Tag: Jim Shannon

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 2014-06-16.

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.

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 catch and control magpies and hooded crows.

George Eustice

Defra is not taking action to catch or control magpies or hooded crows.

Like all wild birds in Great Britain, magpies and hooded crows are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Within England, general licences are issued by Natural England permitting users to kill or take magpies for a range of purposes, such as the protection of public health and safety. These may be relied upon by landowners and other authorised persons as long as they are satisfied they have met the conditions of the licence.

In the UK, the hooded crow is found primarily in Scotland and Northern Ireland and is not normally resident in England. As nature conservation is a devolved matter, the Department of the Environment Northern Ireland and the Scottish Government should be approached regarding their wildlife legislation and policy for the control of magpies and hooded crows.

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 steps his Department is taking to increase the number of song birds in the UK.

George Eustice

The UK has designated 615 sites as Special Areas of Conservation under the Habitats Directive, and 270 sites as Special Protection Areas under the Birds Directive to provide protection to our most vulnerable and threatened wild birds.

Agri-environment schemes are the principal means of improving habitat for farmland songbirds, assisting farmers to provide additional habitat and food on their farms for birds and other wildlife. The Government also supports the Campaign for the Farmed Environment to provide better habitats for farmland birds.

The Government has provided £7.5 million to establish twelve Nature Improvement Areas. These are intended to benefit birds by improving existing habitat, creating new habitat and improving connectivity between habitats.