Tag: Fiona Bruce

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her Department plans to work in partnership with (a) communities and (b) other Government departments on tackling hate crimes and challenging extremism which leads to violence.

Karen Bradley

The Government’s Counter-Extremism Strategy was published on 19 October. This sets out how all parts of government will work together to tackle all forms of extremism.

To defeat extremism, we must work in partnership with communities. The strategy sets out how we will develop a network of civil society groups and individuals who share our commitment to defeat extremism and protect communities.

The Prime Minister also recently announced that as the Government had promised in 2016 UK Police Forces across England and Wales will record Anti Muslim Hatred alongside other religious hate crime as a specific categorised offence.

The New Cross-Government Hate Crime Action Plan is currently being developed by the Home Office in partnership with other Government departments, policing colleagues and external stakeholders.

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 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the level of unmet demand for palliative care beds for patients in the last six months of their lives.

Ben Gummer

The Department has not undertaken an assessment of unmet demand for palliative care beds for patients in the last six months of their lives.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether doctors performing surgical abortions are prohibited from altering the procedure (a) in order to maximise the amount or quality of fetal tissue obtained for research and (b) for other non-clinical reasons.

Jane Ellison

In England and Wales, medical research using fetal tissue requires the consent of the woman who donates the tissue and is subject to the requirements of the Human Tissue Act 2004. It should be conducted in accordance with the Codes of Practice published by the Human Tissue Authority,which contain specific guidance on consent to the use of fetal tissue in Code of Practice 1, Consent.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what procedures are in place to ensure that women agreeing to donate foetal tissue are not coerced, pressured or hurried into doing so and that they understand fully what it is that they are being asked to do.

Jane Ellison

In England and Wales, medical research using fetal tissue requires the consent of the woman who donates the tissue and is subject to the requirements of the Human Tissue Act 2004. It should be conducted in accordance with the Codes of Practice published by the Human Tissue Authority,which contain specific guidance on consent to the use of fetal tissue in Code of Practice 1, Consent.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what structures are in place for (a) staff in primary care settings and (b) other healthcare professionals to raise concerns about sex-selective abortions if they believe these are occurring.

Jane Ellison

All healthcare organisations registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) should have procedures in place to allow staff to raise concerns. Staff can also raise concerns with the CQC.

The Department has also been clear that any specific allegations about gender-selective abortions being undertaken should be reported to the police.