The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many incidents of Larsen trap tampering there have been in each of the last five years.
Rory Stewart
Defra does not collect data relating to the interference with traps, including Larsen traps.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the return to Afghanistan of Al-Qaeda.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has regular discussions with his US counterpart and other allies on global security challenges, including Afghanistan. In addition, Government officials regularly discuss insurgency and terrorism in Afghanistan, including Al-Qaeda, with US and NATO partners. This includes how we can best continue to support the Afghan National Unity Government to deliver their own national security.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to promote Small Business Saturday.
Anna Soubry
The Department is fully supportive of the Small Business Saturday campaign and recognises the role it plays in highlighting the importance of small businesses to their local area and the UK as a whole.
This is the third year we have worked with Small Business Saturday. I attended the UK campaign launch event on July 16th and support is being co-ordinated across government to further promote the campaign in the run up to December 5th.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on the availability of cancer treatments relating to genetically-edited immune cells.
Jane Ellison
There have been no discussions with the royal colleges on the availability of cancer treatments relating to genetically-edited immune cells.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the change in the bee population over the summer of 2015.
George Eustice
Records from volunteer societies provide a rich source of data and can be analysed to show how bee populations are changing. In 2014 Defra published a pilot indicator of changes in the wild bee population in the UK. This showed that between 1980 and 2010 some bee species had become more widespread, but that a greater number had become less so.
Defra is working with the research community to improve and update this indicator on pollinators. However, there is currently insufficient data to provide an assessment of changes over the summer of 2015. We hope to update the indicator in future years.
The Government continues to work to strengthen monitoring. In 2014 Defra commissioned a two-year project to develop a robust and affordable framework for monitoring pollinators, which can be applied by volunteers and professionals across the UK. This will report in early 2016.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the (a) NFU and (b) other farming bodies on the effect of herbicides on reducing crop yields.
George Eustice
I have had regular meetings with the National Farmers Union (NFU) and other farming bodies where herbicide issues will have been discussed, but there have been no discussions about herbicides reducing crop yields.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mandatory requirements are in place to ensure that care home staff are well trained.
Alistair Burt
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 all providers of regulated activities have to register with the CQC and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall.
The Fundamental Standards include a regulation on staffing which ensures that suitably qualified, competent, skilled persons must be deployed. This regulation also ensures that the person employed receives the appropriate training, professional development and have the opportunity to obtain further qualifications appropriate to the work they perform.
CQC inspections ensure that providers are meeting these Fundamental Standards and have a wide range of enforcement powers if a provider fails to meet them.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Afghan government on sexual abuse of and physical attacks on young boys and girls in Afghanistan.
Mr Tobias Ellwood
The UK continues to raise this issue both with the Government of Afghanistan and in multilateral fora. We welcome the Government of Afghanistan’s public commitment of support for human rights and eliminating violence against women and girls, most recently at the September 2015 Senior Officials Meeting in Kabul.
Through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund almost £400,000 has been allocated to address the psychological needs of victims of sexual harassment and violence; support state institutions to improve their response to victims; and raise awareness of the threats.
We are also funding the United Nations Population Fund in Afghanistan (UNFPA) to provide family protection units, which will include psychological aftercare for survivors of sexual violence. This complements the Department for International Development’s work to strengthen access to justice for survivors of violence.
Afghanistan is one of six focus countries for the UK’s National Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security, for which there is a joint implementation plan across FCO, MOD, and DFID. We have also been involved and continue to support the Afghan National Action and Implementation plan.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions she has had with Brittany Ferries on the carriage of game birds on their ships.
James Brokenshire
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 ministerial 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
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will discuss with representatives of the insurance industry the effect on premiums of changing weather conditions.
Harriett Baldwin
The Government does not intend to intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers as this could damage competition in the market. The respective capabilities of insurers to assess risk is a key element on which they compete. This competition is important and should lead to better products and lower prices for consumers.