Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made delivering the Women's Health Strategy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we build a National Health Service fit for the future. We are considering how to take forward the Women’s Health Strategy for England.
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, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a new Sexual Health Strategy.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to improving sexual heath in England for the whole population, and are currently considering the next steps in doing so. My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has commissioned officials for advice on how to progress the development of a new HIV Action Plan, which we aim to publish by summer 2025.
The Government is also committed to prioritising women's health as we build a National Health Service fit for the future. We are considering how to take forward the Women's Health Strategy for England.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what her planned timetable is for responding to the recommendations of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report into changes to women's State Pension age, published on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
As a newly formed Government we will need time to review and consider the Ombudsman’s report along with the evidence provided during the investigation.
Now the election has concluded we need to consider the views that have been expressed on all sides.
The issues outlined in the report are significant and complex, as such they require serious deliberation. Once this work has been undertaken, the Government will be in a position to outline its approach.
I met with representatives of the WASPI Campaign on the 5 of September.
Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
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 the full implementation of (a) equal access to IVF treatment for LGBTQ+ people and (b) the entire Women's Health Strategy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Funding decisions for health services in England are made by integrated care boards (ICBs) and are based on the clinical needs of their local population. Organisations are expected to commission fertility services in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines, which are based on the clinical evidence of the most effective treatment. The Department will be working with NHS England to support ICBs to improve the current National Health Service offer for patients.
The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health, and we are considering how to take forward the Women’s Health Strategy for England. We will prioritise women’s health as we build an NHS fit for the future, and women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions.
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, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of capacity in secure and forensic mental health facilities; and whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Justice on the potential merits of increasing the number of prisoners moved into such facilities.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
No such recent assessment has been made. However, NHS England has advised that work is currently underway with the 15 Adult Secure Provider Collaboratives across England to speed up the safe and timely transfer of appropriately assessed people from prison. This includes identifying existing capacity, including workforce estates and location, that can be reconfigured at pace; identifying where additional capacity, including workforce and estates, may be required; and, scoping at pace, the creation of alternative clinically safe service models.
Decisions about transferring people with severe mental health needs from prison to secure hospital are made on the basis of a robust clinical assessment to ensure that people in prison get the care they need in the right setting.
Ministers have not yet had any such discussions. My colleague, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Women's Health and Mental Health, will be meeting with her Ministerial counterparts in the Ministry of Justice in due course to discuss matters relating to offender health and how our departments can work together.
Asked by: Caroline Ansell (Conservative - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with the Minister for Women and Equalities on the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman's report into women's State Pension age changes, published on 21 March 2024.
Answered by Paul Maynard
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the publication of the Hologic Global Women’s Health Index which indicated that British women are sadder and more stressed than their European counterparts, what steps they are taking to improve women's health and wellbeing.
Answered by Lord Markham
The Women’s Health Strategy sets out the Government’s plans for boosting the health and wellbeing of women and girls, and for improving how the health and care system engages and listens to all women.
Achievements since the launch of the strategy include: appointing the first Women’s Health Ambassador for England; investing £25 million of funding into the expansion of women’s health hubs to improve women’s access to services and to create efficiencies for the National Health Service; reducing the cost of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) through the launch of the HRT prescription pre-payment certificate; and creating a women’s health area on the NHS website, to bring together women’s health content and create a first port of call for women seeking information.
We are focused on delivering our priorities for 2024, which include improving care for menstrual problems, including endometriosis, and maternity care, expanding women’s health hubs, tackling disparities and supporting the most vulnerable groups, and boosting research. Recent progress includes launching baby loss certificates to support patients who have experienced a loss of pregnancy before 24 weeks, continuing to roll out women’s health hubs across the country, and running a national media campaign on periods and menopause to encourage women to contact their general practice, if symptoms are affecting their life.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure statistics on abortion complications are accurately collected and analysed to develop policies to improve women's health.
Answered by Lord Markham
The Department’s comparison of statistics on abortion complications in England, using data from the Abortion Notification System, compared to data on hospital admissions for abortion complications from Hospital Episode Statistics for the years 2017 to 2021, found that women under 20 years old had the lowest complication rates of any age group.
Abortion continues to be a very safe procedure for which major complications are rare at all gestations. However, it is known that the risk of complications increases at higher gestations. The Department works closely with NHS England, the Care Quality Commission, and abortion providers to ensure that abortions are provided safely, in accordance with the legal framework set by the Abortion Act 1967.
It is a legal requirement under the 1967 Abortion Act that the Chief Medical Officer must be notified of all abortions within 14 days of the procedure. The Department provides the HSA4 abortion notification form for this purpose. HSA4 forms record known complications, up until the time of the patient’s discharge from the abortion service.
To consider the completeness of abortion complications data submitted via abortion notifications, the Department committed to publishing a one-time analysis comparing data from the Department’s Abortion Notification System and the Hospital Episode Statistics. This was published in November 2023. The Department is inviting views on abortion statistics for England and Wales, including the future publication of abortion complications data, via an online user engagement survey and via email. We welcome responses from abortion providers and all interested parties on this matter.
Asked by: Gill Furniss (Labour - Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including material on (a) diagnosing and (b) detecting cardiovascular diseases in women's health hubs.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
No specific assessment has been made. We are investing £25 million in women’s health hubs, so that women can get better access to care for menstrual problems, contraception, menopause, and more. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services that meet the needs of their local population, and will determine the exact services that their women’s health hub will provide, so long as they deliver the core services set out in the Women’s Health Hubs: Core Specification, which is available at the following link:
Future expansion of women’s health hubs will reflect the need to meet women’s health needs holistically. This could also include developing care pathways into wider health and public services, including those for cardiovascular disease, however hubs should not create an additional step in the patient journey, or delay referral for specialist or urgent care where required.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Department's Women's Health Strategy for England, published in August 2022, if she will publish a timeline for the commitments made to female same-sex couples on (a) intrauterine insemination and (b) IVF treatment in all integrated care boards.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
NHS England has made good progress in developing guidance to assist integrated care boards with implementing this policy commitment. The Department is working at pace with NHS England to share this guidance with the National Health Service. This commitment remains a priority for us in implementing the Women’s Health Strategy.