Asked by: Lisa Nandy (Labour - Wigan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the fundamental rights of (a) women and girls and (b) children following changes to the Somali constitution lowering the age of maturity; and whether he has made representations to the Somali government on that issue.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Proposed changes in the Somali constitution to lower the age of maturity have been delayed. This followed extensive engagement by the UK and others in the international community. The UK is closely following the on-going constitutional review process in Somalia and we have encouraged the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) to ensure the process has broad based support amongst the Somali people, civil society, and marginalised groups. In addition, we continue to regularly raise human rights concerns with our Somali partners.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many items of correspondence he has received on changes to the State Pension age for women born in the 1950s from people in Midlothian constituency.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department does not keep this information centrally and therefore it is not readily available. Providing the information that the Department does hold would incur disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Martyn Day (Scottish National Party - Linlithgow and East Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 16 April 2024 to Question 20473 on State Retirement Pensions: Women, what his expected timetable is to respond to the PHSO report.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In laying the report before Parliament at the end of March, the Ombudsman has brought matters to the attention of this House, and a further update to the House will be provided once the report's findings have been fully considered.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by the University of Manchester Racial Bias and the Bench: A response to the Judicial Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (2020-2025), published in November 2022, what support they will give to recommendations to overhaul judicial appointment processes to deliver a more diverse judiciary and embed equalities within the judiciary.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is independent of government and has a statutory duty to select candidates for judicial appointment solely on merit; select only people of good character and have regard to the need to encourage diversity in the range of persons available for judicial selection. The JAC keeps its selection processes under continual review to ensure they are transparent, fair, and attract talented candidates from a wide range of backgrounds. In 2022-2023, across all legal JAC exercises, 51% of those recommended for appointment were women and 16% were ethnic minorities, contributing to a more diverse judiciary.
The Ministry of Justice, as a member of the Judicial Diversity Forum (JDF), works closely with the judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), the Legal Services Board (LSB) and the three largest legal professions on actions to improve judicial diversity. The Forum’s 2024 action plan (https://judicialappointments.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Judicial-Diversity-Forum-Priorities-and-Actions-for-2024.pdf) which was published in January, sets out our shared priorities.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are working with the United Nations and World Health Organisation in their efforts to strengthen laws and policies to protect women and girls from female genital mutilation in The Gambia, as committed to in the International Women and Girls Strategy 2023 to 2030.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's position is clear that female genital mutilation (FGM) is a human rights violation. The Deputy Foreign Secretary spoke to The Gambia's Foreign Minister on 9 April and met with the Minister for Public Services on 29 April, to relay the UK's deep concern about the progress in The Gambia's National Assembly of the bill that would legalise FGM. He highlighted the serious implications if the bill were to become law, including for The Gambia's international reputation. The UK continues to engage broadly through regular contact with senior Gambian Government officials and other stakeholders. We are working with international partners to coordinate and complement messaging and activity.
Asked by: Baroness Verma (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of potential gaps in the provision of free period products in schools in England.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Period Product Scheme is open to all state-funded primary schools, secondary schools and 16-19 organisations so that girls and women can have access to a wide range of period products in their place of study.
Take up of the scheme is monitored and reviewed regularly. Since its launch in January 2020, 99% of secondary schools and 94% of 16-19 organisations have used the scheme. Management information is published annually and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/period-products-scheme-management-information. The national supplier, phs, makes contact with all eligible schools and colleges annually to advise them of the scheme and provide details on how to order.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her policies on health outcomes for children who live in poverty.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department delivers programmes to support the most vulnerable children and families, and reduce health inequalities. The Government published the Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days, in March 2021. This sets out six action areas for improving support for families during the 1,001 critical days, to ensure every baby in England is given the best possible start in life, regardless of background.
The Government is investing an additional £300 million to improve support for families though the joint Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. It is implementing many elements of the Best Start for Life Vision, delivering a step change in outcomes for babies, children, and their parents and carers in 75 local authorities in England, including those with high levels of deprivation. The Government has commissioned two in-depth independent evaluations of the programme.
The Healthy Start scheme helps to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children aged under four years old from very low-income households. The latest Healthy Start data was published on 28 March 2024, with an uptake of 66%. Healthy Start now supports approximately 366,000 beneficiaries.
In November 2022, NHS England published Core20PLUS5, an approach to reducing health inequalities for children and young people at both a national and system level. The approach defines a target population cohort, and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement, which are asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, oral health, and mental health. Where possible, indicators in the Child and Maternal Health Profile provide a breakdown by the index of multiple deprivation, which is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/child-health-profiles
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to tackle health inequality due to childhood poverty.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department delivers programmes to support the most vulnerable children and families, and reduce health inequalities. The Government published the Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days, in March 2021. This sets out six action areas for improving support for families during the 1,001 critical days, to ensure every baby in England is given the best possible start in life, regardless of background.
The Government is investing an additional £300 million to improve support for families though the joint Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. It is implementing many elements of the Best Start for Life Vision, delivering a step change in outcomes for babies, children, and their parents and carers in 75 local authorities in England, including those with high levels of deprivation. The Government has commissioned two in-depth independent evaluations of the programme.
The Healthy Start scheme helps to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children aged under four years old from very low-income households. The latest Healthy Start data was published on 28 March 2024, with an uptake of 66%. Healthy Start now supports approximately 366,000 beneficiaries.
In November 2022, NHS England published Core20PLUS5, an approach to reducing health inequalities for children and young people at both a national and system level. The approach defines a target population cohort, and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement, which are asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, oral health, and mental health. Where possible, indicators in the Child and Maternal Health Profile provide a breakdown by the index of multiple deprivation, which is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/child-health-profiles
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the impact of childhood poverty on longitudinal health outcomes.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department delivers programmes to support the most vulnerable children and families, and reduce health inequalities. The Government published the Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days, in March 2021. This sets out six action areas for improving support for families during the 1,001 critical days, to ensure every baby in England is given the best possible start in life, regardless of background.
The Government is investing an additional £300 million to improve support for families though the joint Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. It is implementing many elements of the Best Start for Life Vision, delivering a step change in outcomes for babies, children, and their parents and carers in 75 local authorities in England, including those with high levels of deprivation. The Government has commissioned two in-depth independent evaluations of the programme.
The Healthy Start scheme helps to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children aged under four years old from very low-income households. The latest Healthy Start data was published on 28 March 2024, with an uptake of 66%. Healthy Start now supports approximately 366,000 beneficiaries.
In November 2022, NHS England published Core20PLUS5, an approach to reducing health inequalities for children and young people at both a national and system level. The approach defines a target population cohort, and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement, which are asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, oral health, and mental health. Where possible, indicators in the Child and Maternal Health Profile provide a breakdown by the index of multiple deprivation, which is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/child-health-profiles
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how she is targeting health prevention services to support children who live in poverty.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department delivers programmes to support the most vulnerable children and families, and reduce health inequalities. The Government published the Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days, in March 2021. This sets out six action areas for improving support for families during the 1,001 critical days, to ensure every baby in England is given the best possible start in life, regardless of background.
The Government is investing an additional £300 million to improve support for families though the joint Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. It is implementing many elements of the Best Start for Life Vision, delivering a step change in outcomes for babies, children, and their parents and carers in 75 local authorities in England, including those with high levels of deprivation. The Government has commissioned two in-depth independent evaluations of the programme.
The Healthy Start scheme helps to encourage a healthy diet for pregnant women, babies, and young children aged under four years old from very low-income households. The latest Healthy Start data was published on 28 March 2024, with an uptake of 66%. Healthy Start now supports approximately 366,000 beneficiaries.
In November 2022, NHS England published Core20PLUS5, an approach to reducing health inequalities for children and young people at both a national and system level. The approach defines a target population cohort, and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement, which are asthma, diabetes, epilepsy, oral health, and mental health. Where possible, indicators in the Child and Maternal Health Profile provide a breakdown by the index of multiple deprivation, which is available at the following link:
https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/child-health-profiles