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  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what funding has been provided to disabled people in Scotland and the UK through the Access to Work scheme in each of the last three years.

    Mike Penning

    Please see figures for the last full three financial years for which data is available

    Access to Work programme spend in Scotland:

    2010/11: £6.5m

    2011/12: £6.0m

    2012/13: £5.9m

    Access to Work programme spend in Great Britain:

    2010/11: £105.5m

    2011/12: £98.3m

    2012/13: £99.0m

  • Eilidh Whiteford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    Eilidh Whiteford – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Work and Pensions

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Eilidh Whiteford on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department has taken to promote the Access to Work scheme to disabled people in Scotland.

    Mike Penning

    Access to Work is a valued and succesful national programme that makes a real difference to the working lives of disabled people throughout the UK.

    The Department for Work and Pensions has actively marketed Access to Work to raise awareness of the programme through a national marketing campaign lasting throughout 2013. This included activity to further strengthen our partnerships with key stakeholders and organisations, developing marketing materials, attending key events and digital marketing. The campaign involved a wide range of communications activities, including press releases, presentations at disability and employer events, articles in disability publications and engagement in direct marketing to large employers. It also included use of digital media, paid advertising links in popular search engines, magazine adverts and awareness training for Jobcentre Plus Disability Employment Advisors.

    Access to Work also featued in the launch of the Department’s Disability Confident campaign in July 2013 and at subsequent local events, including Glasgow on 4 March 2014.

    The Department for Work and Pensions has worked closely with the Public Health division of the Scottish Government to raise awareness of Access to Work with health professionals. This included sharing information on the NHS Scotland’s Knowledge Network and the Health and Employability Delivery Group.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he intends to take to endure that literature distributed by abortion clinics informing women about adoption as an alternative to abortion under the new Revised Standard Operating Procedures for the Approval of Independent Places for the Termination of Pregnancy is of the highest possible quality and objectivity.

    Jane Ellison

    The updated Required Standard Operating Procedures set out that “women must be given impartial, accurate and evidence based information (verbal and written) delivered neutrally” covering a range of issues including adoption. Part of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspection methodology is to look for open and honest communication from a service provider about the nature of the services it provides. The CQC’s inspectors would ask to see a sample of information that would be provided to service users and use this as part of the decision making process when making a judgement.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Revised Standard Operating Procedures for the Approval of Independent Places for the Termination of Pregnancy, what assessment he has made of the possibility that inaccurate diagnoses will follow his Department’s decision to allow women to refrain from informing their GP of a prior abortion.

    Jane Ellison

    Women seeking an abortion have the right to confidentiality and their decision must be respected if they do not want their general practitioner to be informed.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the Revised Standard Operating Procedures for the Approval of Independent Places for the Termination of Pregnancy, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients seeking abortion counselling are not subject to pressure to agree to the procedure as a result of his Department’s requirement that abortion treatment must be delivered within 10 days of the first appointment; and if he will make a statement.

    Jane Ellison

    The Required Standard Operating Procedures make clear that women can choose to delay appointments/booked procedures and this should always override issues of timeliness.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many abortions were performed beyond the 24 week limit where feticide was declined in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on whether feticide was declined is not collected on the abortion notification form HSA4.

  • Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Fiona Bruce – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many abortions were performed for foetal abnormality in each of the last five years which were reported to a foetal abnormality register but were not notified through the submission of an HSA4 abortion notification form to the Chief Medical Officer.

    Jane Ellison

    Results from a matching exercise undertaken on the 2011 and 2012 data between the abortion notification forms and NDSCR records were published on 23 May 2014 entitled Matching Department of Health abortion notifications and data from the National Down’s Syndrome Cytogenetic Register and recommendations for improving notification compliance. No matching exercise was undertaken for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library. It is also available at:

    www.gov.uk/government/publications/under-reporting-of-abortions-for-fetal-abnormalities

  • David Davis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    David Davis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Davis on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the findings from the US Senate Intelligence Committee, what information his Department holds on the number of detainees held in Diego Garcia.

    Hugh Robertson

    There are no detainees on Diego Garcia and the British Government is aware of no evidence that US detainees have been held on Diego Garcia since September 2001. The findings of the Senate Intelligence Committee remain classified and we have not seen them.

  • Jim Fitzpatrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    Jim Fitzpatrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Deputy Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, what assessment he has made of the Electoral Commission’s efforts to improve the conduct of elections in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.

    Greg Clark

    The integrity of our elections is central to our democracy.

    I am aware that the Electoral Commission is investigating allegations of electoral misconduct in Tower Hamlets at the recent local elections and the Metropolitan Police are conducting a number of criminal investigations. I have written to the chair of the Electoral Commission, stressing the importance of ensuring public confidence in the electoral process.

    Given the gravity of the allegations it is important that the Electoral Commission provides a robust assessment of what went on in Tower Hamlets and includes firm recommendations of how to ensure the integrity of future elections.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    David T. C. Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2014-06-05.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the Government’s policy is on beak trimming of chickens; and if he will make a statement.

    George Eustice

    The Mutilations (Permitted Procedures) (England) Regulations 2010 restricts the method used for the routine beak trimming of laying hens to infra-red technology only. The Government is also working with the Beak Trimming Action Group, which includes representatives from industry, welfare groups and scientists, to find ways to manage flocks of birds without the need to beak trim. Defra is currently funding a peer reviewed research study to assess the effectiveness of management strategies in reducing injurious pecking in non-beak trimmed laying hens. The results of this pilot study and all other available evidence will feed into a review in 2015.