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, how many (a) rural festivals and (b) country sports events have been held in the UK in each of the last five years.
Dan Rogerson
Defra does not hold this information.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that hospitals do not discourage whistleblowing by staff; and if he will take steps to issue a UK NHS-wide policy on that matter.
Dr Daniel Poulter
We have been absolutely clear that National Health Service staff who speak out in the interests of patient safety must be protected and listened to and that we expect all NHS organisations to have whistleblowing policies in place that are compliant with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. On 5 March this year, my Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to Chairs in NHS trusts and foundation trusts in England to express his strong views on this matter and to reiterate the vital importance of fostering a culture of openness and transparency in the NHS.
In addition, the Department recently commissioned the Whistleblowing Helpline to update whistleblowing guidance for the NHS. This revised guidance “Raising Concerns at Work – Whistleblowing Guidance for workers and employers in Health and Social Care” was published on 17 March 2014. This guidance transparently sets out the policies and processes for staff and employers in a single document and is available via their website or as a hard copy. This guidance can be found on their website.
www.wbhelpline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Raising-Concerns-at-Work.pdf
Employment law and policy (of which whistleblowing law and policy is a part), and health law and policy, are devolved matters in Northern Ireland. In Scotland and Wales employment law is not devolved, but health law is. Decisions about implementation of whistleblowing policy in the NHS in each part of the United Kingdom are therefore a matter for each of those areas.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to extend pilot treatments for motor neurone disease; and what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the devolved adminstrations on those pilots.
Norman Lamb
The Department is not managing any pilot treatments for motor neurone disease (MND) and no recent discussions have taken place between the Department’s Ministers and the devolved administrations about pilots for MND.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent discussions she has had with the Ethiopian government on her Department’s aid funding; and what recent reports she has received of the violent expulsion of Ethiopian farmers from their land.
Lynne Featherstone
DFID ministers and senior officials continue to engage with the Government of Ethiopia on resettlement, including meetings with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, in May 2013, November 2013 and December 2013. These discussions have included encouraging the Government of Ethiopia to follow international good practice on resettlement, implementation of a Grievance Response Mechanism, and monitoring and investigation of and action in relation to allegations of abuse.
A summary of the findings and recommendations of multi-donor visits, including DFID, to monitor resettlement in Ethiopia will be made available in due course on the Development Assistance Group’s website at:www.dagethiopia.org
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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 construction sector to build houses in the Falkland Islands.
Mr Hugo Swire
The Honourable Member will be aware that the primary responsibility for the promotion of business and trade opportunities in the Falkland Islands, including in the construction sector, lies with the Falkland Islands Government (FIG). FIG itself would be the best source of further information on construction in the Islands as it has responsibility for all infrastructure development.
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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to control mink.
George Eustice
The Government is not undertaking any nationwide action to control mink. However, landowners are free to control mink on their land as long as they do so humanely and within the law. Advice on controlling mink can be obtained from Natural England. As a non-native species, it is an offence to release mink into the wild and I would encourage landowners to control them wherever practical.
The Environment Agency is not directly involved in any mink control programmes in England. It does, however, contribute a small amount of annual funding to the Wildlife Trusts and some other local organisations towards the cost of local water vole conservation projects. Some of these projects may involve an element of mink control. The Environment Agency is one of a number of contributors to these projects.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-04.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects that artifical pancreases for treatment of diabetes will be available through the NHS.
Norman Lamb
There are a number of artificial pancreas device systems and technologies for integrated continuous glucose monitoring in development which could be made available through the National Health Service once they have gone through the appropriate regulatory process to demonstrate safety and efficacy.
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 support his Department gives to landowners to enable regeneration of land through the burning of heather and moorland.
George Eustice
The Department does not support landowners in England to regenerate land through the burning of heather and moorland. However, various agri-environment schemes provide financial support for the positive environmental management of the uplands, including moorland.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that ambulance crews and dispatch staff are able to access meaningful supervision; and if he will assess the merits of introducing rapid response units similar to those operating in Northern Ireland.
Jane Ellison
Decisions about workforce issues, such as the supervision of ambulance staff, are a local matter and it remains up to ambulance trusts to decide how this is managed.
However, the Department expects trusts to ensure all their staff are supported in their roles and for there to be effective management arrangements.
Ambulance services, including emergency response services, are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups, which have a responsibility to ensure that appropriate services are provided to their populations.
It is the decision of individual ambulance trusts as to how resources are used to meet local demand.
The Department recognises that having a rapid response vehicle (RRV) to carry clinical equipment and get a clinician to the patient as quickly as possible is beneficial to the care of a patient.
In addition, clinicians using RRVs to arrive first on the scene are able to conduct an assessment of the patient to determine how they should be managed or may be in advance of an ambulance to begin treatment and stabilisation prior to transport.
We are aware that most ambulance trusts utilise RRVs daily as part of their emergency response.
As part of the Urgent and Emergency Care Review, being led by Sir Bruce Keogh, an Ambulance Task Group has been established to look at new models of delivery of care. The first phase of the Review was published last November; and we expect NHS England to be publishing further reports later this year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-06-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with NHS trusts on the prescription of medicines for psoriasis.
Norman Lamb
We have had no such discussions.
Information on the prescription of medicines for psoriasis is available from a range of sources including the British National Formulary, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and NHS Choices.