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Tag: Jim Shannon

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to publish the results of the investigation of the recent death of babies due to bacillus cereus.

    Jane Ellison

    Bacillus cereus is a spore forming bacterium found widely in the environment in dust, soil and vegetation. There is limited prevention as it is a naturally occurring bacterium. However, the Food Standards Agency has published advice on their website which details information on potential food poisoning caused by Bacillus cereus.

    The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) undertake inspections of manufacturing facilities with reference to the standards of Good Manufacturing Practice to verify that companies are producing medicines that are of the correct quality and safety. The manufacture of sterile products, such as Total Parental Nutrition, is subject to special requirements in order to minimise risks of bacterial contamination.

    In the case of medicines, the MHRA and Public Health England (PHE) are currently investigating what has caused the recent incident where Total Parenteral Nutrition became contaminated with Bacillus cereus . Based on the information we currently have, we believe this is an isolated incident and the appropriate immediate action has been taken to avoid a recurrence.

    The devolved administrations have been informed of the current incident involving Bacillus cereus. The investigations into the cause of this incident are still ongoing. The Department will continue to discuss matters with the devolved administrations for minimising Bacillus cereus infection.

    The investigations being undertaken by MHRA and PHE are in their advanced stages and preliminary findings will be published as soon as possible. While the MHRA and PHE are undertaking their own investigations, it would be normal practice for the Coroner to report on the individual case he is currently considering.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the incidence of truancy was in schools in the latest period for which figures are available; and what steps he is taking to reduce it and to involve parents in those efforts.

    Elizabeth Truss

    Since the report by Charlie Taylor on improving school attendance, the Government’s focus has been on reducing absence overall and encouraging schools to address patterns of poor attendance early.

    To help schools do this, the Department for Education reduced the threshold at which pupils were classified as persistent absent, from 20% to 15% of sessions missed. In 2012, we increased the level of the school attendance penalty fines, from £50 and £100 to £60 and £120 respectively, and in 2013 reduced the overall timescales for paying fines from 42 to 28 days. The second most common reason for absence is family holiday, so we tightened the law in September 2013 so that headteachers could only grant requests for leave during term time in exceptional circumstances.

    Our reforms are working. In 2012/13, 300,895 pupils were persistently absent, down from 433,130 in 2009/10 – a fall of almost a third. 130,000 fewer pupils were missing 15% of school in 2012/13 compared to 2010/11. Overall absence rates are down from 6.3% of possible sessions missed in 2008/09 to 5.2% in 2012/13.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Colombian government on human rights and the deaths of striking agricultural workers.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The UK is fully engaged on a range of human rights issues in Colombia. The UK’s priority areas include access to justice, support to human rights defenders, work to prevent sexual violence against women and encouraging business to implement human rights protocols in their operations. The British Embassy continues to monitor and raise human rights issues with the Colombian government. The Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister both raised human rights with President Santos during their separate visits to Colombia in February.

    In June 2013, the British Embassy in Bogota met with representatives of peasant associations and civil society and requested that the Colombian government initiate dialogue and investigate the alleged excessive use of force during the social protests involving striking agricultural workers in Catatumbo. The British Embassy also raised concerns with the Finance Minister, Defence Minister and the Head of the Colombian police.

    On 17 March 2014, senior Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials in the UK also met with the visiting Colombian Vice-Fiscal, General, Jorge Perdomo, and discussed the progress made in the investigations into the deaths of the striking agricultural workers. They also discussed the reform of the Criminal Justice System, which would ensure the protection of fundamental human rights and the human rights situation in Colombia.

    Most recently on 9 April 2014, senior FCO Officials in the UK and the British Embassy in Colombia discussed the Colombia chapter in the FCO’s 2013 Annual Human Rights Report, in which we raised the need for conclusive investigations into members of the security forces accused of excessive use of force during the protests of June to August 2013.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-05-06.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what economic links there are with Burma; and what the value of (a) exports to and (b) imports from Burma was in the last year for which figures are available.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    Building a sustainable economy in Burma, including increased responsible international investment, is key to economic growth, alleviating poverty, improving livelihoods and improving stability. As set out in the ‘UK Activities in Burma’ document published on 8 April alongside a Written Ministerial Statement, the Government is working to encourage and support Burma to remove barriers to becoming a stable, prosperous and democratic country with a sustainable economy that benefits all its people and created a positive climate for domestic, international and UK trade and investment.

    We are active in several areas including:
    – establishing a UK Trade and Investment office in Burma to provide practical support to British companies;
    – establishing a UK Financial Services Task Force to support the development of sound financial structures and products;
    – funding two specialist economists from the International Growth Centre to support the Myanmar Development Resource Institute in providing high quality advice to government;
    – providing £1.1m to support Burma’s application to the Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative which will help improve the transparency and accountability of the revenues from Burma’s natural resources.
    – supporting work to strengthen Burma’s accountancy profession, to tackle financial crime and to increase local community involvement in investment decisions.

    UK exports of goods to Burma in 2013 were worth £44m (a 243% year on year increase) and imports from Burma were worth £65m (a 44% year on year increase). The top UK exports were transport equipment and road vehicles whilst the top imports were clothing.

    In 2012, the last year for which total goods and services figures are available, UK exports of goods and services to Burma were worth £20.8m and imports from Burma were worth £46m.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people with motor neurone disease have been treated by the NHS with iGaze technology in each of the last five years.

    Norman Lamb

    Data on the number of people diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) is not collected. However, it is estimated that there are about 5,000 people living with MND in the United Kingdom.

    Information regarding the number of people with MND who are using ‘eye gaze’ technology, a type of specialised augmentative and assistive communication aid, is not held centrally.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of hedgehogs in the UK in each of the last three years.

    George Eustice

    No estimates of hedgehog populations have been made by Defra in the last three years. However, a report ‘The State of Britain’s Hedgehogs’ was published in 2011 by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species. It estimates that hedgehog numbers were approximately 1.5 million in 1995. The report is available online at:

    www.ptes.org/files/1428_sobh2011lowres.pdf

    “

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-16.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passports were processed by the Belfast Passport Office in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those passports were processed within three weeks.

    James Brokenshire

    Her Majesty’s Passport Office (HMPO) does not collect performance data at this
    level. HMPO monitors performance at national level as it distributes work across the
    UK estate to manage any variation in local levels of passport demand.
    The cost of identifying information in the format requested would be disproprtionate.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to reduce funding for hearing aids in 2014-15.

    Norman Lamb

    The level of provision of hearing aids is a matter for local commissioners and is based on the needs of the local population.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-01.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many instances of Alabama Rot there have been in dogs in the UK.

    George Eustice

    Alabama Rot is the name commonly being given to the newly emerged condition in dogs, known by its clinical and pathological description as ‘Cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy’. Whilst this new condition, which appears seasonally, seems very similar to Alabama Rot, we do not know that they have the same cause.

    Investigation into this condition is being led by vets at a referral small animal veterinary practice and at the world renowned research organisation, the Animal Health Trust. These vets have expertise specifically in small animal medical cases. As such the veterinary practice, Anderson Moore, is best placed to update on the number of confirmed and suspect cases. The practice informed Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency on the 27th March that 14 cases have been confirmed between December 2013 and March 2014. This is in addition to 14 cases confirmed between December 2012 and March 2013.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-09.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to encourage businesses in the fishing sector to operate in the Falkland Islands.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    The Honourable Member will be aware that responsibility for the promotion of business and trade opportunities in the Falkland Islands, including in the fishing sector, lies with the Falkland Islands Government (FIG). FIG itself would be the best source of further information as it has responsibility for fishing policy, licence applications and most other maritime matters in the Islands.

    As noted in the Overseas Territories White Paper of 2012, the UK is strongly committed to supporting British companies who wish to do business in the Territories. The investment opportunities in the Overseas Territories were highlighted in November last year as part of the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC), with a half day Investment Forum at which over 150 businesses attended. A similar event is planned as part of the JMC programme for this year.