Asked by: Andrew Selous (Conservative - South West Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the proposed reducing interparental conflict programme, how local authorities will be encouraged to ensure that children in low-income and workless families benefit from any support provided by that programme.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Local authorities, and the partners they work with, are best placed to understand what support the families in their area need. DWP will be working with 30 local authorities to help build our understanding of how to do this well, through providing face-to-face support for disadvantaged (including low income and workless) families experiencing conflict. Local authorities will be responsible for identifying families experiencing damaging parental conflict and referring them to appropriate interventions, making sure that the parents who need help are offered support.
To help local areas do this, we will make training and guidance for frontline practitioners and relationship support professionals available in all local areas in England. We will support managers and commissioners to understand why and how to address parental conflict; support frontline staff to recognise parental conflict; and offer appropriate advice to make sure that they are able to refer parents to appropriate services.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, whether her Department has a carer's policy for its employees; and what other steps her Department has taken to support employees with caring responsibilities.
Answered by Alistair Burt
DFID’s People Policies provide discretion and opportunity to support employees who have caring responsibilities. Our flexible working policy provides employees with caring responsibility the ability to combine and balance personal and work responsibilities, and our leave policy includes discretion to approve longer term leave to help employees where there is a need to respond to a life changing event that requires them to take on more or new caring responsibilities. DFID’s counselling service in the form of an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) is available to all employees who need personal support for a range of issues, including work stress, coping with change, depression, marriage/relationship issues, legal concerns, parenting issues, financial problems and more. This service is available 24 hours per day, 365 days a year. DFID employees also have access to a variety of valuable networks. These include a Listening, Parents of Disabled Children, Carers for Vulnerable Adults and Parent Support Networks.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what training NHS nurses receive about the physical and emotional consequences of late-term abortions: and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
In line with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ (RCOG) clinical guidelines, feticide should be performed before medical abortion after 21 weeks and six days of gestation to ensure that there is no risk of a live birth.
As set out in the RCOG guideline on Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality, live birth following termination of pregnancy before 21 weeks and six days of gestation is very uncommon. The guideline can be viewed at:
https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/terminationpregnancyreport18may2010.pdf
However, women and their partners should be counselled about this unlikely possibility and staff should be trained to deal with this eventuality.
Where the fetal abnormality is not compatible with survival, termination of pregnancy after 21 weeks and six days of gestation without prior feticide may be preferred by some women. In such cases, the delivery management should be discussed and planned with the parents and all health professionals involved and a written care plan agreed before the termination takes place.
All employers have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. It is for abortion providers to ensure that appropriate training, support and, if needed, counselling is available for all staff performing late term abortion.
Information on the number of live births following termination of pregnancy is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many babies were born alive after an unsuccessful abortion procedure in each year since 2006 for which figures are available; how many of those babies survived beyond infancy in those years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
In line with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ (RCOG) clinical guidelines, feticide should be performed before medical abortion after 21 weeks and six days of gestation to ensure that there is no risk of a live birth.
As set out in the RCOG guideline on Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality, live birth following termination of pregnancy before 21 weeks and six days of gestation is very uncommon. The guideline can be viewed at:
https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/terminationpregnancyreport18may2010.pdf
However, women and their partners should be counselled about this unlikely possibility and staff should be trained to deal with this eventuality.
Where the fetal abnormality is not compatible with survival, termination of pregnancy after 21 weeks and six days of gestation without prior feticide may be preferred by some women. In such cases, the delivery management should be discussed and planned with the parents and all health professionals involved and a written care plan agreed before the termination takes place.
All employers have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. It is for abortion providers to ensure that appropriate training, support and, if needed, counselling is available for all staff performing late term abortion.
Information on the number of live births following termination of pregnancy is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequate provision of (a) support and (b) counselling for healthcare professionals involved in late-term abortions who witness babies being born alive; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jackie Doyle-Price
In line with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ (RCOG) clinical guidelines, feticide should be performed before medical abortion after 21 weeks and six days of gestation to ensure that there is no risk of a live birth.
As set out in the RCOG guideline on Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality, live birth following termination of pregnancy before 21 weeks and six days of gestation is very uncommon. The guideline can be viewed at:
https://www.rcog.org.uk/globalassets/documents/guidelines/terminationpregnancyreport18may2010.pdf
However, women and their partners should be counselled about this unlikely possibility and staff should be trained to deal with this eventuality.
Where the fetal abnormality is not compatible with survival, termination of pregnancy after 21 weeks and six days of gestation without prior feticide may be preferred by some women. In such cases, the delivery management should be discussed and planned with the parents and all health professionals involved and a written care plan agreed before the termination takes place.
All employers have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. It is for abortion providers to ensure that appropriate training, support and, if needed, counselling is available for all staff performing late term abortion.
Information on the number of live births following termination of pregnancy is not collected centrally.
Asked by: Daniel Zeichner (Labour - Cambridge)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when tenders for the new £30 million inter-parental conflict programme announced in April 2017 will be published.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government is committed to delivering the new programme of support for workless families, as announced in Improving Lives: Workless Families. We acknowledge that there have been some delays to our plans for the new programme, including the election hiatus. We will be coming forward with an opportunity to tender for organisations to deliver face-to-face interventions to reduce parental conflict next year, but at this point we are not able to confirm the exact timescales for this process.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have closed temporarily as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Two schools were temporarily closed as a result of the tragic Grenfell fire.
St Francis of Assisi Primary School was relocated to Sion Manning Secondary School for a short while, but has now returned to their own school.
Kensington Aldridge Academy remains temporarily closed. The Department for Education is working closely with the school, alongside the local authority, to provide the resources that they need. Pupils are currently being taught by Kensington Aldridge Academy staff at nearby Burlington Danes Academy and Latymer Upper School. Specialist counselling support and advice for children, young people and their families has been made available, along with a programme of summer activity.
Kensington Aldridge Academy staff and pupils want to return to their school as soon as possible. As it will not be possible to gain full access to the school over the coming months, a temporary school site will be developed, so that pupils can remain with their school community and continue their education. Pupils, parents and the local community are being kept informed.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what alternative arrangements have been made for young people unable to attend school as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Two schools were temporarily closed as a result of the tragic Grenfell fire.
St Francis of Assisi Primary School was relocated to Sion Manning Secondary School for a short while, but has now returned to their own school.
Kensington Aldridge Academy remains temporarily closed. The Department for Education is working closely with the school, alongside the local authority, to provide the resources that they need. Pupils are currently being taught by Kensington Aldridge Academy staff at nearby Burlington Danes Academy and Latymer Upper School. Specialist counselling support and advice for children, young people and their families has been made available, along with a programme of summer activity.
Kensington Aldridge Academy staff and pupils want to return to their school as soon as possible. As it will not be possible to gain full access to the school over the coming months, a temporary school site will be developed, so that pupils can remain with their school community and continue their education. Pupils, parents and the local community are being kept informed.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of the 11-plus exam of young people's mental health and well-being; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Schools that Work for Everyone consultation outlined proposals for increasing the number of good school places available, including proposals to allow existing selective schools to expand and new selective schools to open. We proposed in the consultation that new and expanding schools should ensure that there are opportunities to join selective schools at different ages, such as 14 and 16, as well as 11. The consultation closed on 12 December. The government is considering the submissions received and will publish its response in due course.
Good mental health and wellbeing are a priority for the Department. We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential, both academically and in terms of their mental health. There is a lot that schools can do to prepare pupils well to take tests and exams, and to help parents support their children. Good teaching is one of the most important factors in making sure that pupils feel ready. Good leaders know that positive mental wellbeing supports attainment, and make that part of the overall school ethos.
We want to look across the whole school system to identify where mental health provisions need to be improved, whether that is in schools or how we better connect schools into services that may be more specialised. We have supported schools by:
The Prime Minister’s speech in January has further emphasised this Government’s commitment to improve mental health for all children and young people and announced that the Departments for Health and Education would publish a green paper on CYP’s mental health
The Green Paper aims to secure effective activity from prevention to provision of specialist support, at different stages and different settings across health, education and care settings, as well as access to services, and the role of social media.
Asked by: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the effect of the 11-plus exam on young people's mental health and well-being was considered in the decision making process that resulted in the policy of expanding selective schools.
Answered by Edward Timpson
The Schools that Work for Everyone consultation outlined proposals for increasing the number of good school places available, including proposals to allow existing selective schools to expand and new selective schools to open. We proposed in the consultation that new and expanding schools should ensure that there are opportunities to join selective schools at different ages, such as 14 and 16, as well as 11. The consultation closed on 12 December. The government is considering the submissions received and will publish its response in due course.
Good mental health and wellbeing are a priority for the Department. We have high aspirations for all children and want them to be able to fulfil their potential, both academically and in terms of their mental health. There is a lot that schools can do to prepare pupils well to take tests and exams, and to help parents support their children. Good teaching is one of the most important factors in making sure that pupils feel ready. Good leaders know that positive mental wellbeing supports attainment, and make that part of the overall school ethos.
We want to look across the whole school system to identify where mental health provisions need to be improved, whether that is in schools or how we better connect schools into services that may be more specialised. We have supported schools by:
The Prime Minister’s speech in January has further emphasised this Government’s commitment to improve mental health for all children and young people and announced that the Departments for Health and Education would publish a green paper on CYP’s mental health
The Green Paper aims to secure effective activity from prevention to provision of specialist support, at different stages and different settings across health, education and care settings, as well as access to services, and the role of social media.