Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many single earner married couples there are in (1) England, (2) Wales, (3) Scotland, and (4) Northern Ireland, broken down as a percentage of the total number of married couples in each nation.
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 I will place a copy of their letter in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 23 October (HLWS190) announcing further support for women from Northern Ireland seeking an abortion in England, what is their estimate of the number of women who will travel from Northern Ireland to England to seek an abortion in the current and each of the next three financial years.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
723 women from Northern Ireland accessed abortions in England in 2016. Our planning has considered estimates that range from 1,000 to 2,000 women seeking access to services in England in each of the next three years.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 23 October (HLWS190) announcing further support for women from Northern Ireland seeking an abortion in England, what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by the Care Quality Commission, published in January, that the Merseyside Clinic operated by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service was in breach of a number of safety guidelines; and what steps they will take to ensure that women attending that clinic receive safe abortions.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Following the inspection, a joint action plan between the Care Quality Commission (CQC), BPAS Merseyside, and Halton Clinical Commissioning Group was formulated to ensure all issues raised during the inspection were fully addressed. The CQC is monitoring the action plan through ongoing engagement with BPAS Merseyside. Overall, the CQC has found that improvements continue to be made at BPAS Merseyside both from a clinical and a governance perspective.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 23 October (HLWS190) announcing further support for women from Northern Ireland seeking an abortion in England, whether women receiving such support will be required to attend an abortion clinic achieving a particular rating by the Care Quality Commission; and if so, what that rating will be.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
To participate in the scheme providers must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and, in the case of independent sector providers, be approved by the Secretary of State to perform abortions. There are no requirements in place based on CQC ratings.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 23 October (HLWS190) announcing further support for women from Northern Ireland seeking an abortion in England, including support with travel costs for those meeting financial hardship criteria, what those criteria will be.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
We have developed criteria similar to that used in the National Health Service low income scheme. To receive support for travel costs women must be in receipt of benefit, such as universal credit, jobseeker’s allowance or income support or have an income of £15,276 a year or less.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 23 October (HLWS190) announcing further support for women from Northern Ireland seeking an abortion in England, including support with travel costs for those meeting financial hardship criteria, whether that support will include the costs of accommodation.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
If an overnight stay is deemed to be clinically necessary, those who meet the financial hardship criteria will have suitable accommodation booked for them.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 23 October (HLWS190) announcing further support for women from Northern Ireland seeking an abortion in England, what assessment they have made of the finding in the report by the Care Quality Commission, published in December 2016, that several clinics operated by Marie Stopes International were in serious breach of safety guidelines; and what steps they will take to ensure that women attending those clinics receive safe abortions.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
Marie Stopes International (MSI) are continuing to take a range of actions to address the issues identified in the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) reports. The CQC re-inspected MSI earlier this year and have made clear that they will not hesitate to take further action, if necessary, in order to guarantee MSI meets the standard of care they expect and that its patients deserve.
The Department continues to monitor the situation with particular regard being had to the statutory approval responsibilities of the Secretary of State.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to initiate a serious case review into the case of the vulnerable adult who was imprisoned and abused by Keith and Caroline Baker.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
The decision as to whether to carry out a Safeguarding Adult Review is a matter for the relevant Safeguarding Adult Board.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the conviction of Gareth Malachy Doris for fuel laundering offences, whether the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will revoke his licence in accordance with the terms of the Good Friday Agreement.
Answered by Lord Dunlop
Protecting the safety and security of the people of Northern Ireland will always be our first priority.
Prisoners released under the terms of The Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act 1998 will have been released on either a Life or a Determinate licence, depending on the sentence handed down by the courts at the time of conviction. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland may suspend the licence of an individual released under the terms of this Act if he believes that the person concerned has broken or is likely to break a condition of the licence, providing the licence handed down by the courts has not expired. Individuals released by the courts on a Determinate licence would be eligible for a licence suspension until the date their licence expires and those released on a life licence will remain eligible for a licence suspension for the remainder of their lives.
Asked by: Lord Morrow (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 6 December (HL3671) concerning the actions taken by police after the victim of Keith and Caroline Baker was reported missing from her home in England in 2004, why no assessment has been made; and whether they now intend to review the actions taken by police.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
This is an operational matter for the police and it would not be appropriate for the Department to undertake a review of police actions in this case.