Tag: Fiona Bruce

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will express concern about the effect the one-child policy has had on the prevalence of forced abortions, infanticide and involuntary sterilisation in China to President Xi Jinping during his visit to the UK.

Mr Hugo Swire

We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China. The Government is committed to engaging with China on the issue and Ministers will continue to raise concerns with their counterparts. Discussions during the State Visit will be broad and cover issues where we agree and where we disagree.

The Government’s policy on population and sexual and reproductive health and rights is about providing women and girls with a voice, choice and control. We do not condone coercion or support sex-selective abortion. We provide core funding to the United Nations Population Fund who do work in China; they work to promote and uphold the principles of free and informed choice and to challenge the gender norms that de-value girls.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will express concern about the effect of the one-child policy on human rights in China with President Xi Jinping during his visit to the UK.

Mr Hugo Swire

We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China. The Government is committed to engaging with China on the issue and Ministers will continue to raise concerns with their counterparts. Discussions during the State Visit will be broad and cover issues where we agree and where we disagree.

The Government’s policy on population and sexual and reproductive health and rights is about providing women and girls with a voice, choice and control. We do not condone coercion or support sex-selective abortion. We provide core funding to the United Nations Population Fund who do work in China; they work to promote and uphold the principles of free and informed choice and to challenge the gender norms that de-value girls.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what proportion of his Department’s (a) budget and (b) personnel is allocated to promoting human rights, rule of law and democracy in other countries.

Mr David Lidington

As the Government set out in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) 2014 Annual Human Rights and Democracy Report, it is difficult to calculate an exact figure for what we spend annually on human rights and democracy work. This is because it is an integral part of the department’s work across the network.

However, by combining relevant programme spend, grant-in-aid spending, and estimated personnel costs, we were able to calculate a conservative figure of approximately £42.6 million for the financial year 2014-15.

In terms of personnel, we also set out in the report that approximately 240 full-time equivalents in the FCO work on human rights.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will express concern about the effect of the one-child policy on the sex-selective abortion of female unborn children in China to President Xi Jinping during his visit to the UK.

Mr Hugo Swire

We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China. The Government is committed to engaging with China on the issue and Ministers will continue to raise concerns with their counterparts. Discussions during the State Visit will be broad and cover issues where we agree and where we disagree.

The Government’s policy on population and sexual and reproductive health and rights is about providing women and girls with a voice, choice and control. We do not condone coercion or support sex-selective abortion. We provide core funding to the United Nations Population Fund who do work in China; they work to promote and uphold the principles of free and informed choice and to challenge the gender norms that de-value girls.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will express concern about the effect of the one-child policy on the disability-selective abortion of unborn children in China to President Xi Jinping during his visit to the UK.

Mr Hugo Swire

We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China. The Government is committed to engaging with China on the issue and Ministers will continue to raise concerns with their counterparts. Discussions during the State Visit will be broad and cover issues where we agree and where we disagree.

The Government’s policy on population and sexual and reproductive health and rights is about providing women and girls with a voice, choice and control. We do not condone coercion or support sex-selective abortion. We provide core funding to the United Nations Population Fund who do work in China; they work to promote and uphold the principles of free and informed choice and to challenge the gender norms that de-value girls.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department and NHS England are taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (a) children and (b) adults meet NICE guidance.

Alistair Burt

The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups to discuss good practice in meeting the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism, and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations. Information on the average waiting time for an autism diagnosis in Devon in each of the last three years is not collected centrally.

General practitioners (GPs) are required to keep adequate records of their attendance on, and treatment of, their patients and this should include details of autism where it is known. For this to work successfully locally services undertaking autism diagnosis should pass information back to the GP who has made the original referral. This is outlined in the recent Autism Statutory Guidance for local authorities and the NHS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if Ministers or officials of his Department will meet Jeena International, Karma Nirvana and other organisations representing women who have been the victim of coerced sex-selective abortion to discuss the implications of his Department’s assessment of the evidence of termination of pregnancy on grounds of gender.

Jane Ellison

Officials are happy to meet with these organisations and have already offered to meet Jeena International.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the likely annual cost of health and social care provision for people aged over 65 during the present Parliament.

Alistair Burt

Based upon latest available data (2012/13) the proportion of National Health Service spend on people over 65 was approximately 42.6%. If this same proportion is applied to the 2015/16 budget of £115.4 billion, this would indicate a total spend of around £49.1 billion.

In 2015/16 the overall spend on adult social care was £14.1 billion. Of this total figure, £4.9 billion would be spent specifically on people aged over 65. The remainder of the adult social care budget, although not specifically spent on people over 65, includes significant expenditure on services which benefit them – for example support for carers and mitigation of social isolation.

In addition, the Government has implemented the £5.3 billion Better Care Fund, which provides much needed investment in better integrated care through locally developed plans and putting resources where the local NHS and social services identify requirements. Much of this spend relates to people aged over 65. However, a more detailed breakdown is not available.

Funding decisions for 2016/17 onwards, including spending on health and social care, are subject to the forthcoming Spending Review. This will establish the Government’s spending plans for the next five years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department next plans to publish an assessment of the incidence of sex-selective abortion in the UK.

Jane Ellison

The Department is committed to publishing an analysis of birth ratios annually; the latest report was published in August 2015.

Assessments were carried out to inform this analysis and Annex C of the latest publication ‘Assessment of termination of pregnancy on grounds of the sex of the foetus’ summarises the findings with further technical detail in Annex B of the publication; a copy is attached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of how widespread sex-selective abortion would have to be before it was detectable in nationally-compiled birth ratios.

Jane Ellison

The Department is committed to publishing an analysis of birth ratios annually; the latest report was published in August 2015.

Assessments were carried out to inform this analysis and Annex C of the latest publication ‘Assessment of termination of pregnancy on grounds of the sex of the foetus’ summarises the findings with further technical detail in Annex B of the publication; a copy is attached.