Fiona Bruce: The Cheshire ArcAngel team does excellent work to combat under-age drinking and sales to under-age drinkers, including working with responsible retailers. Licensing officers inform me, however, that current procedures make enforcement action unwieldy and protracted, even when a sale to an under-age individual has clearly occurred. Will the Minister look into enforcement difficulties, such as...
Fiona Bruce: Hon. Members have highlighted the importance of ensuring that we improve the life chances of children growing up in underprivileged circumstances. This is a timely and important debate, and I am glad to be able to contribute. I shall highlight two issues. First, we should recognise, encourage and support the good work that already takes place in local communities to help parents nurture and...
Fiona Bruce: I do so agree. In fact, that was the subject of my very first question in the House, some months ago, and I look forward eagerly to hearing the Government's response to the idea of such a scheme being put into action. I thank my hon. Friend for raising it again; that is a timely reminder. As the mother of two teenage boys with the benefit of a supportive wider family, I want to promote and...
Fiona Bruce: My hon. Friend makes an excellent point that I shall reflect on later when I talk about the importance of strengthening relationships between parents. Teaching parenting and relationship skills in schools is part of the solution, so that people really understand what it means to enter into a committed relationship. Some of the best support and encouragement for those without such a role model...
Fiona Bruce: What steps the Church Commissioners are taking to help support Christians in Sudan.
Fiona Bruce: I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. It looks as though there will be a new state of Southern Sudan, but it will face enormous challenges. Meanwhile, Christian minorities in the north of Sudan will face continued persecution, as organisations such as Christian Solidarity Worldwide have highlighted during many years of work across Sudan. Will the Church of England do what it can to support...
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what total public expenditure in England in 2009-10 was as a proportion of gross domestic product.
Fiona Bruce: I welcome the Bill as a catalyst to support, release and empower the vibrant and often untapped resources in our local communities. In recent years, many individuals and community groups have been hindered in making valuable contributions to community life by impenetrable bureaucracy and the centralised setting of priorities, or simply by a sense of disconnect between what happens in the...
Fiona Bruce: I have confidence in my local authority's ability to make discerning decisions about the services required and, wherever possible, to take advantage of the excellent professional expertise that many local organisations and community groups now offer.
Fiona Bruce: I so agree. The Bill provides mechanisms for greater partnership working and that, in turn, will help to release greater community energy. The Bill sends out a signal to residents, community groups and local businesses that their views and contributions really matter-indeed, that they are invaluable if we are to enjoy the kind of local communities in which so many people whom we represent...
Fiona Bruce: We have heard today about some excellent initiatives involving skills training, apprenticeships and mentoring for business. What concerns me is that many owners and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises spend their days with their heads down, concentrating on their businesses. What we need to do is communicate the opportunities to them. What can the Minister do to reassure me that...
Fiona Bruce: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for giving me the opportunity to highlight the need for a more co-ordinated approach to the teaching of financial capability to ensure that no young person leaves school without the benefit of that critical life skill. Financial capability can be briefly described as the ability to manage one's own finances and to become an informed consumer of financial...
Fiona Bruce: Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker. I believe that financial literacy is an essential element of every young person's education. Including it in the curriculum would decrease the cost to so many people-and to the nation-of personal debt, family breakdown and ill health. Even more important, it would enable all young people to embark on adulthood with a vital tool, and to realise their full...
Fiona Bruce: Let me end by saying that I know my concerns are shared by a number of Members, and that I look forward to hearing the contribution of my hon. Friend the Member for North Swindon (Justin Tomlinson) shortly.
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if her Department will (a) commission and (b) publish the conclusions of an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of (i) the Blue Blindfold campaign and (ii) other prevention activities funded by her Department.
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to her Department's Update to the UK Action Plan on Tackling Human Trafficking, October 2009, what progress has been made in respect of each of the eight action points on prevention.
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with her international counterparts on co-ordination of efforts to (a) raise public awareness of and (b) prevent human trafficking.
Fiona Bruce: There is considerable concern among many parents that elements of the current sex and relationships education contribute to the early sexualisation of children. What can the Secretary of State do to reassure the House that parents and governors will have significant local input into the framework for sex and relationships education in the curriculum review, so that they can know what is being...
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking in support of the human rights of Christians who have been imprisoned, tortured or persecuted as a consequence of seeking to practise their faith in Afghanistan.
Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what plans he has to address the commercialisation and premature sexualisation of childhood.