Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action is being taken, both by them internationally and through voluntary agencies, to prevent refugees now in transit through south-eastern Europe from dying of cold; and whether they consider that action is sufficient.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The UK is providing £46 million of humanitarian support to address the needs of refugees and other irregular migrants transiting through Europe and the Balkans. This support is enabling host governments and international organisations including the Red Cross, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the International Organisation for Migration, and non-governmental organisations to provide basic care, assistance, protection, and information to people on the move, with a particular focus on children and the most vulnerable. Of this, £30.5 million is specifically targeted at meeting needs during the Winter. This includes 178,000 warm blankets, 1,700 ‘winterised’ tents to shelter people from the cold weather, warm clothing, hot food, medicines and medical support where low temperatures mean more people will get sick.
DFID continually reviews humanitarian needs and has deployed experts to countries along the route to assess conditions first-hand. Their assessment is that UK support is appropriate and well targeted, although they remain concerned by the conditions being experienced by already vulnerable people, particularly those who become stranded. DFID will keep the humanitarian situation under review and adapt the UK’s response to emerging needs.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - North East Fife)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the risk of famine in Yemen; and what assessment she has made of the possible humanitarian implications of famine in the Middle East and North Africa.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The UN World Food Programme has warned that Yemen is “one step away from famine”. Over 12 million people – almost half of the population - are struggling to find enough food to eat. Of those, 6 million people are facing severe food shortages. In Hodeidah city alone, UNICEF have warned that 96,000 children are starving and at risk of dying. The ongoing conflict continues to affect imports of commercial and humanitarian supplies – especially essential fuel, food and medicines - into Yemen and the distribution of food to those who need it most.
The UK is one of the largest donors to the crisis in Yemen and has announced £75 million to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, focused on the most urgent life-saving needs. UK aid is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter, as well as supporting UN work to co-ordinate the international humanitarian response.
Despite severe food shortages, there has not yet been a significant movement of people from Yemen to neighbouring countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Djibouti and Somalia have received the highest number of refugees since the escalation of the conflict in Yemen in March 2015.To improve the living conditions of migrants and refugees from Yemen in Djibouti, the UK is supporting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration with in-kind assistance consisting of shelter kits, water containers, family kitchen sets, blankets, hygiene kits and solar lanterns. The UK is also providing a package of food, health and shelter assistance to refugees from Yemen in Somalia.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of (a) the level of humanitarian need and (b) access for the provision of humanitarian support in Yemen.
Answered by Desmond Swayne
The humanitarian situation in Yemen is now one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. According to the UN, 21 million Yemenis - more than 80% of the population - are in need of humanitarian assistance. Of those, over 6 million people are facing severe food shortages, with households struggling to meet their daily needs. In particular, 1.8 million children require access to life-saving nutrition services. In Hodeidah city alone, UNICEF have warned that 96,000 severely malnourished children are at risk of dying.
The UK is one of the largest donors to the crisis in Yemen and has announced £75 million to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, focused on the most urgent life-saving needs. UK aid is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter, as well as supporting UN work to co-ordinate the international humanitarian response.
The conflict has resulted in restrictions on imports of commercial and humanitarian supplies to Yemen and intense fighting on the ground, which has severely constrained access and limited the operational capacity of humanitarian partners across the country. The UK continues to call on all parties to the conflict to facilitate unimpeded and immediate humanitarian access to all people in need in Yemen, and to lift any restrictions on commercial and humanitarian shipping, including of fuel for civilian use.
Asked by: Lord Luce (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the humanitarian needs of the people of Yemen; and what humanitarian assistance is being provided to them.
Answered by Baroness Verma
According to the UN, 21 million people - more than 80% of the population - are in need of humanitarian assistance in Yemen. Of those, over 6 million people are facing severe food shortages, with households struggling to meet their daily needs. In particular, 1.8 million children are most at risk and require access to life-saving nutrition services. In Hodeidah city alone, UNICEF have warned that 96,000 severely malnourished children are at risk of dying.
The UK is one of the largest donors to the crisis in Yemen and has announced £55 million to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, focused on the most urgent life-saving needs. UK aid will provide emergency shelter, healthcare, water, food and nutrition assistance for at least half a million Yemenis, as well as supporting UN work to co-ordinate the international humanitarian response.
Asked by: Andrew Stephenson (Conservative - Pendle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what support is available for young adults dealing with a family bereavement due to cancer in (a) England and (b) East Lancashire.
Answered by Ben Gummer
Bereavement services are locally commissioned by clinical commissioning groups.
From a national perspective, NHS England advises that it commissions the National Council for Palliative Care to coordinate the Dying Matters Coalition (www.dyingmatters.org/page/coping-bereavement). This includes a wide range of work for raising public awareness and encouraging conversations about death, dying and bereavement, which affect young adults dealing with a family bereavement.
The National Palliative and End of Life Care Partnership, of which NHS England is a member, published its new Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care: A national framework for local action 2015-2020 on 8 September 2015. The National Bereavement Alliance, which includes the Children’s Bereavement Network, is a member of this Partnership as well. One of the foundations identified as being required in order to achieve the six ambitions articulated in this framework is ‘Involving, supporting and caring for those important to the dying person’. This refers to the young adult dealing with a family bereavement as well.
In One Chance to Get it Right (published June 2014), which was the system-wide response to the report More Care Less Pathway, the Leadership Alliance for the Care of Dying People (of which NHS England was a member) included in its recommendations on ‘desired characteristics of education and training programmes for care in the last days of life’, a learning objective on ‘assessing and addressing the needs of those important to the dying person, including in bereavement’.
In addition, NHS England has recently completed a project with NHS Choices to improve the range and quality of information available on end of life care on its website – including information around bereavement:
www.nhs.uk/Livewell/bereavement/Pages/young-people-bereavement.aspx
Asked by: Fiona Bruce (Conservative - Congleton)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to widen the availability of the most effective pain relief techniques for dying patients.
Answered by Ben Gummer
We are committed to ensuring that everyone at the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care that is personalised to their needs, including the management of symptoms such as pain. The new approach to care at the end of life that we introduced last year is based on five priorities for care of the dying person, which explicitly state the importance of looking after people’s physical needs, including pain symptoms, as well as their spiritual, psychological, social, cultural and religious needs. All staff and organisations involved in providing end of life care are responsible for ensuring the care they deliver is based on the priorities.
In addition, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard on End of Life Care for Adults sets out best practice on the care and treatment of adults at the end of life. It provides specific, concise quality statements and measures to provide the public, health and social care professionals, commissioners and service providers with definitions of high-quality care.
Quality Statement 4 of the Standard is that “People approaching the end of life have their physical and specific psychological needs safely, effectively and appropriately met at any time of day or night, including access to medicines and equipment.”
Specific NICE clinical guidelines on the use of opioids for pain relief and the management of pain symptoms in a range of specific conditions also set out best practice and support clinicians in making clinical decisions and planning and delivering individualised care to people at the end of life.
Asked by: Philip Davies (Conservative - Shipley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest period of time is that a serving prisoner can request to be absent from prison for any reason.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
All applications for temporary release are now considered under the revised regime that we have introduced over the past 18 months, and which requires all resettlement ROTL to be identified in sentence planning as well as bringing improvements in risk assessment, monitoring and consistency of practice across all prisons.
Prisoners may apply for release on temporary licence (ROTL) only for activities that have been identified as in line with their agreed, individual sentence or resettlement plans; or in exceptionally compelling circumstances, such as a visit to a dying close relative. The duration is limited to what is required to conduct the agreed activity and the majority of releases are measured in hours. The maximum duration for the various types of release on temporary licence is set out in national guidance.
There is provision for offenders selected for the national Community Service Volunteers (CSV) scheme special programme for offenders to be released for up to 4 weeks. The offender must be in or suitable for open conditions and be within three months of their release date. These placements are only granted under strict conditions, and as such, very rarely. In addition to applying all the usual risk and suitability assessments, before authorizing release, the governor must determine that the resettlement benefits outweigh the impact on public confidence of that particular offender being on temporary release for a lengthy period. CSV placements are governed by a memorandum of understanding between prison governor, offender manager, offender and the CSV placement organiser with specific monitoring and review arrangements.
Asked by: Lord Ouseley (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 10 June (HL139), what assessment they have made of the report by the Institute for Race Relations, <i>Dying for Justice</i>, and in particular the finding that, between 1991 and 2014, over 500 deaths occurred in some form of custody, resulting in 10 verdicts of unlawful killing, five prosecutions, and no convictions.
Answered by Lord Faulks
Every death in custody is a tragedy. Each one is investigated independently by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman or the Independent Police Complaints Commission, and is the subject of a coroner’s inquest. Every effort is made to learn lessons from these investigations, and the prevention of further deaths is a priority for police, prisons and immigration detention services.
The very small number of cases in which criminal offences are believed to have been committed are referred for further investigation by the police and/or to the Crown Prosecution Service, and where appropriate charges are brought. The final outcome in such cases is a matter for the courts.
The report by the Institute of Race Relations brings together information from a number of sources to highlight the particular issue of deaths of Black and Minority Ethnic people in custody. It describes 509 cases of ‘suspicious’ death, including large numbers of natural causes deaths as well as self-inflicted deaths and the ten cases that resulted in inquest findings of unlawful killing. These deaths occurred over a period of more than twenty years.
The report acknowledges some of the improvements that have been made during that period. It also reminds us of the enduring nature of many of the issues related to deaths in custody, particularly that the families of the deceased and others in the Black and Minority Ethnic community continue to lack confidence that appropriate action is being taken in response to such deaths. The Government is working to address this, for example through more effective liaison with families, as well as improvements to restraint techniques and training.
The Government announced in February 2014 that Lord Harris of Haringey would lead a review into self-inflicted deaths of 18-24 year olds in NOMS custody. The report will be published in due course.
Asked by: Mark Hunter (Liberal Democrat - Cheadle)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support the early identification of liver disease.
Answered by Jane Ellison
Public Health England (PHE) has a comprehensive range of action aimed at reducing the incidence and mortality from liver disease. It monitors the incidence, mortality and outcomes of treatment for liver disease and the risk factors: alcohol obesity and hepatitis B and C. PHE has a wide range of action to tackle unhealthy alcohol consumption, obesity and viral hepatitis through strengthening local action, promoting healthy choices, and giving appropriate information to support healthier lives.
In response to the All Party Parliamentary Hepatology Group report PHE has committed to producing a PHE Liver Disease Framework. This will focus on public health action to tackle risk factors for liver disease and inequalities in relation to liver disease. Work has already begun to bring together expertise within PHE on the major risk factors for liver disease (alcohol, hepatitis B and C and obesity), data on liver disease and its risk factors and on death and dying from liver disease. PHE has also issued liver profiles to each local authority area, which include information about hepatitis C, as well as modelling tools to assist local commissioners in establishing need at local level. Many of the actions to tackle the major risk factors require a coordinated approach between PHE and NHS England.
NHS England is responsible for delivering improvements in outcomes against the NHS Mandate and in line with the NHS Outcomes Framework. NHS England is adopting a broad strategy for delivering improvements in relation to premature mortality, working with commissioners and PHE to support clinical commissioning groups in understanding where local challenges lie and in identifying the evidence in relation to the priorities for reducing mortality at a national level.