Asked by: Baroness Owen of Alderley Edge (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many women's centres there are in the UK and how they are funded.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Women’s centres provide information, advice and support to women in the community, including those that have an offending history. Women’s centres are run by the voluntary sector and receive funding from a range of sources, such as local authorities, health services, charities, trusts, and central government. There is no agreed figure for the number of women’s centres in the UK.
The Government recognises the vital support that women’s centres provide to vulnerable women in or at risk of contact with the justice system. In 2025/26, the Ministry of Justice is investing £7.2 million in community support, including women’s centres, focused on steering women away from the justice system and custody.
HMPPS also provides funding for women’s Commissioned Rehabilitative Services contracts with women’s community sector organisations, delivering specialist support to women on probation.
Asked by: Jodie Gosling (Labour - Nuneaton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to ensure clinical leadership and advice is available within his Department for (a) Musculoskeletal conditions, (b) stroke, (c) neurological conditions, (d) cardiovascular disease, (e) continence care, (f) cancer, (g) respiratory illnesses, (h) rehabilitation, (i) frailty, (j) pediatrics, (k) women's health and (l) allergies.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
National clinical directors and national specialty advisers are practising clinicians from across England who work part-time at NHS England, providing clinical leadership, advice, input, and support across distinct areas of National Health Service conditions and services, ranging from cancer and cardiovascular disease to urgent and emergency care and major trauma, in line with the NHS Long Term Plan.
NHS England’s Specialised Commissioning Programme also employs clinical directors who provide clinical leadership across national programmes of care and clinical reference groups.
Whilst transformation for NHS England and the Department takes place, we will continue to ensure the clinical voice remains at the core of our work.
Asked by: Sonia Kumar (Labour - Dudley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the UK's 41st place in the Hologic Global Women’s Health Index, what steps his Department is taking to improve women's health.
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.
Our focus is on turning the commitments in the Women's Health Strategy into tangible action, such as providing emergency hormonal contraception free of charge at pharmacies on the NHS from October 2025, setting out how we will eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 through the new cervical cancer plan, and taking urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan.
The 10-Year Health Plan for England, published on 3 July, sets out the vision to distribute power to patients, including women, and to revitalise the NHS, making it fit for the future.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help ensure that (a) pregnant women and (b) young children have access to (i) malnutrition treatment and (ii) health services in Afghanistan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are gravely concerned about the health and nutrition situation in Afghanistan. Access to essential and nutrition services for pregnant and breastfeeding women and children is limited especially for those in rural areas and is exacerbated by Taliban restrictions on women's movement requiring male chaperones. We continue to urge the Taliban to reverse restrictions on women and girls and improve access to essential services. We have adapted our support to provide more flexible funding to help sustain essential and lifesaving health and malnutrition treatment and prevention services, including for reproductive, maternal and newborn services. We are working with other donors, including the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to protect health system capacity including routine immunisations for children and reproductive and maternal services for pregnant women. We are convening key partners and donors to strengthen our collective approach to tackling food insecurity and malnutrition in Afghanistan.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the proportion of official development assistance that is being delivered through grassroots women-led delivery partners.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following the Spending Review, detailed decisions on how the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will be used are being worked through as part of ongoing resource allocation processes. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is committed to empowering women and girls around the world through our international work. We remain focused on supporting and partnering with women's rights organisations and movements, recognising that there is strong evidence that grassroots women-led delivery partners play a significant role in securing and advancing women's rights as well as driving social accountability and enhancing public services for marginalised groups. For example, the Grassroots and Counter Rollback Programme (2024-29) announced by the Prime Minister in December 2024 will strengthen local and national civil society organisations and movements to expand access to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), and counter rollback, within their own communities and countries. We will publish the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's final 2025/26 ODA programme allocations in the Annual Report & Accounts in July.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Independent - Gorton and Denton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he has taken to support developments in (a) women’s health and (b) reproductive health services in developing nations.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK uses multiple levers - policy, health and development diplomacy, as well as its Official Development Assistance budget to support developments in women's health and reproductive health services. In April 2025 at the UN Commission on Population and Development, the UK cosponsored the launch of the Global Midwifery Accelerator, encouraging partnerships and investment to end preventable maternal and neonatal deaths. In September 2024, the Government also signed the SheDecides Champion Statement on Safe Abortion Day alongside nine countries to commit to supporting comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights, including safe abortion.
In December 2024, the Prime Minister announced the Grassroots and Counter Rollback Programme. This will strengthen grassroots and national civil society organisations and movements to expand access to women's health and reproductive health services, and counter the rollback on sexual and reproductive health and rights. It focuses on neglected issues, such as safe abortion, and marginalised groups whose rights and access to services are denied or curtailed.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to reduce average diagnosis times for endometriosis; and what plans he has to meet the Women’s Health Strategy targets.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that women can wait up to 10 years for an endometriosis diagnosis and the Government is committed to improving the diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for gynaecological conditions, including endometriosis.
Tackling waiting lists is a key part of our Health Mission. We have now exceeded our pledge to deliver an extra two million operations, scans, and appointments, having now delivered over three million more appointments.
In November 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence updated its guideline on the diagnosis and management of endometriosis to make firmer recommendations on referral and investigations, which will help women receive a diagnosis and effective treatment faster. This includes updated recommendations that for women with symptoms of endometriosis, initial pharmacological treatment should take place in primary care, and that this can take place in parallel with additional investigations and referral to secondary care if needed. The guideline is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng73
The Government’s focus is on turning the commitments in the Women's Health Strategy into tangible action, such as providing emergency hormonal contraception free of charge at pharmacies on the National Health Service from October 2025, taking urgent action to tackle gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan, and setting out how we will eliminate cervical cancer by 2040 through the new cervical cancer plan.
Asked by: Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat - Mid Sussex)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to include Chronic UTIs in the (a) 10-year Health Strategy and (b) next iteration of the Women’s Health Strategy.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Plan will set out how we tackle the inequities that lead to poor health. This will include how we will improve access to, and the experience of care for, conditions such as chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs). More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support people to manage their conditions, including chronic UTIs, closer to home.
We are aware that recurrent UTIs are more prevalent in women. The Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we build a National Health Service fit for the future, and our focus is on turning the commitments in the Women's Health Strategy into tangible actions to improve health for women.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to include the (a) diagnosis, (b) treatment and (c) research of urinary tract infections in the (i) 10-year Health Plan and (ii) Women’s Health Strategy.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The 10-Year Health Plan will set out how we tackle the inequities that lead to poor health. This will include how we will improve access to and the experience of care for conditions such as chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs). More tests and scans delivered in the community, better joint working between services, and greater use of apps and wearable technology will all support people to manage their conditions, including chronic UTIs, closer to home.
Recurrent UTIs are more prevalent in women. This Government is committed to prioritising women’s health as we build a National Health Service fit for the future, and our focus is on turning the commitments in the Women's Health Strategy into tangible actions to improve health for women.
Asked by: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve women's health.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are taking tangible action to transform women's health, including tackling gynaecology waiting lists through the Elective Reform Plan and providing free emergency hormonal contraception at pharmacies from October. There are a record 25,000 full time equivalent midwives in post – 1,400 more than July 2024
These examples demonstrate we are acting on the commitments in the women’s health strategy and listening to women’s experiences.