Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to encourage insurance companies to set travel insurance premiums for the elderly based on their state of health rather than their age.

Andrea Leadsom

Insurers take into account a range of different factors when considering risk and decisions concerning the pricing of insurance products are a commercial matter for individual insurers. The Government does not seek to intervene in these decisions.

The insurance industry recognises that older people can face difficulties finding appropriate travel insurance and in 2012 signed an agreement, endorsed by the Government, to re-direct older customers to an alternative insurer or to a specialist insurance broker where they cannot provide insurance themselves.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he or officials of his Department have had on the effects of digestion of sycamore tree seeds on horses; and what estimate he has made of the number of horses that have died as a result of ingesting such seeds.

George Eustice

Digestion of sycamore seeds can cause equine atypical myopathy. However, like many other equine illnesses, such as strangles and equine influenza, this is not a notifiable disease so there has been no need for active government intervention.

Defra works closely with the Animal Health Trust (AHT) and the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) in identifying cases of this emerging condition in the British equine population. This includes monitoring scientific developments and inclusion of data in the joint Defra/AHT/BEVA Equine Quarterly Disease Surveillance Report published on the AHT’s website.

This type of surveillance and communication enables private veterinarians to advise horse keepers to avoid pasture containing sycamore trees during high risk periods and to provide additional forage on fields where grazing is poor. This should be sufficient to mitigate against this illness. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep in touch with the equine veterinary profession to be aware of developments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps the Government is taking with banks and credit card companies to ensure PPI repayments are made in full.

Andrea Leadsom

It is important that consumers get the redress which they are due. Ensuring that banks provide appropriate redress for their customers is a matter for the independent regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

The Government is supportive of action taken by the FCA to recompense customers for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) and prevent cases of mis-selling in the future through regulatory action. The FCA has stated that it is keeping a close eye on how the industry handles all PPI complaints and will be quick to challenge anything it thinks is unfair.

I have asked the FCA to write to the Member in more detail about action being taken in regard to PPI. A copy of the response will be placed in the Library of the House.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of black-backed gulls.

George Eustice

Defra is not taking action to reduce the number of lesser or great black-backed gulls. Like all wild birds, gulls are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Under this Act it is an offence to kill or injure any wild bird; to take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built; and take or destroy an egg of any wild bird.

However, Natural England has issued general licences for gulls which allow users to kill or take lesser black-backed gulls, to take, damage or destroy their nests or take or destroy their eggs, for a range of purposes. These include protection against damage to livestock or crops, or where the gulls are posing a risk to public health and safety. General licences need not be applied for by users, as long as they meet the conditions of the licence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-04.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people having difficulty making mortgage repayments have requested help from the Financial Ombudsman Service in each of the last three years.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government does not collect data on the number of cases referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The FOS routinely collects and publishes statistics about the complaints referred to them, which they make publicly available on their website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what the value of (a) exports to and (b) imports from Egypt was in each of the last three years.

Hugh Robertson

According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), UK imports from Egypt were worth £1.36 billion in 2010, 1.41 billion in 2011 and 1.21 billion in 2012. Over the same period, UK exports to Egypt were worth £1.77 billion in 2010, 1.70 billion in 2011 and 1.59 billion in 2012. ONS figures from 2013 will be published in October 2014.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has to hold further D-Day commemorations.

Anna Soubry

Following the very successful commemorations to mark this year’s 70th anniversary of D Day we will be discussing with the Normandy Veterans Association how we might approach future commemorations once the Association disbands later this year. We are sure that veterans will continue to return annually as long as they are able and that particular plans will again be made as the 75th anniversary, another significant milestone, approaches.