Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the Government has reached an agreement with the US government on the placement of US border guards in UK airports.

James Brokenshire

The US operates border pre-clearance facilities at a number of international airports to allow passengers on flights to the US to clear US customs and immigration controls before they arrive in the US. The US Government seeks to negotiate such arrangements with the relevant UK airports, as any interested airport would need to adapt its operations accordingly. However the introduction of pre-clearance operations would also require approval by the UK Government. We continue to discuss pre-clearance with the US but no formal agreement has yet been reached.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions the Government has had with NATO on reductions to the number of Russian nuclear strike missiles.

Mark Lancaster

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence (Michael Fallon) has had no recent discussions with NATO regarding reductions to the number of Russian nuclear strike missiles. However, the US provides annual reports on progress made under the Treaty for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, which is known as the New START Treaty.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the government of Russia on human rights violations in that country.

Mr David Lidington

During my visit to Moscow on 21-22 December 2015, I raised the UK’s concerns about the human rights situation in Russia with my counterpart First Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov. I pressed for the immediate release of Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who has restarted her hunger strike having spent 18 months in illegal detention, and I called for the release of filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and activist Olexandr Kolchenko, whose trials have also raised serious concerns. I raised our concerns about restrictions on civil society, Russia’s labelling of NGOs as “foreign agents”, and the situation of the LGBT community. I also met a group of human rights defenders to hear their concerns first hand. The UK will continue to support Russian civil society and to raise human rights issues with the Russian Government.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the number of dogs put down because they could not be rehomed in each of the last five years.

George Eustice

Statistics of dogs put down because they could not be re-homed are not held by central Government. However, Dogs Trust carry out an annual survey of local authorities. The attached table is taken from information from the last five Dogs Trust surveys.

Apr 2014 – Mar 2015 – 5,142

Apr 2013 – Mar 2014 – 7,058

Apr 2012 – Mar 2013 – 7,319

Apr 2011 – Mar 2012 – 8,903

Apr 2010 – Mar 2011 – 7,121

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle criminal gang activity in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Mr John Hayes

The Government’s plans for tackling organised crime groups, or ‘criminal gangs’, are set out in its Serious and Organised Crime Strategy and amplified in the 2015 National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review.

Since the publication of the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy in 2013, we have introduced important new legislation through the Serious and Organised Crime Act 2015, and have strengthened collaboration locally, regionally and with the private sector. We have invested in better capabilities to tackle cyber crime and online child sexual exploitation. We have also invested in Regional Organised Crime Units and implemented major new programmes of work to prevent, protect against, and reduce the impact of serious and organised crime.

The Strategic Defence and Security Review outlines further measures to tackle organised crime, including our work to: choke off the supply and availability of illegal firearms; and introduce new measures to make the UK a more hostile place for those seeking to move, hide or use the proceeds of crime and corruption or to evade sanctions. It also explains that: we will develop a comprehensive action plan to better identify, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved in modern slavery and immigration crime; and that we will continue to strengthen our approach to tackling online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the work of Taste of Ulster; and if she will introduce similar organisations throughout the UK to promote food products.

George Eustice

I fully support the excellent work that Taste of Ulster is doing to showcase the finest food and drink from Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland’s Year of Food and Drink is running concurrently with the Year of Great British Food, and we are working closely with colleagues from Northern Ireland which includes some food pioneers from Northern Ireland’s food industry to ensure that our shared message about the wonderful food and drink produced throughout the UK and the outstanding food heritage of our nation reaches the widest possible audience.

This year’s celebrations of food include promoting Protected Food Names. I am delighted that there are three Protected Food Names from Northern Ireland: Armagh Bramley Apples, New Season Comber Potatoes and Lough Neagh Eels and that there are four more in the pipeline.

Food NI and the Taste of Ulster campaign provides a strong model of the food sector taking the lead in forming a consortium to promote the excellence of Northern Irish food. Similar initiatives exist in other parts of the UK, and I strongly encourage and support their work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with representatives of the EU institutions on the recognition of British ingredients in food stuff.

George Eustice

It is important that consumers can make informed decisions about the food they buy including being able to understand the origin of the food. We have introducted rules on labelling the origin of fresh meat. The Secretary of State and I have also pressed the Commission to require the origin of milk be given on dairy products. Defra officials have pushed the Commission to introduce rules to improve further the origin labelling of ingredients in processed foods, for example, meat pies.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to reduce stillbirths.

Ben Gummer

We are committed making sure every baby receives consistently high quality care, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In November 2015, the Government announced a national ambition to halve by 2030 the rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth.

To support the National Health Service in achieving this ambition we also announced:

― a £2.24 million capital fund for equipment to improve safety;

― over £1 million to roll out training programmes to make sure staff have the skills and confidence they need to deliver world-leading safe care; and

― £500,000 to develop a new system that can be used consistently across the NHS to enable staff to review and learn from every stillbirth and neonatal death.

The announcement also committed to publishing an annual report to update the public, health professionals, providers and commissioners on the progress we are making towards achieving the ambition.

The National Maternity Review, chaired by Baroness Cumberlege, will include proposals for the future shape of modern, high quality and sustainable maternity services across England. We anticipate that its report will have an important role in shaping the system to achieve our ambition.

For those babies who are born sick or premature, NHS England commissions Neonatal Care from 165 neonatal units. These units are organised and supported by 13 Operational Delivery Networks. The organisation of networks has brought tangible benefits in the delivery of babies in the right place to receive specialist care when it is needed.

NHS England’s Neonatal Critical Care Service Specification states that providers should ensure that expert and experienced staff treat sufficient numbers of cases to maintain a safe high quality service and move towards national standards.

It is for local hospital trusts and specialised commissioners to decide how best to use the guidance and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standard for specialist neonatal care to improve babies’ chances of survival and minimise mortality associated with being born either premature or unwell. We know that that there is still more to do to ensure these services are consistent across the country and that is why the Neonatal Clinical Reference Group at NHS England has committed to review the findings of the Bliss report, (published in October 2015 which can be found here http://www.bliss.org.uk/babyreport), and will work with all of its key partners to make recommendations for further improvement.

Unless we invest in research we cannot understand how to best improve services for mothers and their babies. Significant sums have been invested over recent years in support of research looking at important questions regarding premature birth. The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) funds a range of research relating to causes, risk factors and prevention of stillbirth and neonatal death. The NIHR Health Technology Assessment is funding a £6.0 million trial of an intelligent system to support decision making in the management of labour using the cardiotocogram – due to report in 2017. The NIHR is also funding a £1.2 million study on preventing adverse pregnancy outcome in women at increased risk of stillbirth by detecting placental dysfunction– due to report in 2019.

To help achieve the best outcomes, women are also offered a comprehensive programme of scans, screening tests and development examinations during pregnancy and following birth babies will receive the checks in the NHS newborn and infant physical examination screening programme and the NHS newborn blood spot screening programme .

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with clinical bodies on potential links between taking antidepressants in pregnancy and autism in children.

George Freeman

Studies looking at the use of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants in pregnancy have found conflicting results on a potential link with autism in children. The European Medicines Agency is evaluating any possible link between taking SSRIs in pregnancy and the risk of autism and related conditions in children. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency will consult its expert advisory body as necessary as part of this review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the response time of the Quick Reaction Force to an emergency in Jordan.

Penny Mordaunt

We have not made a formal estimate of the Quick Reaction Force’s (QRF) response time as the capability remains in development. The response time would vary according to the nature of the emergency. However, in recent exercises the QRF has been able to deploy independently from its barracks in Jordan within 24 hours.