Tag: Fiona Bruce

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to promote alcohol treatment and counselling options that will help to prevent alcohol-related crime.

Jane Ellison

Government is keen to promote recovery from alcohol problems, and this year the Department added a new condition to the ring-fenced public health grant to local authorities, stating that they should have regard to the need to improve the take up of, and outcomes from, their alcohol and drug misuse treatment services.

A key step in preventing alcohol-related crime is the Liaison and Diversion (L&D) programme. This programme is a cross government initiative, led by NHS England and has developed the first national model to identify, assess and refer people into appropriate treatment and support services at their first point of contact with the criminal justice system. Twenty-five trial sites have been commissioned by NHS England.

Another key piece of work is an initiative between Public Health England, NHS England and the National Offender Management Service to give alcohol brief interventions in North West England where prisoners whose offending is linked to alcohol misuse are offered brief interventions pre-release and then by their offender manager after release.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-12-10.

To ask the Attorney General, how many alleged human traffickers have been prosecuted by the CPS as a result of calls made to the NSPCC human trafficking and modern slavery helpline between July 2014 and June 2015.

Robert Buckland

In the last financial year the CPS successfully prosecuted 130 human trafficking cases. However, the CPS does not record how an allegation of human trafficking or modern slavery was brought to the attention of the investigative authorities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if his Department will increase funding for human rights projects in North Korea.

Mr Hugo Swire

We currently deliver a range of projects in the DPRK through our bilateral project fund, many of which are intended to deliver improvements in human rights. We will be assessing future projects on human rights for the next year under the Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy where we will consider the practicalities and implications of delivering human rights projects in DPRK and how to improve the appalling human rights situation. We will continue to support humanitarian work aimed at alleviating the plight of the most vulnerable in DPRK’s society.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to encourage more young people to go into farming.

George Eustice

The Government is working with the food and farming industries to encourage bright, talented young people into agriculture. We aim to treble the number of food and farming apprenticeships by 2020. Agriculture and related subjects is the fastest-growing subject at university, with a 4.6% increase in student numbers last year. We are also working with industry partners and others to build links between food and farming businesses and schools. The Great British food campaign will help to highlight the breadth of careers the food and farming industries can offer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies on the introduction of cell-free DNA non-invasive prenatal testing of the finding of the report of the Pro-Life APPG, Abortion on the grounds of disability, published in July 2013, that many parents feel steered towards abortion on receiving a diagnosis of fetal abnormality and that they do not receive adequate information about other options.

Jane Ellison

There is a long established Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme (NHS FASP) that prospective parents can choose whether to participate in.

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) has recommended that non-invasive prenatal testing for Down’s syndrome should be introduced as an additional test into the NHS FASP as part of an evaluation. Ministers are currently considering this important recommendation from the UK NSC which would give pregnant women and their partners more accurate information and should reduce the number of women having to undergo unnecessary invasive testing which carries a risk of miscarriage.

The UK NSC recommendation does not change the offer to prospective parents of participating in the programme, nor the options and choices available when testing identifies a fetus with Down’s, Edwards’ or Patau’s syndrome.

Existing guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists already makes it clear that women and their partners should receive appropriate information and support from a properly trained multidisciplinary team, who must adopt a supportive and non-judgemental approach regardless of whether the decision is to terminate or continue the pregnancy. This should include referral to other professional experts (including palliative care) and referral for counselling when this can help, as part of a co-ordinated package of care.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-06-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to ensure that staff in her Department receive religious literacy training.

Nick Gibb

We currently have no plans to carry out religious literacy training in the Department.

Civil Service Learning, the main training portal for Civil Servants, has a broad range of diversity and inclusion courses, which are available to all civil servants. There is also a two day course covering both Abrahamic and Dharmic religions for officials who need a more in depth understanding to carry out their role.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-09-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many deaths have occurred in the last five years following abortions provided through the NHS and carried out by the private sector.

Nicola Blackwood

Data from abortion notification forms (HSA4) indicates that between 2011 and 2015, the most recent five years for which data is available, there was one death relating to a termination funded by the National Health Service and carried out by the independent sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to improve awareness of the health implications of drinking during pregnancy.

Jane Ellison

The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) is overseeing a United Kingdom-wide review of all alcohol guidelines so that people can make informed choices about their drinking at all stages of their lives.

The Guidelines Development Group, a group of independent experts, was tasked with developing the lower-risk drinking guidelines for the UK CMOs to consider. The group have researched and developed a proposal on the guidelines, including a UK wide approach for guidance on alcohol and pregnancy. We will be consulting on these shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2015-12-17.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 1.144 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how women’s charities can apply for some of the £15 million annual fund.

Greg Hands

Bids and nominations for donations from the sanitary products VAT women’s charities fund can be submitted to HM Treasury by letter. The letter should set out the amount being sought and detail what it would fund. All representations will be given full consideration ahead of Budget 2016, and further rounds of donations will follow at future fiscal events. The fund will continue to run over the course of this Parliament or until the UK can apply a zero rate of VAT on sanitary products.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Fiona Bruce on 2016-01-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the UK has identified any people or ministries responsible for human rights violations in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Mr Hugo Swire

We have strongly supported the work of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The UN Commission of Inquiry documents serious human rights violations committed by the state in the DPRK and we have urged the DPRK authorities to respond in detail to the contents of the report. The report, which can be found at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIDPRK/Pages/CommissionInquiryonHRinDPRK.aspx, includes details of human rights violations committed by officials from a number of state institutions and ministries. There must be no impunity for those accused of serious human rights violations.