Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many infants admitted to the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in each of the past five years were subject to investigation under its guidelines regarding suspected abuse in children; of those, how many were identified as having been subjected to abuse; and whether this figure is similarly reflected in other trusts across the country.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust guidelines define abuse and neglect as forms of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm. All staff have a responsibility to safeguard children at risk of abuse or neglect in the National Health Service. This involves protecting children from maltreatment and preventing impairment of children’s health and development. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust does not hold data on the number of infants admitted in the past five years subject to investigation regarding suspected abuse or the number of infants identified as subjected to abuse. NHS England also does not collect the data requested.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, when considering whether an area should be designated or retained as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, they take into account whether they wish more housing to be built there, or whether it is designated purely on environmental, nature and beauty considerations.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
To designate an Area of Natural Beauty, Natural England must issue an order under section 82 of the CROW Act for the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of that area. The area must meet a set of natural beauty criterion. Based upon the legislation, the designation process includes technical assessment against designation criteria and assessment of the desirability of designating the area. The desirability tests recognise that a designation may have an impact beyond the immediate statutory purpose. As such, consideration is also given to government policy which will influence how AONBs operate in relation to wider policy areas, such as housing, the economy and planning.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Surrey Hills has lost its Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty status.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Natural England, the responsible body for designating Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in England, confirms that the Surrey Hills remain an AONB. There are no plans for it to be de-designated and, in fact, Natural England are currently considering potential extensions to the Surrey Hills AONB boundary. As part of a national rebranding of AONBs to ‘National Landscapes’, the Surrey Hills AONB is now referred to as the Surrey Hills National Landscape but, legally, it remains an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government which body designates areas with Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty status.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Natural England is responsible for the designation of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.