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166365

registered interest
date	26/11/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Abortion
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2014 to Question 210749, if his Department will seek confirmation of the compliance of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) with his Department's guidance and required standard operating procedures by reviewing BPAS publications and information; and whether his Department considers it necessary for BPAS to make amendments to page 8 of its publication British Abortion Law, what it says, and why, in order to achieve such compliance.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	216106
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2014 answer text <p>The Government has been consistently clear that abortion on the grounds of gender alone is illegal and the Department of Health repeated this in new guidance issued in May 2014.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>All independent sector providers have agreed to comply with and operate on the basis of the Department’s new guidance and must do so as part of their licensing conditions.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 03/12/2014 16:21:56 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

166366

registered interest
date	26/11/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	IVF
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission an assessment of the implications for his policies of the full text and research of the study by John Zhang et al, published in Fertility and Sterility, Vol. 80, Suppl. 3, September 2003, as part of his Department's consideration of the safety of pronuclear transfer.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	216104
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2014 answer text <p>The research study referred to has not been published in full and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s Expert Panel has established with the research group that nothing further will be published.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 03/12/2014 17:03:04 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

166367

registered interest
date	26/11/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Pregnancy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what definition of pregnancy is used by his Department for the purposes of sexual health policy.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	216105
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2014 answer text <p>It is established in law that pregnancy begins at implantation rather than fertilisation.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 03/12/2014 16:08:51 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

164152

registered interest
date	21/11/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	North Korea
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of radio broadcasts to North Korea as a means of engagement with ordinary North Koreans on issues such as human rights.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	215562
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2014 answer text <p>The best available source of information on access to media devices in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is a survey conducted by InterMedia as part of its 2012 report ‘A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment’. http://audiencescapes.org/sites/default/files/A_Quiet_Opening_FINAL_InterMedia.pdf. The report includes a section on the effectiveness of radio broadcasts which is best read in context and taking into account the authors’ caveats about the report’s findings. It is clear that, for those North Koreans willing and able to take the risk of listening, cross-border radio broadcasts can provide access to information that is otherwise not available within the DPRK. There are a number of radio stations that broadcast into the DPRK for this reason. Without further information, it is difficult to quantify the effectiveness of these stations.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 28/11/2014 15:26:57 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

164153

registered interest
date	21/11/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	North Korea
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to implement its objective of improving human rights in North Korea in addition to talks with counterparts in the North Korean government.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	215563
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/11/2014 answer text <p>We are maintaining pressure on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) human rights record through international fora such as the UN Security Council and the United Nations Human Rights Council. Most recently this has involved working with EU colleagues and Japan to sponsor a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee and lobbying to ensure it was adopted by a significant majority, sending an important signal that the systematic and widespread human rights violations in the DPRK will no longer be ignored by the international community.</p> answering member constituency East Devon answering member printed Mr Hugo Swire question first answered 27/11/2014 14:28:50 answering member 1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

156283

registered interest
date	18/11/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	IVF
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to page 15 of Mitochondrial Donation: Government response to the consultation on draft regulations to permit the use of new treatment techniques to prevent the transmission of a serious mitochondrial disease from mother to child, published in July 2014, what the evidential basis is for the statement that donated mitochondrial DNA will not affect personal characteristics.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	215106
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2014 answer text <p>Physical characteristics and personality traits are inherited from parents’ nuclear DNA. Whole mitochondrial DNA genome sequencing has revealed no evidence of nuclear genomic DNA inside mitochondria and data on the human genome available in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases confirms that there is no nuclear genomic DNA in the mitochondria. The Revised Cambridge Reference Sequence of the Human Mitochondrial DNA, which can be found at:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="https://wtoutlook.wellcome.ac.uk/OWA/redir.aspx?C=OY5Ca06YIkStrydor-fyawAWM0rJaNEIQZOF7ynJO3PqA3uFGov62nxpesH4_vBBclsLZLTfszc.&amp;URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.mitomap.org%2fMITOMAP%2fHumanMitoSeq" target="_blank">http://www.mitomap.org/MITOMAP/HumanMitoSeq</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>details the whole mitochondrial DNA genome sequence, the codons, the proteins and the genes encoded for. All genes encoded for by mitochondrial DNA are involved in energy production, rather than governing personal characteristics and traits.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Any child born as a result of the use of mitochondrial donation techniques will be genetically unique and will have a natural combination of nuclear genes from both parents but not the mitochondrial donor. As mentioned by the Chief Medical Officer, mitochondrial DNA only encodes genes responsible for energy production and will not affect the child’s appearance, personality or any other personal characteristics.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison grouped question UIN 215107 question first answered 25/11/2014 17:31:22 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

156285

registered interest
date	18/11/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	IVF
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the comments of the Chief Medical Officer of 10 November 2014 that children born through mitochondrial transfer techniques will only have the characteristics any other child would have in that family accord with the view of his Department; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	215107
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/11/2014 answer text <p>Physical characteristics and personality traits are inherited from parents’ nuclear DNA. Whole mitochondrial DNA genome sequencing has revealed no evidence of nuclear genomic DNA inside mitochondria and data on the human genome available in the ENSEMBL and OMIM databases confirms that there is no nuclear genomic DNA in the mitochondria. The Revised Cambridge Reference Sequence of the Human Mitochondrial DNA, which can be found at:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="https://wtoutlook.wellcome.ac.uk/OWA/redir.aspx?C=OY5Ca06YIkStrydor-fyawAWM0rJaNEIQZOF7ynJO3PqA3uFGov62nxpesH4_vBBclsLZLTfszc.&amp;URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.mitomap.org%2fMITOMAP%2fHumanMitoSeq" target="_blank">http://www.mitomap.org/MITOMAP/HumanMitoSeq</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>details the whole mitochondrial DNA genome sequence, the codons, the proteins and the genes encoded for. All genes encoded for by mitochondrial DNA are involved in energy production, rather than governing personal characteristics and traits.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Any child born as a result of the use of mitochondrial donation techniques will be genetically unique and will have a natural combination of nuclear genes from both parents but not the mitochondrial donor. As mentioned by the Chief Medical Officer, mitochondrial DNA only encodes genes responsible for energy production and will not affect the child’s appearance, personality or any other personal characteristics.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison grouped question UIN 215106 question first answered 25/11/2014 17:31:22 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

155920

registered interest
date	17/11/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Pregnancy: Screening
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what measures are in place to ensure high uptake of foetal abnormality tests in the first trimester of pregnancy; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	214756
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2014 answer text <p>The NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme (FASP) offers screening to all pregnant women in England in the first trimester to assess the risk of the baby being born with Down’s syndrome or a number of fetal anomalies (structural abnormalities with how the fetus has developed).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>FASP is committed to supporting individual informed choice and has no measures in place to increase the uptake of screening for fetal anomaly. Through the development of high quality educational resources and information, the programme supports health professionals in being able to discuss screening choices with women and their partners so that they can decide, based on their own circumstances, whether or not screening is right for them.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The decision to have a screening test is always a personal choice and one which can only be made by the woman. Some women may choose not to be screened at all, or only for certain conditions and it is important that this choice is respected.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Central Suffolk and North Ipswich answering member printed Dr Daniel Poulter question first answered 24/11/2014 15:07:25 answering member 3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

155928

registered interest
date	17/11/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Pregnancy: Screening
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many women (a) accepted and (b) refused biochemical serum screening in 2012.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	214757
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2014 answer text <p>The NHS Fetal Anomaly Screening Programme (FASP) offers screening to all pregnant women in England to assess the risk of a baby being born with Down’s syndrome or a number of fetal anomalies (structural abnormalities with how the fetus has developed). The decision to have a screening test is always a personal choice.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The first scan usually takes place between 10 to 14 weeks and includes a blood test for Down’s syndrome, known as biochemical serum screening. FASP do not collect or collate data at a national level for the uptake of screening for Down’s syndrome.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Down’s Syndrome Screening Quality Assurance Support Service (DQASS), commissioned by Public Health England, can provide data at a national level on the number of completed screening tests for Down’s syndrome. The data for 2012 and 2013 are presented in the following table.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Biochemical serum screening tests completed in 2012 and 2013</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>First trimester tests</p></td><td><p>Second trimester tests</p></td><td><p>Integrated tests*</p></td><td><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>455,995</p></td><td><p>100,371</p></td><td><p>3,796</p></td><td><p>560,162</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>468,172</p></td><td><p>89,959</p></td><td><p>2,892</p></td><td><p>561,023</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>*Integrated tests are combined first and second trimester screening.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Central Suffolk and North Ipswich answering member printed Dr Daniel Poulter question first answered 24/11/2014 17:06:24 answering member 3932 label Biography information for Dr Dan Poulter
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce

155470

registered interest
date	11/11/2014
answering body	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept id	16
answering dept short name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign and Commonwealth Office
hansard heading	Central African Republic
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what (a) technical and (b) financial assistance the UK plans to provide to the Central African Republic for disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration.
tabling member constituency	Congleton
tabling member printed	Fiona Bruce
uin	214361
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p>The UN Mission to the Central African Republic (CAR), MINUSCA, assumed responsibility for peacekeeping in CAR on 15 September. MINUSCA is funded from the UN’s Peacekeeping Budget, to which the UK is a significant contributor.</p><p>The mission’s mandate specifies that it should provide “support for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former armed elements, with specific attention to children, and the repatriation of foreign elements, as well as community violence-reduction programmes”. However, the Mission remains in its early stages and has faced operational challenges due to high levels of violence across the country. Once security improves, and staff numbers increase, the UN will, with the support of the international community, begin to take forward work aimed at disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of rebel fighters.</p><p>We remain in regular contact with the MINUSCA leadership. An experienced Foreign and Commonwealth diplomat, Diane Corner, started as the UN Secretary General’s Deputy Special Representative to MINUSCA on 1 September.</p> answering member constituency Rochford and Southend East answering member printed James Duddridge grouped question UIN 214362 question first answered 18/11/2014 16:15:31 answering member 1559 label Biography information for Sir James Duddridge
tabling member	3958 label Biography information for Fiona Bruce