Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to reduce levels of obesity.

Jane Ellison

Tackling obesity, particularly in children, is one of our major priorities. Progress has been made in recent years, but we know we have much further to go. We will be launching our childhood obesity strategy shortly. It will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese. It will also set out what more can be done by all sides.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of food labelling on reducing the (a) calorie intake and (b) weight of people.

Jane Ellison

Feedback from consumers consistently indicates that clear food labelling helps people to make healthier choices. For example, the United Kingdom voluntary front of pack nutrition labelling scheme, recommended by UK Health Ministers in June 2013, incorporates percentage Reference Intakes information, together with the levels of energy kcal/kJ and four colour-coded nutrients: fat, saturates, sugars and salt. This helps consumers judge how much energy and nutrients a portion of the labelled food will contribute to their overall diet, and also enable them to compare products.

The scheme is based on extensive consumer research and is the result of a full written public consultation, followed by collaboration with the food industry and groups representing consumers and public health interests to develop it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the cost per household of implementing measures agreed at the Paris Climate Conference.

Andrea Leadsom

The UK’s contribution to the Paris Agreement will be determined by our commitments to meeting EU climate and energy targets, and by the UK’s own domestic framework, comprising a 2050 emissions reduction target of at least 80% on 1990 base year levels and a series of five-year carbon budgets, as established by the Climate Change Act 2008.

The level of the Fifth Carbon Budget covering the period 2028-2032 is required to be set in law by the end of June this year. When making the decision on the level, the Government is required to take account of a number of factors including social circumstances, and in particular the likely impact of the decision on fuel poverty. This decision will be accompanied by an impact assessment which will set out illustrative costs and benefits of meeting different budget levels, recognising that the actions to meet the budget will be uncertain at that stage. In addition, our new emission reduction plan is due to be published towards the end of this year.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive on steps to increase exports of food from Northern Ireland to China.

George Eustice

There has been very close collaboration at ministerial and official level to increase food exports to China. On her recent visit the Secretary of State highlighted the Northern Ireland priorities of securing approval for pork plants, finalising access for pig trotters and progressing negotiations for poultry meat. Supporting this extension of access, officials work closely with colleagues from Invest Northern Ireland to ensure complementary export promotional work in China.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the total number of people from the UK who have joined Daesh.

Mr John Hayes

We believe approximately 800 UK linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to take part in the Syrian conflict since it began. Of those who are known to have travelled, about half have returned.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to make high-dose prostate therapy available on the NHS.

Jane Ellison

Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is commissioned by NHS England. NHS England’s commitment was to ensure that a minimum of 24% of patients requiring radical radiotherapy had access to inverse planned IMRT from April 2013, and this has been achieved nationally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the likelihood of the Colombia Peace Agreement being reached on 23 March 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire

Talks continue in Havana and both sides are working to meet the 23 March deadline. However, the priority is reaching a sustainable agreement, not the exact date. As President Santos himself has said “If it’s two days after, or one day before, or a week later, it doesn’t matter.”

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons the proposed hepatitis C improvement framework has not been published.

Jane Ellison

NHS England’s work to deliver a framework for hepatitis C services has been progressed so far through the formation and implementation of operational delivery networks providing clinical leadership which has progressed in parallel with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence assessment of new drug therapies. NHS England and Public Health England are currently considering the best approach to build further development of hepatitis C services which cuts across a number of commissioning organisations and that NHS England will be publishing an update shortly.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to ensure that oil price reductions are fully passed on to customers.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government believes that it is important that consumers get a fair deal and any falls in oil prices are passed on to lower prices for consumers. We have made this clear to energy providers.

DECC continuously monitors pump prices, and publish average prices of petrol and diesel every Monday. Movements in pump prices are primarily driven by changes to crude oil prices; though pump prices are also influenced by a range of other factors, including refining capacity, stock levels, distribution costs and retail margins.

Analysis by the Department has found that crude price changes are being reflected in pump prices and suggests that on average, at a national level, sustained crude price changes are fully passed through into pump prices within 6-7 weeks; though much of the change is passed through earlier.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what programmes his Department is developing relating to cyber defence.

Penny Mordaunt

The Defence Cyber Programme delivers cyber defence activities for Defence as a whole. It incorporates the following strands:

Defensive cyber;

People and training;

Information and intelligence;

Strategic direction;

Offensive cyber.

Further to this, each single Service has their own cyber transformation programme within which they are undertaking projects to understand and meet defensive cyber requirements specific to each Service.