equality health impact assessment to assess the impacts of the service, and is working with patients and carers to ensure that these are addressed. Patient choice remains central to care. NHS Online will enhance patient choice with in-person care always available for those who prefer and for those whose care needs require it.
Before NHS Online goes live, the NHS will learn from existing research on patient experience of online care over the last five years and build it into the programme as it develops. The programme is being developed with a commitment to patient partnership in design and delivery. We will be working with marginalised groups, including through the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise sector, which represents communities who share protected characteristics or that experience health inequalities, with further information avaiable at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/hwalliance/
Inclusion will be a core priority as the organisation evolves.