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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 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with manufacturers of fruit juice about a reduction of levels of sugar in their products.

    Jane Ellison

    Eight businesses have signed up to the Responsibility Deal to reduce calories, including added sugar, in the soft drinks they produce and retail. Ministers and officials are continuing to engage with soft drinks businesses to encourage greater sign up to the calorie reduction pledge. The school food standards severely restrict the provision of foods and drinks that are high in sugar in schools.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    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.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2014-03-10.

    To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer in each of the last three years; and what the survival rate of women with ovarian cancer has been in each of the last three years.

    Nick Hurd

    The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

  • 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 2014-04-08.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he has taken to draw attention to the persecution of Christians in Vietnam; and what discussions he has had with his counterpart in Vietnam on that matter.

    Mr Hugo Swire

    We highlight Vietnam as a country of concern in the annual Foreign and Commonwealth Office human rights report published on 10 April.

    Our assessment is the Vietnamese government is allowing more space for religious expression and has increased the number of churches and places of worship approved for use in 2013. In general the Vietnamese are able to practise the religion of their choosing and a number of prominent Ministers, including the Prime Minister, are openly Buddhist.

    The authorities take a harder line when religious groups are involved in political movements, with persecution taking place in this context.

    Our Embassy continues to promote freedom of religion and belief in this atmosphere and meets with leaders of all faiths. In January they accepted a petition by families of Catholic activists on trial and supported an EU statement calling for the Vietnamese to uphold freedom of expression in these cases. Staff also attended meetings, alongside other EU Member States, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs calling for greater transparency over allegations that authorities had intimidated Catholics in Nghe An province.

    We also make sure to raise our concerns at a Ministerial level at every opportunity – be it through the annual UK-Vietnam Strategic Dialogue in October 2013 or the Foreign Secretary’s meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh earlier this month. The UK also runs projects deisgned to allow greater scope for civil society to develop and receive basic protections when raising their concerns and pursuing their beliefs.

  • 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 2014-04-30.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate his Department has made of the number of premature deaths per year attributable to air pollution from diesel-fuelled vehicles; and what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges about ways of reducing such deaths.

    Jane Ellison

    My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no discussions with the Royal Colleges on actions to reduce the health impacts of air pollution. The actions the Government is taking to reduce the health impacts of air pollution have been given in a previous reply to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger) on 28 April 2014, Official Reply, columns 474-75W.

    In 2010, the Department’s expert advisory Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants published an estimate of the mortality effect in 2008 of long term exposure to particulate air pollution arising from human activities. The mortality burden for the United Kingdom was estimated as an effect equivalent to nearly 29,000 deaths. Whilst this includes mortality attributable to particulate matter arising from diesel engines, separate figures for the impact of diesel-fuelled vehicles have not been produced by the Department.

  • 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 2014-06-04.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the EU on firearms’ control and the European Firearms’ Pass.

    Norman Baker

    Home Office Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of
    international partners, as well as organisations and individuals in the public
    and private sectors, as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
    Details of these meetings are passed to the Cabinet Office on a quarterly basis
    and are subsequently published on the Gov.uk website:
    http://data.gov.uk/dataset/ministerial-data-home-office

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

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Transport

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of traffic jams.

    Mr Robert Goodwill

    This Government is investing £24 billion on strategic roads in England across this Parliament and the next six years. This includes £317 million, before April 2015, on Highways Agency pinch point schemes tackling congestion and supporting economic growth. We are also providing, before April 2015, £265 million from the Local Pinch Point Fund for 112 projects across England aimed at relieving congestion and supporting economic growth.

    In England, subject to approval, ‘Permit Schemes’ are available to local authorities in England so that anyone wanting to dig up the road must first apply for a permit to work. This provision gives authorities the power to better challenge how long those works take, to impose conditions, and to co-ordinate works. They can also charge ‘over-run’ charges to utility companies. The Department is also currently trialling Lane Rental in two highway authority areas, which enables them to charge for works taking place on the busiest roads at the busiest times.

    Outside of England, measures to reduce the incidence of traffic jams are a matter for the respective devolved administration.

  • 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 2014-06-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have had intra-arterial thrombectomy treatment to reduce the risk of blood clots in the brain in each of the last five years.

    Jane Ellison

    Information on the number of people who have had intra-arterial thrombectomy treatment to reduce the risk of blood clots in the brain is not held centrally.

  • Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

    Jim Shannon – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

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

    To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many ships from the Royal Navy were present in the recent joint manoeuvres with the Ukrainian navy.

    Mr Mark Francois

    None.

  • 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 2014-03-26.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in African countries about numbers of (a) elephants, (b) rhinoceroses and (c) lions in those countries.

    George Eustice

    The London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, which the Government hosted on 12-13 February, brought together 42 countries, including four Presidents of African states, to discuss the decline in numbers of elephants, rhino and other species affected by the scourge of the illegal trade in wildlife. Conference participants agreed an ambitious political declaration, containing 25 practical commitments to action that will help to eradicate the demand for wildlife products, strengthen law enforcement and support the development of sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by wildlife crime.

    Prior to the Conference, my colleague Lord de Mauley represented the UK Government at the African Elephant Summit in Botswana on 2 to 4 December 2014. This was attended by numerous government ministers from across Africa and the status of the African elephant at a continental level was discussed. During the summit, Lord de Mauley held bilateral discussions on illegal wildlife trade issues with the President of Botswana. Separately, he met with the South African Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Mrs Edna Molewa, to discuss the crisis facing African wildlife affected by poaching and illegal trade. The Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, also had discussions about the effects of the illegal wildlife trade on numbers of key species with the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources, Professor Judy Wakhungu, during a visit to Kenya in November 2013.