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 eliminate (a) cervical and (b) other cancer caused by human papillomavirus.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination, alongside routine screening, is key to protecting people against strains of HPV that can cause some cancers including cervical, anal, head and neck cancer.
The NHS Cervical Screening Programme (CSP) provides all women and people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 64 years old with the opportunity to be screened routinely, to detect certain types of HPV infection which cause 99.7% of cervical cancer. An in-service evaluation is being commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Care Research to determine whether HPV self-sampling could be used to improve the NHS CSP.
The HPV vaccination is offered to all adolescents in Year 8 of school, and catch-up vaccinations are available to those up to 25 years old, those born on or after 1 September 2006, for both females and males who may have missed vaccination under the schools’ programme, providing an additional failsafe. The HPV vaccination is also recommended to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, up to and including those aged 45 years old.
NHS England’s vaccination strategy sets out a range of ambitions to improve uptake across the National Health Service’s vaccination programmes. This includes building on existing work and delivery to develop implementation plans for how HPV vaccinations, alongside cervical screening and pre-cancer treatment, can help achieve the NHS ambition to eliminate cervical cancer by 2040.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on supporting the wellbeing of gay, lesbian and bisexual young people.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Equality Hub Ministers regularly engage with their counterparts across Government on matters relating to LGB equality. This is because this Government is committed to improving the health and well-being of young people and we recognise that gay, lesbian and bisexual young people often face specific challenges.
This is why spending for children and young people’s mental health services has increased from £841 million in 2019/20 to just over £1 billion in 2022/23.
A further £3 million of funding has also been divided between five anti-bullying organisations to tackle bullying in schools. This includes projects that target homophobic and biphobic hate-related bullying.
In October 2022, we launched a Victim Support Service for anyone affected by or at risk of conversion practices, regardless of their sexual orientation, sex or transgender identity. The helpline can provide a safe, confidential listening and information service to anyone over the age of 13.
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increase in incidents of (1) gonorrhoea, from 58 diagnoses per 100,000 people in 2013 to 146 diagnoses in 2023, and (2) syphilis, from 6.4 diagnoses per 100,000 people in 2013 to 15.4 diagnoses in 2023; and what assessment they have made of the impact of the resulting loss of working days.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Sexually transmitted infection diagnosis data is published annually, as official statistics by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and is available at the GOV.UK website, in an online only format. There were 82,592 gonorrhoea diagnoses and 8,692 infectious syphilis diagnoses, including primary, secondary, and early latent, reported in sexual health services in England, in 2022. This is compared to 31,177 gonorrhoea diagnoses and 3,345 infectious syphilis diagnoses, primary, secondary, and early latent, in 2013.
Gonorrhoea is increasing in people of all ages, but the rise is highest among young people aged 15 to 24 years old. Infectious syphilis, including primary, secondary, and early latent, is increasing among gay, bisexual, or other men, who have sex with men and heterosexual people.
Dedicated sexual health services play a key public health role in diagnosis, early treatment and management of STIs and we are providing local authorities with more than £3.5 billion in 2023/24 (increasing to £3.6 billion in 2024/25) through our public health grant to support this activity.
We continue to support the delivery of local services, providing guidance and data through UKHSA and my department. In March 2023 the Department of Health and Social Care in collaboration with UKHSA, published the Integrated Sexual Health Service Specification to support local authorities in comprehensive commissioning of services and provide advice and guidance on managing STIs outbreaks.
UKHSA has also published a Syphilis Action Plan to address the increase in syphilis diagnosis in England, focusing on key interventions such as targeted testing, partner notification and awareness raising.
No assessment has been made of any resulting loss of working days, due to gonorrhoea and syphilis diagnoses.
Asked by: Neale Hanvey (Alba Party - Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on Government support for the health of gay, lesbian and bisexual young people.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
This Government is committed to improving the health and well-being of young people. We recognise that gay, lesbian and bisexual young people often face specific challenges.
We have ended the ban on blood donations from sexually active gay men, and are eliminating barriers for same sex couples to access IVF.
Spend for children and young people’s mental health services has increased from £841 million in 2019/20 to just over £1 billion in 2022/23.
And in 2021, we published our HIV Action Plan which sets our commitment to ending all new HIV transmissions, AIDS and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030.
Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the demographic profile of requesting an HIV testing kit during National HIV Testing Week in each of the years 2020 to 2023 inclusive.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
During the period between 1 and 7 February 2021, 19,342 HIV testing kits were dispatched, and 84 were reactive. The following table shows, using the data currently available, the number of HIV testing kits that were ordered and dispatched for National HIV Testing Week (NHTW) campaigns between 2019/20 and 2022/23:
England Total | Ordered kits | Dispatched kits | HIV reactive | HIV reactivity |
2019/20 | 19,863 | 19,496 | 81 | 0.8% |
2020/21 | 30,612 | 30,876 | 135 | 0.7% |
2021/22 | 24,409 | 23,520 | 75 | 0.6% |
2022/23 | 22,408 | 21,626 | 79 | 0.4% |
Notes:
NHTW focuses on communities disproportionately affected by HIV though tests are available to be ordered by anyone in England. We have some data available on the demographic profile of people requesting an HIV testing kit during NHTW, with 44% of HIV testing kit requests in 2023 coming from gay and bisexual men who have sex with men.
Black African people’s uptake of testing kits has tripled since 2021, accounting for 10% of orders made. During NHTW in 2023, self-testing kits were made available for the first time and were particularly popular amongst black African groups. The percentage of heterosexual men who requested a testing kit has doubled since 2021, from 11% to 22% in 2023 and the percentage of heterosexual women has also steadily increased year on year.
We continue working closely together with our key partners in the HIV Prevention Programme monitoring and evaluating the results of the campaign to ensure we continue progressing towards our 2030 ambitions.
Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of those requesting an HIV testing kit during National HIV Testing Week tested positive in each of the years 2020 to 2023 inclusive.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
During the period between 1 and 7 February 2021, 19,342 HIV testing kits were dispatched, and 84 were reactive. The following table shows, using the data currently available, the number of HIV testing kits that were ordered and dispatched for National HIV Testing Week (NHTW) campaigns between 2019/20 and 2022/23:
England Total | Ordered kits | Dispatched kits | HIV reactive | HIV reactivity |
2019/20 | 19,863 | 19,496 | 81 | 0.8% |
2020/21 | 30,612 | 30,876 | 135 | 0.7% |
2021/22 | 24,409 | 23,520 | 75 | 0.6% |
2022/23 | 22,408 | 21,626 | 79 | 0.4% |
Notes:
NHTW focuses on communities disproportionately affected by HIV though tests are available to be ordered by anyone in England. We have some data available on the demographic profile of people requesting an HIV testing kit during NHTW, with 44% of HIV testing kit requests in 2023 coming from gay and bisexual men who have sex with men.
Black African people’s uptake of testing kits has tripled since 2021, accounting for 10% of orders made. During NHTW in 2023, self-testing kits were made available for the first time and were particularly popular amongst black African groups. The percentage of heterosexual men who requested a testing kit has doubled since 2021, from 11% to 22% in 2023 and the percentage of heterosexual women has also steadily increased year on year.
We continue working closely together with our key partners in the HIV Prevention Programme monitoring and evaluating the results of the campaign to ensure we continue progressing towards our 2030 ambitions.
Asked by: Baroness Barker (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many HIV testing kits were supplied between 1 and 7 February 2021, and of those, how many positive HIV tests were recorded.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
During the period between 1 and 7 February 2021, 19,342 HIV testing kits were dispatched, and 84 were reactive. The following table shows, using the data currently available, the number of HIV testing kits that were ordered and dispatched for National HIV Testing Week (NHTW) campaigns between 2019/20 and 2022/23:
England Total | Ordered kits | Dispatched kits | HIV reactive | HIV reactivity |
2019/20 | 19,863 | 19,496 | 81 | 0.8% |
2020/21 | 30,612 | 30,876 | 135 | 0.7% |
2021/22 | 24,409 | 23,520 | 75 | 0.6% |
2022/23 | 22,408 | 21,626 | 79 | 0.4% |
Notes:
NHTW focuses on communities disproportionately affected by HIV though tests are available to be ordered by anyone in England. We have some data available on the demographic profile of people requesting an HIV testing kit during NHTW, with 44% of HIV testing kit requests in 2023 coming from gay and bisexual men who have sex with men.
Black African people’s uptake of testing kits has tripled since 2021, accounting for 10% of orders made. During NHTW in 2023, self-testing kits were made available for the first time and were particularly popular amongst black African groups. The percentage of heterosexual men who requested a testing kit has doubled since 2021, from 11% to 22% in 2023 and the percentage of heterosexual women has also steadily increased year on year.
We continue working closely together with our key partners in the HIV Prevention Programme monitoring and evaluating the results of the campaign to ensure we continue progressing towards our 2030 ambitions.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 40 of the Defence Equipment and Support Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, what the 16 sub-targets were; and of those, which (a) were and (b) were not met.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The status of the 16 sub-targets for DE&S KPI 4.1 (Culture and Inclusion), at the end of reporting year 2022-23, is shown in the table below. Note that since the publication of these sub-targets the nomenclature of the grade Senior Admin Specialist (SAS) has changed to Senior Technical Specialist.
Targets | Status | |
Commercial | Increase Ethnic Minority (EM) representation at Senior Admin Specialist (SAS) – Professional II (PII) to 6.5% | Not Met |
Increase female representation at Professional I (PI) – Senior Professional (SP) to 41.8% | Met | |
Corporate Services Group | Increase female representation at SP to be 35% | Not Met |
Increase EM representation to be 6% | Not Met | |
Engineering | 20% of Engineering new joiners to be female | Not Met |
Maintain female attrition 0.5% below male rate | Not Met | |
Finance & Accounting | Increase disabled representation at PI - SP to 4.2% | Not Met |
Increase EM representation at PI - SP to 8.4% | Met | |
HR | Increase EM representation to 7.5% | Met |
Maintain Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Other representation at ≥3.4% | Met | |
Integrated Logistics | Increase female representation in PII-SP to 26.5% | Met |
Increase EM representation in PII - PI to 4.9% | Not Met | |
Information Management & IT | Increase female representation at PII – SP to 30.5% | Met |
Increase in EM representation at PII – SP to 7.1% | Met | |
Project Delivery | Increase female representation at PI to 30% | Not Met |
Increase EM representation at PI to 4% | Not Met | |
DE&S uses its own grade structure and grading methodology. This utilises a broadly comparable read across to Civil Service grades, but does not confirm exact grade equivalency between DE&S and other Civil Service organisations:
DE&S Grade | Civil Service Grade |
Senior Leadership Group 3 (SLG3*) | Director General (Senior Civil Service 3) |
Senior Leadership Group 2 (SLG2*) | Director (Senior Civil Service 2) |
Senior Leadership Group 1 (SLG1*) | Deputy Director (Senior Civil Service 1) |
Senior Professional (SP) | G6 |
Professional I (PI) | G7 |
Professional II (PII) | Senior Executive Officer (SEO) |
Senior Technical/Senior Specialist I (STSI) | Higher Executive Officer (HEO) |
Senior Technical/Senior Specialist II (STSII) | Executive Officer (EO) |
Technical/Specialist I (TSI) | Administrative Officer (AO) |
Technical/Specialist II (TSII) | Administrative Assistant (AA) |
Asked by: Florence Eshalomi (Labour (Co-op) - Vauxhall)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) men who have sex with men, (b) women, (c) Black men and (d) Black women that were accessing PrEP in England in (i) 2021, (ii) 2022 and (iii) 2023.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Data for 2023 is not yet available and is to be published in autumn of 2024. The following table shows the number of people in 2021 and 2022 who initiated or continued HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) at sexual health services (SHSs) in England in the past two years for the demographic groups requested, as well as the proportion among those with HIV PrEP need:
| 2021 | 2022 |
England | 61,510 (69.7%) | 86,324(71.0%) |
Gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men | 51,689 (72.2%) | 72,457 (73.5%) |
Women | 1,237 (31.5%) | 2,467 (41.9%) |
Black men (black African, black Caribbean and black other categories) | 2,408 (61.7%) | 2,986 (61.7%) |
Black women (black African, black Caribbean and black other categories) | 80 (19.0%) | 175 (30.2%) |
More data is available at the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hiv-annual-data-tables
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made a recent assessment of trends in the level of sexually transmitted diseases in (a) men and (b) women.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The UK Health Security Agency publishes annual official statistics on sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and in 2022 there were 392,453 new diagnoses of STIs in local government commissioned sexual health services England, an increase of 23.8% compared to 2021 with 317,022, but 16.2% lower compared to 2019 with 468,260. This increase can be partially explained by the recovery in provision of sexual health services in 2022 following the easing of restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. New STI diagnoses increased by 19% from 140,671 to 167,390 in women, and by 24% in men from 164,022 to 202,605 from 2021 to 2022.
STIs continue to show socioeconomic variation and disproportionately impact gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, young people aged between 15 and 24 years old and some black ethnic groups. Young people aged between 15 and 24 years old remain the group most likely to be diagnosed with common STIs, and this may be due to higher rates of partner change among people aged between 16 and 24 years old. Young women may be more likely to be diagnosed with an STI due to an increased likelihood of them having male partners who are older than them.
Official STI statistics for 2022 are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sexually-transmitted-infections-stis-annual-data-tables