Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on ensuring NHS staff are appropriately trained in how to detect and report female genital mutilation (FGM) and support patients who have been subjected to FGM after the decision was taken to disband the specialist FGM team.

The Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Prevention Programme funded by the Department and partnered with NHS England concluded on 31 March 2018 – it was always the intention that the Programme would conclude at this point.

Since its launch, the Programme has worked closely with regional safeguarding teams across England, and these teams will be carrying on the work across the National Health Service in England to tackle FGM. Discussions, coordination and multi-agency work between the NHS and various partner agencies including the police and PPCs will therefore continue as part of this.

Governance and monitoring and planning was built into the FGM Prevention Programme framework since its launch in 2014, including plans to conclude the Programme and arrangements for the work to be taken forward after April 2018.

To support staff in their FGM prevention work, the FGM Prevention Programme developed a package of health-specific FGM materials providing guidance on safeguarding, commissioning of services, and guidance around the mandatory reporting duty It also held national awareness raising roadshows for over 6,000 professionals and commissioned comprehensive FGM e-learning with Health Education England, free to all NHS staff which has been completed by over 11,000 people on the e-learning for health website between January 2016 and February 2018.