Tag: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-02-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what their side events will be at the Commission on the Status of Women meeting in March.

Baroness Williams of Trafford

The Government will use the 60th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) to ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment remain at the top of the global political agenda. We will negotiate with other UN Member States to agree a set of ambitious, action-oriented and forward-looking recommendations for governments around the world to accelerate progress on gender equality and ensure accountability.

At the first session after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, we will press for a meaningful follow-up process that places gender equality at the heart of the new agenda while ensuring that the CSW remains the prime global forum on gender equality and the laboratory of ideas that it is today.

Furthermore, we will enhance the UK’s reputation as a world leader in this area by promoting relevant national policies but also by exchanging ideas with other UN Member States. In line with the session’s themes this year, we will be focusing on women’s empowerment and on violence against women and girls in high level discussions, events and bilateral meetings.

In addition, the Government will host and support a number of events to raise the profile of certain issues which still prevent us from achieving equality, such as inequality in the workplace, discrimination in all its forms and violence against women and girls.

Lastly, but very importantly, we are working with civil society to ensure their participation remains an integral part of the CSW programme and their concerns are heard at the national and global levels.

Sixty years after the first session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the UK Government will send a strong signal that gender equality must be at the heart of economic and social development of all countries. We will have a ministerial team of four, led by the Rt Hon Nicky Morgan MP, Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities, and including the Rt Hon Justine Greening MP, Secretary of State for International Development. Parliamentary Under Secretary for Women, Equalities and Family Justice Caroline Dinenage MP and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for International Development, Baroness Verma, in her capacity as Ministerial Champion for Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Overseas, will also attend.

The UK Government currently has two confirmed side events at this year’s Commission on the Status of Women. The first one will focus on getting more women and girls into science and technology and the second one will be on the gender pay gap.

We will also be taking part in other events where major issues such as women’s economic empowerment and violence against women are discussed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-11-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many women were present as representatives at the recent UN Support Mission in Libya conference in London.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Over 150 representatives attended the UK and UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) meeting held on 19 October in London on international support for a new Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA). 36 women accepted the invitation to attend the meeting, drawn from 40 countries, UN Agencies, and international bodies. The UK recognises that female participation in politics and civil society is an essential component of restoring stability in Libya, and our Libya Office in Tunis, working closely with UNSMIL, made a particular effort to ensure female Libyan participation. Four of the 17 independent Libyan delegates were women. The meeting was co-chaired by Jane Marriott, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Directorate in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-02-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will promote their Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative at the Commission on the Status of Women meeting in March.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

At the current time, four UK Ministers (from the Department for International Development, the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Education) are planning to attend the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and promote UK objectives, including the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI). Tackling violence against women and girls is a key UK objective. We will be actively participating in the Review Theme and a significant number of side events focused on tackling all forms of violence against women and girls including sexual violence. We will use the opportunity of these different discussions to promote PSVI.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-11-19.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they took to ensure that women’s voices were included at the recent UN Support Mission in Libya conference in London.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

Over 150 representatives attended the UK and UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) meeting held on 19 October in London on international support for a new Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA). 36 women accepted the invitation to attend the meeting, drawn from 40 countries, UN Agencies, and international bodies. The UK recognises that female participation in politics and civil society is an essential component of restoring stability in Libya, and our Libya Office in Tunis, working closely with UNSMIL, made a particular effort to ensure female Libyan participation. Four of the 17 independent Libyan delegates were women. The meeting was co-chaired by Jane Marriott, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Directorate in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the National Stroke Strategy and whether the strategy has achieved its aims.

Lord Prior of Brampton

No formal assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the National Stroke Strategy or of whether it has achieved its aims. However, we know that good progress has been made on stroke in recent years, with mortality rates decreasing.

Part of this progress is undoubtedly due to improvements in the treatment of stroke, where we have made great strides in several areas. The most recent data from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Project shows that:

– Over 48% of patients receive brain scanning within one hour of hospital arrival and over 90% within 12 hours;

– 84% of stroke patients spend more than 90% of their time in hospital on a stroke unit;

– Clot busting drugs give a certain cohort of stroke patients a better chance of regaining their independence. 11% of stroke patients admitted to hospital receive these drugs; and

– Over 78% of patients are assessed by a specialist stroke physician within 24 hours of admission, showing that stroke services have made good progress in delivering 7 day specialist medical services.

However we know there is more to do and increases in levels of obesity and an ageing population lead to new pressures.

That is why a Cardiovascular (CVD) Disease Outcomes Strategy was published in 2013. It sets out key actions for commissioners and providers to help further improve outcomes in Coronary Heart Disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.

NHS England hosts a CVD outcomes collaborative which brings together the relevant National Clinical Directors, the main relevant national charities, the National CVD Intelligence Network, Public Health England and the Department of Health. This collaborative continues to coordinate delivery of the work which was initiated in the CVD Outcomes Strategy.

In February this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published interventional procedure guidance on mechanical clot retrieval (thrombectomy) for treating acute ischaemic stroke. The guidance sets out that current evidence on the safety and efficacy of this procedure is adequate to support its use, provided that standard arrangements are in place for clinical governance, consent and audit. This guidance does not oblige commissioners to commission thrombectomy nor hospitals to provide it.

NHS England is now undertaking work to inform a decision on whether this is a procedure that should be made more widely available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-12-15.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that women and civil society groups are included in proceedings at the Syria Donors’ Conference in February 2016.

Baroness Verma

On 16 November, the Prime Minister announced that the UK, Germany, Norway, Kuwait and the United Nations would co-host a conference on the Syria crisis in London on 4 February 2016. The Conference on “Supporting Syria and the Region” will address immediate and longer-term needs of those affected by the conflict. It will include a strong focus on the situation inside Syria, the very human impact on women, girls and youth and ways we can protect them from harm.

On the day before the event we are supporting a large gathering of civil society, from which a cross-section, including representation of women and girls, will contribute to discussions in the conference.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many children died of a stroke in England in each of the last 10 years.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-12-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are any two-way secondment programmes in place in the Department for International Development to foster a comprehensive understanding of small business development.

Baroness Verma

DFID does not have any secondments in place with small business. Its two-way secondment arrangements with the private sector have been with larger firms, including a current inward secondment from Glaxo Smith Kline and a previous outward secondment to John Lewis.

Aside from secondments, DFID recruits from the private sector, contracts in private sector expertise, benefits from pro bono arrangments with a number of firms, and maintains close partnerships and dialogue with the private sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2016-04-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that thrombectomy is delivered to all eligible stroke patients in accordance with new NICE guidelines.

Lord Prior of Brampton

No formal assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the National Stroke Strategy or of whether it has achieved its aims. However, we know that good progress has been made on stroke in recent years, with mortality rates decreasing.

Part of this progress is undoubtedly due to improvements in the treatment of stroke, where we have made great strides in several areas. The most recent data from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Project shows that:

– Over 48% of patients receive brain scanning within one hour of hospital arrival and over 90% within 12 hours;

– 84% of stroke patients spend more than 90% of their time in hospital on a stroke unit;

– Clot busting drugs give a certain cohort of stroke patients a better chance of regaining their independence. 11% of stroke patients admitted to hospital receive these drugs; and

– Over 78% of patients are assessed by a specialist stroke physician within 24 hours of admission, showing that stroke services have made good progress in delivering 7 day specialist medical services.

However we know there is more to do and increases in levels of obesity and an ageing population lead to new pressures.

That is why a Cardiovascular (CVD) Disease Outcomes Strategy was published in 2013. It sets out key actions for commissioners and providers to help further improve outcomes in Coronary Heart Disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.

NHS England hosts a CVD outcomes collaborative which brings together the relevant National Clinical Directors, the main relevant national charities, the National CVD Intelligence Network, Public Health England and the Department of Health. This collaborative continues to coordinate delivery of the work which was initiated in the CVD Outcomes Strategy.

In February this year, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published interventional procedure guidance on mechanical clot retrieval (thrombectomy) for treating acute ischaemic stroke. The guidance sets out that current evidence on the safety and efficacy of this procedure is adequate to support its use, provided that standard arrangements are in place for clinical governance, consent and audit. This guidance does not oblige commissioners to commission thrombectomy nor hospitals to provide it.

NHS England is now undertaking work to inform a decision on whether this is a procedure that should be made more widely available.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Hodgson of Abinger on 2015-12-21.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any of those staff at the Department for International Development involved in small business grant funding have hands-on experience of business development.

Baroness Verma

DFID employs cadres of sector-specific technical experts in a range of disciplines in order to provide intellectual and professional rigour to underpin our poverty reduction work. DFID has a cadre of over 80 private sector development advisers who lead our work to support private sector growth, including small business grant funding. Over 80% of private sector development advisers have worked in the private sector, bringing to DFID a first-hand understanding of business development.