Consultation on 'Co-operating to safeguard children and young people in Northern Ireland'

This draft policy has been updated to reflect changes in structures and legislation. The draft policy outlines how communities, organisations and individuals must work to ensure children and young people in Northern Ireland are safeguarded as effectively as possible. Consultation Documents Draft Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People (PDF 356KB) Draft Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People (MS WORD 463KB) Co-operating to Safeguard Children and Young People - (easy read) (PDF 15MB) Preliminary Equality Screening, Disability Duties and Human Rights Assessment (PDF 99KB) Regulatory Impact Assessment, and Rural proofing Assessments (PDF 37KB)   Consultation Response Questionnaire Consultation Response Questionnaire (MS Word 38KB)   How to respond to the consultation Please use the questionnaire to tell us your views on the draft policy. An Equality Impact Assessment, a Regulatory Impact Assessment and Rural Proofing templates are attached in respect of the draft policy. The deadline for responses is 5.00 pm on 21 August 2015. Please email the questionnaire response to: Child.Safeguarding@dhsspsni.gov.uk Or post it to: DHSSPSNIChild Safeguarding Policy TeamRoom A3.5Castle BuildingsStormont EstateBelfastBT4 3SQ The Department will consider requests to produce this document in other languages or in alternative formats – Braille, audio, large print or as a PDF document. If you require the document in these or other formats please contact us using the details provided above or telephone 02890522543.

Consultation on Regulations Under the Tobacco Retailers Act (Northern Ireland) 2014

The Department of Health Social Services and Public is seeking views on three sets of draft regulations under the Tobacco Retailers Act (Northern Ireland) 2014. The Act, which completed its passage through the Assembly in March 2014, aims to reduce youth smoking prevalence by making it more difficult for children and young people to access tobacco products.

Statistics on Smoking Cessation Services in Northern Ireland: 2014/15

This information release, produced by the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety’s Information and Analysis Directorate, provides information on smoking cessation services. Data are included on the monitoring of smoking cessation services in Northern Ireland during the period 1st April 2014 to 31st March 2015. This report also provides an analysis of data collected in 2014/15 in respect of clients who set a quit date during 2013/14 (52 week follow-up). Information contained within this report was downloaded from a web based recording system. Figures here are correct as of 1st September 2015. The Ten Year Tobacco Control Strategy for Northern Ireland aims to see fewer people starting to smoke, more smokers quitting and protecting people from tobacco smoke. It is aimed at the entire population of Northern Ireland as smoking and its harmful effects cut across all barriers of class, race and gender. There is a strong relationship between smoking and inequalities, with more people dying of smoking-related illnesses in disadvantaged areas of Northern Ireland than in its more affluent areas. In order to ensure that more focused action is directed to where it is needed the most, three priority groups have been identified. They are: · Children and young people; · Disadvantaged people who smoke; and · Pregnant women, and their partners, who smoke. The Public Health Agency (PHA) is responsible for implementing the strategy and the development of cessation services is a key element of the overall aim to tackle smoking. The 2013/14 Health Survey Northern Ireland reported that 22% of adults currently smoke (23% of males and 21% of females). In addition, in 2013, the Young Persons’ Behaviour and Attitude Survey (YPBAS) found that 6% of pupils aged between and 11 and 16 smoked (7% of males and 5% of females).      

Child Sexual Exploitation in Northern Ireland Report of the Independent Inquiry (PDF 2.73MB)

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), led by Kathleen Marshall In September 2013, a Ministerial Summit was held on the theme of child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Northern Ireland. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) referred to Operation Owl, an investigation of allegations of CSE in Northern Ireland, which had resulted in a number of adults being interviewed and some being arrested. Two weeks later, the then Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Edwin Poots, announced three actions to address this issue: an ongoing PSNI investigation focusing on 22 children and young people; a thematic review of these cases by the Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland (SBNI); and an independent, expert-led inquiry into CSE in Northern Ireland, to be commissioned by the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety and the Minister of Justice. The Minister for Education agreed that the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) would enjoin the Inquiry in relation to schools and the effectiveness of the statutory curriculum with respect to CSE. The Inquiry was to focus on both children and young people living at home in the community and those living in care. This is an executive summary of the report of this Inquiry.    

National Physical Activity Plan for Ireland

There is strong evidence to support the multiple benefits of physical activity to health and wellbeing. It promotes healthy growth and development in children and young people. It contributes to cognitive function. It is important for healthy ageing and helps to maintain quality of life and independence when we grow older. It is also a preventative factor for many non-communicable diseases. This Plan focuses on different types of actions, some immediate and some more long-term and sustainable solutions, which recognise that behaviour change is complex, challenging and takes time. This does not merely focus on overcoming deficits but concentrates on solutions and strengths and reshaping the environment for physical activity.    

Health in Ireland: Key Trends 2015

Health in Ireland Key Trends gives us insights into trends in demographics, population health, hospital and primary care and health service employment and expenditure. The presentation of trend data over the last decade in the 2015 report highlights the many significant achievements that Ireland has made in terms of key outcomes relating to the health and wellbeing of the population. However, it also highlights the challenges that persist in terms of the accessibility of timely healthcare and in the context of financial constraints. In the last decade alone, there has been an increase of two and a half years in life expectancy. These gains are driven largely by reductions in mortality rates from principal causes of deaths such as those from heart disease and cancer. Another striking feature is the growth in the number of people aged over 65. Each year this cohort increases by 20,000 people. This trend is set to continue into the future and will have implications for future planning and health service delivery. Ireland will see the largest proportional increases in the population aged 85 years and older. Ageing of the population in conjunction with lifestyle-related health threats continue to present major challenges now and into the future in sustaining and further improving health and health services in Ireland. Although difficult to quantify, the contribution of modern health services to these improvements in health outcomes and in life expectancy have been significant. Ireland’s fertility rates are still among the highest in Europe but the birth rate has fallen to its lowest rate for the last decade.  However, Ireland currently has the highest proportion of children and young people in our population among EU countries.  

Parental alcohol use and resilience in young people: A study of family, peer and school processes

Funded by HSC R&D Division, Public Health Agency Parental alcohol misuse or ‘hidden harm’ presents a very significant challenge to public health policy and practice in the UK and internationally. A parent’s alcohol problems can have a profound impact on their children. Children depend on their family to meet their physical, psychological and social needs, their economic security and well-being, all of which can be jeopardised by parents misusing substances (NACD, 2011). The prevalence of parental alcohol misuse is extremely difficult to estimate, due to the ‘hidden’ nature of the problem within the family unit. Approximately 40,000 children in Northern Ireland are estimated to live with parental alcohol misuse (DHSSPS, 2008). In the UK, 30% of children (3.3 to 3.5 million) under 16 years, live with at least one binge drinking parent and 22% of children (2.6. million) with a hazardous drinker (Manning et al., 2009).