Lords
Proceedings
14 July 2026
Autism: Parenting Support Programmes
My Lords, research has consistently shown that mothers make up the majority of primary caregivers for children with autism spectrum disorder, often at the cost of their own health, well-being and employment. What specific support is available for these mothers in order to protect their health, well-…
Lords
Proceedings
9 July 2026
Artificial Intelligence: Vaccine Technology
My Lords, I welcome the potential for AI in developing vaccine technology. However, AI models are as good as the data we put in to train them. I therefore have two questions for my noble friend the Minister. What steps are the Government taking to close the data gap for those from ethnic minorities …
Lords
Proceedings
9 July 2026
UK Migration
My Lords, the Health Foundation has just published a significant report with the latest evidence on immigration and the NHS. The report finds that the average person who migrates to the UK is more likely to work in the NHS, less likely to use it, and significantly contributes to NHS funds. Around on…
Lords
Committee Stage
9 July 2026
Women and Girls: Impact of ODA Cuts
My Lords, I too congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Sugg, on securing this important debate and for ensuring that the well-being of vulnerable women and girls remains firmly on our agenda. In my role as a former vice-chair and trustee of the British Red Cross, I was closely involved in programmes …
Lords
Committee Stage
9 July 2026
Modern Service Framework for Dementia and Frailty
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Weir of Ballyholme, for securing this important debate, and I welcome the Government’s commitment to delivering the modern service framework for dementia and frailty. Dementia is not gender neutral. We may not have a cure at the moment, but we can cure…
Lords
Proceedings
1 July 2026
Pharmacy Closures
My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for her reassuring reply about the closure of local pharmacies. However, research published in 2025 shows that access to local pharmacies has declined almost four times faster in England’s poorest communities. What assessment have the Government made of…
Lords
Proceedings
1 July 2026
2 contributions
IVF Treatment
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, and I declare my interests as the lead author of the Lancet insight paper on IVF add-ons and as a board member of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
I thank my noble friend the Minister for her reply. The concern about IVF add-ons is not only that many are unproven and ineffective but also that some can pose serious health risks to patients and unnecessary emotional and financial harm. The HFEA’s current traffic light system is guidance only and…
Lords
Proceedings
25 June 2026
Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
My Lords, no amount of alcohol is considered to be safe in pregnancy. Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder—FASD—affects roughly one child in every classroom of 25 children, and it is a preventable neurodevelopmental disorder. A report published just two days ago by the National Organisation for FASD sug…
Lords
Proceedings
23 June 2026
Artificial Intelligence: Global Governance
My Lords, I welcome the Government’s commitment to using AI in healthcare to improve patients’ outcomes. However, AI brings risks too. We need international collaboration for large studies to establish effectiveness and long-term risks to patients. The World Health Organization has published a docum…
Lords
Proceedings
18 June 2026
Child Poverty
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow my noble friend Lord Babudu, and I am very grateful to my noble friend Lady Lister for securing this very important debate.
I want to focus my remarks on what I know best: health. Child poverty is not simply a social issue; it is a public health crisis. Unless w…
Lords
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Rare Cancers: Diagnosis and Treatment
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, for this very important Question and for raising the hub and spoke model for cancer trials. Rare cancer trials involve fewer patients and less data, which makes it very difficult to conduct the large, randomised studies that are needed for NICE appr…
Lords
Proceedings
15 June 2026
Mental Health Conditions: Diagnoses
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Maclean, for securing this very important debate. While mental ill-health is rising across our society, the deterioration has been particularly marked among girls and women. I do not for one moment minimise the crisis in male mental health. The persistently…
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Health-related Benefits Assessments
My Lords, I thank the Minister for reassuring us that face-to-face appointments will be increased with trained professionals. I welcome the DWP initiative to reform the fit note system. There are millions of women who are absent from work due to women’s health problems and nearly 60,000 women are le…
Lords
Proceedings
4 June 2026
Declining Birth Rates
My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to debate this important topic in your Lordships’ House. “Demography is destiny” is an old saying that has never felt more urgent. The UK faces a demographic shift that threatens an unfolding economic crisis. This issue has concerned me for nearly two deca…
Lords
Proceedings
3 June 2026
Alzheimer’s Disease: Diagnosis and Access to Experimental Drugs
My Lords, women account for nearly two-thirds of people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease and two-thirds of unpaid carers for those who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, yet women tend to receive a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis. There are complex relationships between gender, hormones, ageing a…
Lords
Proceedings
2 June 2026
Breast Cancer Screening: Women Over 70
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Palmer, for raising this and my noble friend the Minister for raising awareness about one of the largest age-extension trials. It is true that it will give us results, but I was not aware that the final report would be available in 2027; I was under the impress…
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Bailey, and I thank my noble friend the Minister for her excellent introductory speech earlier.
I have spent nearly 40 years working in the National Health Service. I have seen it at its best—compassionate, innovative and life-saving—and I h…
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
Miscarriage Care
My Lords, I welcome the Government’s commitment to review the graded models of care so that women can be helped, regardless of the number of miscarriages. How will the Government make sure that the needed services, particularly for support as well as investigations, are equitable throughout the coun…
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
3 contributions
Healthy Life Expectancy: England
My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper and I declare an interest as founder and trustee of the charity Health Equality Foundation.
I thank my noble friend the Minister for that response. The Health Foundation’s report, Healthy Life Expectancy Trends in the UK: A Watershed Moment, published in April this year, makes it clear that healthy life expectancy is a key measure of our population’s health. The gap between the most depriv…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Proceedings
23 April 2026
Women’s Health Strategy
My Lords, having served as a front-line doctor in women’s health for more than 40 years, 30 of them as a consultant gynaecologist in the NHS, I warmly welcome the new women’s health strategy and congratulate my noble friend the Minister on her efforts in making it happen. I also applaud the Governme…
Lords
Committee Stage
21 April 2026
Cancer Outcomes in the UK
My Lords, I join other noble Lords in congratulating and thanking my noble friend Lord Patel for having secured this important debate and having introduced it, as he always does, in such a thoughtful and sensitive fashion. In so doing, I remind noble Lords of my own interests as the chairman of King…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 April 2026
Charity Giving
Like other noble Lords and my noble friend, I was very pleased to see the announcement of the launch of the Queen Elizabeth Trust over the weekend. Her late Majesty, whose 100th birthday it would have been tomorrow, was exceptional at bringing people together. In response to my noble friend’s questi…
Lords
Debate
14 April 2026
Grenfell Tower Memorial (Expenditure) Bill
Who and what we as a country remember matters. Although many others in your Lordships’ House are clearly far more qualified on this topic and have had direct face-to-face experience of the tragedy, I wanted to speak in this debate because, as somebody who was living in London and has the name of a c…
Lords
Oral Questions
14 April 2026
Child Poverty and Homelessness: Asylum and Settlement Policies
My noble friend points to an extremely important issue. We will undertake a full economic and equality impact assessment of the proposals. We are using the responses from the consultation—going back to the noble Lord’s point—to look at what issues have been raised. We want to ensure that children in…
Lords
Oral Questions
13 April 2026
Artificial Intelligence: Impact on Employment
My noble friend is right that there may be differential impacts throughout the labour market. ONS analysis suggests that administrative roles may see greater transformation from AI, while our AI adoption research shows that marketing, administration and IT are the most common areas of current or pla…