Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what support his Department provides for junior soldiers at AFC Harrogate with mental health problems.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Army Foundation College (AFC) Harrogate training staff provide the first line level of support to Junior Soldiers experiencing mental health problems. They are specifically trained for their appointment to pro-actively identify recruits who may be struggling and/or experiencing problems with adapting to military life. Mental resilience training is also provided to all Junior Soldiers in the early stages of the course covering areas such as coping mechanisms, decision making and effective communication. This is reinforced through training activities including in Leadership and Initiative training, Adventurous Training and field exercises.
AFC Harrogate has a well-resourced medical and welfare department. This includes a civilian Behavioural Development Officer, who is an expert in cognitive behavioural studies and counselling, specialising in the military environment. This officer provides advice and guidance to staff on how best to manage referred Junior Soldiers. There are also military and civilian medical and welfare staff, two Padres and access to representatives from the Army Welfare Service (who also draw on support from wider public sector and charity support services).
In addition, in February 2018, the Secretary of State announced a new MOD-funded 24/7 Military Mental Health Helpline to provide support and advice to all serving personnel and their families.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether AFC Harrogate has internal mental health support workers for junior soldiers.
Answered by Tobias Ellwood
Army Foundation College (AFC) Harrogate training staff provide the first line level of support to Junior Soldiers experiencing mental health problems. They are specifically trained for their appointment to pro-actively identify recruits who may be struggling and/or experiencing problems with adapting to military life. Mental resilience training is also provided to all Junior Soldiers in the early stages of the course covering areas such as coping mechanisms, decision making and effective communication. This is reinforced through training activities including in Leadership and Initiative training, Adventurous Training and field exercises.
AFC Harrogate has a well-resourced medical and welfare department. This includes a civilian Behavioural Development Officer, who is an expert in cognitive behavioural studies and counselling, specialising in the military environment. This officer provides advice and guidance to staff on how best to manage referred Junior Soldiers. There are also military and civilian medical and welfare staff, two Padres and access to representatives from the Army Welfare Service (who also draw on support from wider public sector and charity support services).
In addition, in February 2018, the Secretary of State announced a new MOD-funded 24/7 Military Mental Health Helpline to provide support and advice to all serving personnel and their families.
Asked by: John Grogan (Labour - Keighley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the work of the Public Legal Evaluation Panel to date.
Answered by Robert Buckland
As the Government’s pro bono champion, I am able to work closely with those involved in Public Legal Education, supporting initiatives to increase its profile and reach more members of the public.
The Public Legal Education panel is formed of leading organisations who promote the importance of teaching people about the law and their basic civil and criminal rights. It features members from across the legal community, for example the Law for Life, Citizens Advice and the Bar Council.
The Panel are currently combining their resources to map the provision and need of Public Legal Education around the county and to support and drive forward public legal education initiatives so more people can reap the benefits.
Asked by: Edward Leigh (Conservative - Gainsborough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there have been for public order offences involving pro-life vigil participants outside abortion clinics in England and Wales in each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be collated at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Friern Barnet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on the imprisonment of pro-democracy leader, Wang Bingzhang, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by Chinese authorities in 2003; and what representations he has made in respect of that leader.
Answered by Mark Field
We are aware of Wang Bingzhang's case and my officials met his brother, Wang Bingwu, in April to discuss his situation. We have not made any recent representations to the Chinese authorities regarding his case.
Asked by: Edward Leigh (Conservative - Gainsborough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether officials of his Department have met with representatives from (a) the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and (b) Marie Stopes International to discuss pro-life vigils outside abortion centres.
Answered by Nick Hurd
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Sheffield Heeley on the 19th March 2018, UIN 132535.
Asked by: Edward Leigh (Conservative - Gainsborough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department plans to speak to women considering abortion who received assistance from people involved in pro-life vigils and who went on to have their child during its consultation on the presence of pro-life vigils near abortion clinics.
Answered by Nick Hurd
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Sheffield Heeley on the 19th March 2018, UIN 132535.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent reports of aerial bombardments, including against schools, on the humanitarian situation in the Eastern Ghouta region in Syria.
Answered by Alistair Burt
We remain deeply concerned by reports of attacks by pro-regime forces on civilians and civilian infrastructures, including on healthcare facilities and schools. This, alongside continued obstruction of humanitarian access by the regime, is contributing to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Eastern Ghouta. The Department for International Development (DFID) has supported the UN and international non-governmental organisations to deliver aid to hard-to-reach and besieged areas, including Eastern Ghouta. DFID’s humanitarian partners are on the ground in Eastern Ghouta providing life-saving healthcare, food, and protection, but humanitarian access remains severely constrained. We continue to use our position in the UN Security Council and the International Syria Support Group to press the regime and its backers to allow unfettered access so that aid can reach those in desperate need. We call on all parties to adhere to agreed ceasefires in order to bring about the conditions for a political settlement that will end the suffering of the Syrian people.
Asked by: David Lammy (Labour - Tottenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of living in temporary accommodation on the health, well-being and life chances of children.
Answered by Marcus Jones
England has a strong homelessness safety net, providing protection to the most vulnerable in our society. Time spent in temporary accommodation means people are getting help and it ensures no family is without a roof over their head.
Homeless households do not have to wait as long for settled accommodation as the law was changed in 2012 allowing councils to place families in private rented accommodation meaning less time in temporary accommodation. The cost of temporary accommodation varies depending on the local housing market and the type of temporary accommodation used as well as the numbers of households in temporary accommodation.
We provide a Flexible Homelessness Support Grant to local authorities for them to use more strategically to prevent and tackle homelessness. This amounts to £402 million over the two years from 2017/18.
Devolving the funding to local authorities provides incentives to move families out of temporary accommodation and into settled accommodation more quickly, and with more certain upfront funding local authorities are able to tackle homelessness more pro-actively, pushing the balance of the investment away from crisis intervention and towards prevention.
The number of children living in temporary accommodation is down from its peak in 2006 but we know there is room for improvement. That is why Government is committed to setting up a homelessness reduction taskforce that will focus on prevention and affordable housing.
Also, from April 2018 we are implementing the most ambitious legislative reform in decades, the Homelessness Reduction Act. It significantly reforms England’s homelessness legislation, ensuring that more people get the help they need earlier to prevent them from becoming homeless in the first place.
Asked by: Nigel Evans (Conservative - Ribble Valley)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the imprisonment of three protestors involved in the pro-democracy Umbrella Movement of 2014.
Answered by Mark Field
During my visit to Hong Kong on 23/24 August, I discussed this case with the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Carrie Lam. During my meeting, I stressed the UK's commitment to the Sino-British Joint Declaration and 'One Country, Two Systems'. I also made clear that it is essential that Hong Kong enjoys, and is seen to enjoy, the full measure of its high degree of autonomy and commitment to the rule of law enshrined in the Joint Declaration and Basic Law. On 17 August an FCO spokesperson issued a statement on the case, which said that "the UK remains a staunch supporter of the right to peaceful protest and we believe it is vital that Hong Kong's young people have a voice in politics. Hong Kong's way of life is underpinned by its rule of law. We note the decision reached by the Court of Appeal on the case of Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow and we hope the decision on this case will not discourage legitimate protest in the future."