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 the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the prevalence of elder abuse by family members in England and Wales.

Karen Bradley

We recognise that people of all ages may be subjected to domestic abuse. We are committed to ensuring the police and other frontline agencies have the tools they need to respond effectively. On 3 March 2015, domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour became specific offences under the Serious Crime Act.

In October 2015, new guidance on investigating domestic abuse was published by the College of Policing which includes abuse of older people. New training for the police on domestic abuse has been developed and piloted in Hertfordshire; and the College is reviewing risk assessment tools used by officers. In addition, for the first time all police forces must flag all domestic abuse incidents as crimes.

The Crown Prosecution Service updated its domestic abuse legal guidance in December 2014. This includes advice for prosecutors on elder abuse. E-learning is also being finalised for prosecutors on this issue.

In addition, the Care Act 2014 heralds a significant step change for adult safeguarding in England by placing it on a statutory footing and providing a greater focus on the prevention of abuse and neglect and on the desired outcomes of the individual in question.

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.