Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to assess the healthcare needs of women with autism and ADHD during menopause.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made. Menopause is a priority area within the Women’s Health Strategy, and the Department and National Health Service are implementing an ambitious programme of work to improve menopause care so all women, including those with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), can access the support they need.
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for providing services that meet the needs of their local population. Every ICB is expected to have an Executive Lead for learning disability and autism, whose remit includes supporting the board in addressing the health inequalities that autistic people and people with a learning disability experience, and supporting equal access to care across all health services.
From 1 July 2022, the Health and Care Act 2022 requires Care Quality Commission registered providers to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism, appropriate to their role. Since November 2022, over 1.7 million people have completed the first part of Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism. In addition, NHS England is improving the use and recording of reasonable adjustments to ensure care is tailored appropriately for disabled people, including people with autism and ADHD.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what staff networks there are in his Department.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are 15 active networks listed below:
Flexible working and job share,
Carers,
Parenting,
CORE (Race),
ABLE (disability),
Social Mobility,
Menopause,
Faith & Belief,
Christian Network,
Civil Service Jewish Network,
LGBT+,
EU Nationals
EngAge (intergenerational/age)
Gender Equality Group.
Neurodiversity Network
Asked by: Lord Strathcarron (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that draft NHS guidance stated that "Not everyone who experiences menopause is a woman."
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England is reviewing its internal policy on menopause, which applies to National Health Service staff. A draft was briefly published in error by NHS England on 13 March 2024. NHS England plans to publish the updated staff policy in the next few weeks. No specific assessment was made by the Government of the draft guidance prior to this.
We have been clear that biological sex matters, and it is important to use language that recognises the separate health and biological needs of men and women. It is also important that health information is provided in language that is inclusive of everyone that needs to hear it, so everyone who can be affected by certain conditions can get the help they need.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the introduction of a Sickness absence recording tool (SART) code for menopause.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government believes it is vital that employers support their workers affected by symptoms of the menopause and we are raising awareness of this alongside the Government’s Menopause Employment Champion.
It is important for individual businesses to decide how to record staff absences and support their own workers. The Government has shared guidance and best practice on the Menopause Resources Hub on the Help to Grow portal.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support women experiencing menopause in the workplace.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department of Health and Social Care continue to identify menopause as a priority area in the second year of the Women’s Health Strategy, and Government more widely sees women’s health, and particularly menopause, as an essential factor when supporting the recruitment and retention of older women in the workforce.
Helen Tomlinson - Head of Talent (UK & Ireland) at The Adecco Group - was appointed to the voluntary role of Government’s Menopause Employment Champion on 6 March 2023 by the Department for Work and Pensions and is working closely with the Minister for Disabled People, Health & Work. The Menopause Champion is driving awareness of issues surrounding menopause in the workplace; encouraging employers to develop policies that create a more supportive environment to help women stay in work and progress.
On World Menopause Day (18 October 2023), Government launched the Menopause Resources Hub on the Help to Grow portal - new guidance providing businesses, large and small, with the resources they need to help educate their organisation and workers about the menopause.
The report “No Time to Step Back” summarises the work of Helen Tomlinson in the first six months after her appointment and highlights progress made by businesses during this time. The Menopause Employment Champion’s 12-month progress report “shattering the silence about the Menopause” is due to be published on International Women’s Day.
Asked by: Helen Hayes (Labour - Dulwich and West Norwood)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the average waiting time for cognitive behavioural therapy for women with menopausal symptoms in London.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Improving care and support for menopause is a priority in the Women’s Health Strategy. It is important that all women experiencing the menopause have access to information and options to enable them to choose the best care to suit them. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines currently recommend that that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be recommended for low mood or anxiety that arises as a result of the menopause.
CBT is offered as part of the NHS Talking Therapies services. The latest data for NHS Talking Therapies in the London region shows that 35,410 females, including trans women, accessed National Health Service funded treatment during the period from October to December 2023. Of these, 91% completing treatment waited less than six weeks for their first appointment, against a target of 75%, and 98% completing treatment waited less than 18 weeks, against a target of 95%. Data is not collected separately for CBT, which is one type of talking therapy. Data is also not collected separately for females with menopausal symptoms. This data is available at the following link:
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
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 improve access to NHS menopause services.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The menopause is a priority area within the Women’s Health Strategy. The NHS England National Menopause Care Improvement Programme is working to improve clinical menopause care in England and reduce disparities in access to treatment. NHS England is working with integrated care systems in the Midlands, piloting new guidance to support teams in primary care better to recognise and treat menopause symptoms.
We are investing £25 million in women’s health hubs, so that women can get better access to care for essential services such as menstrual problems, contraception and the menopause.
We have also reduced the cost of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescriptions through a bespoke HRT Prescription Prepayment Certificate. More than 500,000 HRT Prescription Prepayment Certificates have now been purchased since the launch on 1 April 2023, meaning women who pay for prescriptions, pay less than £20 for all of their HRT prescriptions for a year. The average saving is estimated to be around £30 a year with total savings of approximately £13 million.
Asked by: Simon Jupp (Conservative - East Devon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of NHS menopause services available in Devon.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific assessment has been made. The menopause is a priority area within the Women’s Health Strategy. The NHS England National Menopause Care Improvement Programme is working to improve clinical menopause care in England, and to reduce disparities in access to treatment. This programme has already delivered training packages for healthcare professionals, and a self-care fact sheet for women. NHS England is also working with integrated care systems in the Midlands, piloting new guidance to support teams in primary care to better recognise and treat menopause symptoms. We are investing £25 million in women’s health hubs nationally, so that women can get better access to care for essential services such as menstrual problems, contraception and the menopause.
The two priority areas for the pilot women’s health hubs in Devon are services for a menopause pathway and improving access to long-acting reversible contraception, including for non-contraceptive reasons such as the menopause.
Asked by: Alistair Strathern (Labour - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help support women experiencing menopause at work.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In March 2023, we appointed Helen Tomlinson as the Government’s first Menopause Employment Champion.
We are working across Government and with employers to increase awareness and develop policies to support women experiencing the impact of menopause at work.
We recently launched new guidance on the Help to Grow portal, empowering businesses to educate their organisation about menopause.
Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to support research into the potential impact of menopause on people with multiple sclerosis.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds research on menopause, but it is not currently funding any specific research into the potential impact of menopause on people with multiple sclerosis.
The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health and we want to ensure that we answer the most important research questions and address topics that make the biggest difference to patients, and the public. On 18 October 2023, World Menopause Day, the James Lind Alliance (JLA) launched a Priority Setting Partnership focused on menopause. This initiative engages women who have experienced menopause as well as healthcare professionals, to identify research priorities. This will result in the creation of a public Top 10 list that researchers can access and consider as a focus for their work. The final priority setting process will be a full day workshop facilitated by the JLA in October 2024.