Tag: Baroness Gould of Potternewton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-02-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the planned future HPV vaccine programme will also cover elimination of genital warts.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Department and Public Health England are currently undertaking a procurement exercise to secure vaccine to support the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for girls and as this is a competitive tender, it would not be appropriate to pre-judge the outcome of that exercise. The procurement will take account of the costs and benefits of all vaccines offered to establish which provides best value for money for the National Health Service.

The Department is considering the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation regarding HPV vaccination for men who have sex with men. Consideration will be given to the procurement of vaccine.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government to whom instances of female genital mutilation should be reported, and whether there is a mechanism for doing so anonymously.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

We are clear that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. On 1 April we published updated multi-agency statutory guidance on FGM including information to help professionals understand the risk factors that they should be looking out for and what action they should take. In addition, free e-learning is available to all professionals, providing training on how to recognise and respond to FGM. To date the course has been completed by over 30,000 people. In addition, the Department of Health’s £3M FGM Prevention Programme is focused on improving the NHS response and includes free e-learning for healthcare professionals. A new mandatory reporting duty requiring regulated health and social care professionals and teachers to report known cases of FGM in under 18s to the police came into force on 31 October 2015. Professionals encountering instances of FGM in women over 18, or who believe that a girl or woman is at risk, should follow established safeguarding procedures. Anyone who is concerned that a girl or woman has undergone FGM or is at risk can contact the NSPCC FGM helpline. Reports to this helpline can be made anonymously. The Home Office’s Border Force plays a vital role in helping to identify and protect potential victims of FGM travelling to and from the UK. Border Force work with the police in protecting girls and young women at risk of FGM, including carrying out joint operations. FGM Protection Orders (FGMPOs) were fast-tracked for implementation last July and are being used to protect girls at risk of FGM, including those who may be taken abroad. Ministry of Justice data released on 31 March shows 32 FGMPOs were issued between July and December 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have undertaken any analysis to determine why there has been an increase in the number of homeless people; and, if so, what assessment they have made of the impact of the Homeless Prevention Fund provided to local authorities and increased funding of programmes for the homeless.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

This Government has always been clear that we are committed to supporting the most vulnerable people in our society. One person without a home is one too many. That is why we have protected the homelessness prevention funding local authorities receive, totalling £315 million by 2019-20. This builds on our commitment to increase central government funding for homelessness programmes to £139 million over the next four years.

We are working with homelessness organisations to consider other options, including legislation, to ensure those at risk of homelessness get earlier and more effective support. Through a series of roundtables we have already started conversations to help shape and inform our future approach to tackling homelessness and deciding our investment priorities.

During the last Parliament the Homelessness Prevention Grant and our investment in homelessness programmes helped prevent 935,800 households from becoming homeless.

We will continue to use the information provided to us by local authorities to assess the causes of homelessness and the extent of homelessness prevention and relief activity, in order to help shape future policy and investment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-05-03.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children have been prevented from leaving the country when it is believed they are going abroad to undergo female genital mutilation.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon

We are clear that Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. On 1 April we published updated multi-agency statutory guidance on FGM including information to help professionals understand the risk factors that they should be looking out for and what action they should take. In addition, free e-learning is available to all professionals, providing training on how to recognise and respond to FGM. To date the course has been completed by over 30,000 people. In addition, the Department of Health’s £3M FGM Prevention Programme is focused on improving the NHS response and includes free e-learning for healthcare professionals. A new mandatory reporting duty requiring regulated health and social care professionals and teachers to report known cases of FGM in under 18s to the police came into force on 31 October 2015. Professionals encountering instances of FGM in women over 18, or who believe that a girl or woman is at risk, should follow established safeguarding procedures. Anyone who is concerned that a girl or woman has undergone FGM or is at risk can contact the NSPCC FGM helpline. Reports to this helpline can be made anonymously. The Home Office’s Border Force plays a vital role in helping to identify and protect potential victims of FGM travelling to and from the UK. Border Force work with the police in protecting girls and young women at risk of FGM, including carrying out joint operations. FGM Protection Orders (FGMPOs) were fast-tracked for implementation last July and are being used to protect girls at risk of FGM, including those who may be taken abroad. Ministry of Justice data released on 31 March shows 32 FGMPOs were issued between July and December 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-02-10.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to repeal the provisions contained within the Vagrancy Act 1824, which allow for homeless people to be arrested for begging.

Lord Bates

We have no plans to repeal the Vagrancy Act 1824.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Public Health England’s Strategic plan for the next four years: better outcomes by 2020, what plans they have to work with the Association of Directors of Public Health to support the commissioning of local contraceptive services.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Public Health England (PHE) is committed to supporting the health system to provide appropriate contraceptive services. PHE, supported by the Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH), has undertaken a review of sexual health, reproductive health and HIV commissioning services. Currently, it is planned to publish the results of the survey in the autumn (September 2016). PHE is committed to continue to work with ADPH in order to improve sexual health outcomes using the findings from the survey, outcomes data and other relevant information.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what data will be included in the local authority contraception tool being developed by Public Health England; when and how that tool will be used; how often the results will be published; and which organisations Public Health England has met with to discuss that tool.

Lord Prior of Brampton

In spring 2016 Public Health England (PHE) will be adding 10 new indicators to its sexual health and reproductive health profiles relating to long acting reversible contraception and abortion. It is anticipated that these additional indicators will be used by commissioners and providers of reproductive health services to understand and inform local action for reproductive health. The new indicators will be updated annually, in line with the update calendar. The PHE data and intelligence subgroup for Sexual Health, Reproductive Health and Human Immunodeficiency Virus constantly reviews the use of the profiles and works closely with centre teams to ensure the data published meets the needs of local authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Public Health England’s Strategic plan for the next four years: better outcomes by 2020, what plans they have to consider investment in sexual health and contraception as a component of any economic tool to support local and national investment decisions.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Public Health England (PHE) and the Department provide a variety of tools and support in the form of guidance, data and direct advice to local PHE Centre staff. For example PHE supports local decision making by including data on sexual health spend and outcomes in the Spend and Outcomes Tool (SPOT) provided to local authorities. SPOT gives organisations in England an overview of spend and outcomes across key areas of business. The profile supports understanding of the overall relationship between spend and outcomes, by identifying areas of significant variance which are likely to require more in-depth analysis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-03-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the Framework for Sexual Health Improvement in England is not being reviewed annually; what meetings have taken place between Public Health England and the Department of Health since March 2013 to review that framework; and whether the Department of Health has any plans to update that framework.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Department of Health officials meet regularly with Public Health England (PHE) to discuss progress on sexual health, including the ambitions in the Sexual Health Improvement Framework (SHIF). Since the Framework was published PHE has developed Sexual and Reproductive Health Profiles to support local authorities, public health leads and others to monitor the sexual and reproductive health of their local population and the contribution of local public health related systems. Trends are shown at both England and local authority level for a range of indictors that match the ambitions in the SHIF where data is available. A further annual progress report on the Framework would duplicate this work. Whilst there are no current plans to update the SHIF, in December 2015 PHE published their Health promotion for sexual and reproductive health and HIV, strategic action plan, 2016 to 2019, which complements the SHIF. A copy of the plan is attached.

Departmental and PHE officials have met with the Local Government Association, English HIV and Sexual Health Commissioners Group, British Association for Sexual Health and HIV and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health where open access sexual health services were discussed. PHE has undertaken a survey of local commissioning arrangements for sexual health.

Local democratic accountability is at the heart of the accountability of local authorities for their statutory duty to improve the public’s health. PHE has a specific role in assurance of the ring-fence grant and that local authorities are meeting the grant conditions and the terms of the associated statutory regulations. PHE publishes data on outcomes from services for each local authority in England and can provide support and advice where necessary.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Gould of Potternewton on 2016-06-29.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of Public Health England’s Strategic plan for the next four years: better outcomes by 2020, what plans they have to consider the sexual and reproductive health workforce as part of any new public health workforce strategy.

Lord Prior of Brampton

Public Health England is working with the Department and other key stakeholders to develop a new public health workforce strategy that considers the needs of the whole public health workforce.