Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what estimate he has made of the number of people living in the United Kingdom who will be eligible for the Republic of Ireland's Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
The Government has not made any estimate of the number of people living in the United Kingdom who will be eligible for the scheme. Eligibility is ultimately a matter for the Irish Government.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with the Government of the Republic of Ireland on the impact of the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme on those eligible living in the UK.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
I have not had any discussions with the Irish Government on this topic. Details of the scheme are ultimately a matter for the Irish Government.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential merits of introducing a disregard for recipients of the Republic of Ireland’s Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme compensation.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
I have not had any discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on this topic. Details of the scheme are a matter for the Irish Government.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has had discussions with Health and Social Care Northern Ireland on its response to potential cervical screening errors at the Southern Health and Social Care Trust between January 2008 and October 2021.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris
I recognise the seriousness of concerns regarding cervical screening services that the honourable member raises. This is a devolved matter and responsibility rests with the Northern Ireland Department of Health.
The Government will continue to engage with women’s groups and the Department of Health to ensure that all women in Northern Ireland are receiving the care they need.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what progress the Government has made on discussions on checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Answered by Steve Baker
The Government is engaging in constructive dialogue with the EU to find solutions to the problems with the Protocol.
The Government does not give a running commentary on these discussions.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of resources for tackling NHS waiting times in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Conor Burns
The Executive has committed to transforming the health service through its Elective Care Framework, and to reducing waiting lists by 2026. In support, the Government is providing £445 million for the transformation of public services in Northern Ireland. This is in addition to the £15 billion per year we provide on average for this purpose, which is the largest funding settlement since devolution.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with the Northern Ireland Executive on the potential merits of including (a) endometriosis and (b) menstrual wellbeing in the health and wellbeing school curriculum in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robin Walker
I thank the Honourable Lady for her question on these important issues. Endometriosis affects 10% of women from puberty to menopause - over 1.5m in the UK - and we recognise the importance of the provision of education and information on these matters.
I am in regular contact with ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive on a range of important topics, including healthcare. As you will be aware, the Rebuilding Health & Social Care Strategic Framework was published by Minister Swann on 9 June.
However, education and the content of the school curriculum, including on health and wellbeing, in Northern Ireland are devolved matters for the Education Minister to carefully consider.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment he has had made of the implications for his policies of the findings on pages 24 and 26 of the APPG on Endometriosis Inquiry Report 2020 entitled Endometriosis in the UK: time for change, that suggests prior to covid-19, a person suffering from endometriosis in Northern Ireland will wait on average more than 2 years for a laparoscopy, compared to 4 months in England, and what steps he is taking to address this.
Answered by Robin Walker
The Executive’s focus, rightly and understandably, has been on Covid-19. But the pandemic has highlighted the need for urgent health reform in Northern Ireland and as a result, the Rebuilding Health & Social Care Strategic Framework was published by Minister Swann on 9 June.
The UK Government supports the Executive’s commitment to health and social care reform and the £2 billion committed over five years to facilitate NDNA commitments includes around £245m to support the transformation of public services.
As the hon Member will be aware, health and the allocation of funding for public services are devolved matters, within the competence of the Northern Ireland Executive. This includes consideration of the APPG’s recommendations on diagnosis times and surgery waiting times.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps the Government is taking to support women from Northern Ireland who are required to travel to England, Scotland or Wales to access abortion services during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Robin Walker
Since the law on abortion in Northern Ireland changed following the Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 coming into force in March 2020, the UK Government has continued to fund arrangements to enable women resident in Northern Ireland to have access to safe abortion services in England under the Abortion Act 1967. The Northern Ireland abortion scheme has been in place in England since June 2017 and the Department of Health and Social Care administers the scheme on behalf of the Government Equalities Office.
The Central Booking Service can also continue to be contacted for support and advice on options available to access abortion services at present. If services are required, all costs of the procedure, including travel and, where needed, accommodation, will be paid for, with no means testing required.
We are continuing to monitor the services being provided where any women and girls from Northern Ireland are still seeking to access services through this scheme.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to ensure the swift and comprehensive commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland by the Northern Ireland Department of Health; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robin Walker
Following the Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 that the Government made having come into force in March 2020, we have been working to deliver, through the Northern Ireland Department of Health (DoH), the full commissioning of abortion services, in line with the Regulations we made.
Some service provision has commenced on the ground in Northern Ireland through existing sexual and reproductive health clinics across most Health and Social Care Trusts. I and my officials are in regular contact with DoH in order to understand progress towards the full commissioning of services as soon as possible so that women and girls in Northern Ireland have access to high-quality abortion care in a range of circumstances, equivalent to the rest of the UK.