Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the Safe Haven Projects, as operated by the Frimley Health Foundation Trust.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
We are informed by Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust that five Safe Haven services are currently operating within Surrey and North East Hampshire, providing out of hours support to people who may be in a mental health crisis. The Foundation Trust has informed us that more than 500 people use these services each month, often as an alternative to attending accident and emergency (A&E).
An Independent Evaluation of the Aldershot Safe Haven, Independent Evaluation of the North East Hampshire and Farnham Vanguard: Aldershot Safe Haven Service, conducted by the Wessex Academic Health Science Network, and published October 2017, found that the Safe Haven may have contributed to a reduction in acute psychiatric inpatient admissions by 16% between August 2016 and July 2017 and that for a tracked cohort of people there was a reduction in A&E attendances by 45% for the year after their first attendance at a Safe Haven. A copy of the evaluation is attached.
The Prime Minister visited the Aldershot Safe Haven on 9 January 2017 where she announced funding for mental health crisis cafes and community clinics. The Government has pledged to provide up to £15 million investment from 2018 to 2020 to provide and promote such services.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
Her Majesty's Government how many ectopic pregnancies have been treated in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS regions in England.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The data requested cannot be provided by National Health Service region as regional boundaries have changed during this period. A table showing finished admissions episodes with a primary diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy by Government Office Region has been attached due to the size of the data.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
Her Majesty's Government how many deaths have occurred as a result of ectopic pregnancies in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS regions in England.
Answered by Lord Young of Cookham
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply and will place a copy of their letter in the house library.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are in place to ensure that Government ministers are able to meet and hold discussions with ministers from Commonwealth countries, especially those from small island states, when they visit London.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Ministers meet regularly with Ministers from Commonwealth countries, both in London and on their visits overseas. The majority of the Commonwealth's 52 members are represented by High Commissioners in London. Meetings with visiting Ministers are typically organised by High Commissioners and their staff or by High Commissioners at UK missions overseas. Where a VIP is invited to the UK by Her Majesty's Government, the visit programme is arranged through Protocol Directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. We place significant importance on Ministerial meetings which provide the opportunity for discussions on a range of Commonwealth and other issues. Recently, the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) had a warm and productive meeting with the Grenadian Prime Minister and St Lucian Prime Minister. Similar visits and discussions, both inwards and outwards, will become increasingly important as we look ahead to hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2018.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what changes have taken place in the last two years to improve the measurement of babies in the final stages of pregnancy.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Fetal growth restriction is widely recognised as a major determinant of stillbirth. Knowledge to inform the effective identification and management of these babies continues to grow, particularly around what constitutes ‘normal’ growth for each baby.
We are advised by NHS England that it is developing the Saving Babies’ Lives “care bundle”. This is a package of measures which includes a recommendation to improve the detection of growth restricted babies. This includes use of a growth chart to plot fundal height (the distance from the maternal pelvis to the top of the growing womb) and estimated fetal weight, both measures to estimate a baby’s growth. The recommendation is also designed to tackle variable practice amongst clinicians in carrying out measurements. We understand this will be published as a guidance document later in 2016 and will be followed by an implementation toolkit.
The care bundle is now being voluntarily implemented by maternity care providers while its recommendations are tested, formally evaluated in practice and refined over time and in the light of new evidence.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their estimate of how many (1) stillbirths, and (2) preventable stillbirths, there were in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Bridges of Headley
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice they are giving about the dangers of the purchase of human breast milk and human breast milk products.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Food Standards Agency strongly advises against anyone purchasing and consuming human breast milk or products made from or containing human breast milk because such milk is unlikely to have been collected or stored hygienically and could be unsafe.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many inspections by the Food Standards Agency or local authorities have been related to the sale of human breast milk and human breast milk products in the last year.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The Food Standards Agency annually collects information from all local authorities on the number and type of inspections in manufacturers, caterers and retailers but the system used does not go into the level of detail which would allow us to identify the number of inspections related to the specific activity of selling human breast milk or its products.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the scale of the sale of human breast milk and human breast milk products through (1) retail outlets, and (2) the internet.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
The experience of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is that the sale of breast milk is centred on a reasonably small number of enterprises, selling direct to the final consumer on a limited scale. The FSA strongly advises against anyone purchasing and consuming human breast milk or products made from or containing human breast milk because such milk is unlikely to have been collected or stored hygienically and could be unsafe.
Asked by: Baroness Taylor of Bolton (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to recognise women who worked in munitions factories during the Second World War as part of the 70th anniversary commemorations marking the end of conflict.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie
The Government fully appreciates the efforts and the often very dangerous conditions experienced by those who worked in factories producing vital equipment for the armed forces that helped contribute to winning the Second World War. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has been working with the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Recognition for Munitions Workers, which was set up in 2011 to explore ways to ensure that the valiant collective efforts of all those who worked in munitions factories are not forgotten.
Following the very successful commemorations to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day we will now be focussing in more detail across government on how the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in 2015 might be marked in an appropriate manner. No decisions have yet been made on how the anniversary will be marked, but we expect an announcement on the commemorations to be made by the Government later in the year.