Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce (a) trolling and (b) cyber-bullying.

Sarah Newton

We continue to make tackling all forms of bullying, including cyberbullying, a priority. All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy with measures to tackle bullying among pupils, including cyberbullying.

Since September 2014 e-safety has been taught at all four key stages of the curriculum. We have made sure schools have the power to search for, and if necessary delete, inappropriate images (or files) on electronic devices, including mobile phones.

We have invested £3.85 million in a new phase of our This is Abuse campaign, which tackles abuse within teenage relationships and was launched in March. The National Crime Agency’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) has developed a comprehensive education programme, called Thinkuknow, which provides targeted advice to children, parents and carers, including on how to use social media safely.

We have taken action to improve the police response to online abuse. Since the introduction of the College of Policing’s Cyber Crime Training course in February 2014 over 150,000 modules have been completed across all forces and, in September last year, the College of Policing launched the second phase of its Mainstream Cyber Crime Training course for police forces.

Additionally, over 3,900 National Crime Agency officers have completed Digital Awareness training as part of equipping the next generation of highly skilled digital detectives. 1,200 Digital Media Investigators have been trained over the past 18 months.

Work is under way to ensure the appropriate recording of digital crime and abuse. The Home Office launched a mandatory ‘online’ flag as part of the police recorded crime data collection from April 2015. These data are currently in development and will be published in due course.

The Crown Prosecution Service annual Violence Against Women and Girls Report published on September 6 shows that there have been more offences prosecuted under section 127 of the Communications Act and section 1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988. Under s.127, in 2015-16 there was a rise in prosecutions related to grossly offensive or indecent communications to 2,026. In total the offences under s.127 of the Communications Act rose by 13% and s.1 of the Malicious Communications Act 1988 by 32%. There have also been 206 prosecutions for the new offence of disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government has issued guidance to the Aviation Authority on fire risks related to the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

Mr John Hayes

The Civil Aviation Authority issued guidance on 9 September advising air travel passengers to ensure their Samsung Galaxy Note 7 mobile phones remain switched off for the duration of their flight.

The guidance has also been drawn to the attention of aircraft operators.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to encourage children not to access indecent images on social media.

Matt Hancock

The UK is a world leader in child online safety, with legal protections against abuse and illegal content, and tools for parents and children to avoid content they do not wish to see. The UK Council for Child Internet Safety, (https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-council-for-child-internet-safety-ukccis) set up in 2008, brings Government together with key stakeholders to help to keep children and young people safe online. We also have a strong track-record in working with the internet industries to drive progress. We have introduced legislation in the Digital Economy bill to require age verification controls for access to online pornographic material provided on a commercial basis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support women suffering side-effects from hormone replacement therapy.

Nicola Blackwood

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is used to alleviate the symptoms of the menopause. The known side effects of HRT products are provided in the patient information leaflet which accompanies the medicine. Medically serious side effects of HRT affect a small number of women and include increased risks of breast and ovarian cancer and blood clots (venous thromboembolism, VTE), which are treated in clinical practice if they occur.

Due to these risks the advice since 2004 is that decision to start, continue or stop HRT should be made jointly by a woman and her doctor, based on the known risks and benefits and her own personal circumstances, including her age, her need for treatment and her medical risk factors, and that the lowest effective dose of HRT should be used for the shortest possible time with regular review of treatment.

The National Health Service publishes information online at NHS Choices about the menopause including the benefits and risks of HRT and alternative treatments.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of food poisoning in chickens.

Nicola Blackwood

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is working with industry to tackle Campylobacter, the most common source of foodborne illness, through the Acting on Campylobacter Together campaign. The FSA has agreed a joint industry target of achieving no more than 10% of birds contaminated at over 1,000 Campylobacter colony forming units per gram (viable cells) at the end of the slaughterhouse line. Using this target, together with the ongoing publication of surveillance results of Campylobacter contamination in fresh whole chickens at retail, the FSA is encouraging industry to implement interventions to reduce contamination levels. This has resulted in a downwards trend of the Campylobacter levels on chickens sold at retail. Additionally, the FSA continues to provide guidance for consumers on the measures that they can take to reduce their risk of spreading and contracting Campylobacter poisoning from raw poultry in the home.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what discussions his Department has had with (a) East Border Region, (b) Rural Community Networks and (c) other community groups in Northern Ireland as part of the preparations for the negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker

The Government will ensure that all views can be reflected in our analysis of the options for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and we are going to listen and talk to as many organisations, companies and institutions as possible to do this. The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union visited Northern Ireland on 1 September and I visited on 5-7 October. We engaged with the Northern Ireland Executive and key representatives of businesses and civil society, including roundtables with the retail, hospitality and agrifood sectors and the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action. I have also had discussions with Northern Ireland Executive Ministers for Justice, Communities and Infrastructure. Details of Ministerial meetings will be published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency Returns, which will be made publicly available on GOV.UK.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he is making to large businesses on paying the living wage.

Nick Boles

The National Living Wage (NLW) will be introduced in April 2016. It will be mandatory for employers of all sizes to pay their workers the new NLW if those workers are over 25 and are not in the first year of an apprenticeship. The Government encourages all employers to pay more than the statutory minimum rates when they can afford it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of suicides by men aged 18 to 45.

Alistair Burt

We know that men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women. The highest United Kingdom suicide rate in 2013 by broad age group was among men aged 45 to 59. We also know that suicide is the leading cause of death in England and Wales for men aged between 20 and 34 years of age.

In September 2012, the Department launched ‘Preventing Suicide in England: a cross-government outcomes strategy to save lives’. This strategy aims to reduce the suicide rate and improve support for those affected by suicide and was informed by an earlier consultation on preventing suicide in England. The strategy outlines six areas for action including, reducing the risk of suicide in key high-risk groups, including men aged under 50, reducing access to the means of suicide and supporting research, data collection and monitoring.

We provide financial support for the National Suicide Prevention Alliance and work with a range of experts and partner organisations to deliver suicide prevention activities across all age groups. I will be meeting experts again shortly to advance the strategy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on developing a global strategy to tackle diabetes.

Jane Ellison

Departmental Ministers regularly discuss a range of issues, including diabetes, with their international counterparts. However, there have been no specific discussions on a Global Diabetes Strategy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he next plans to review the effectiveness of cancer screening for women.

Jane Ellison

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy. The UK NSC reviews its recommendations on a three year basis or earlier if any new peer reviewed evidence emerges.

The UK NSC is currently reviewing the evidence on whether human papillomavirus testing as primary screening for cervical disease should replace the currently used cytology test and whether faecal immunochemical testing could be used as the primary screening marker in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme. Public consultations on both reviews have just closed and the UK NSC is expected to make a recommendation to ministers later this month.

The NHS Breast Screening Programme is currently carrying out a long-term trial to investigate extending current screening eligibility to women aged 47-49 and 71-73. Over two million women have taken part in a randomised control trial, with the impact on breast cancer mortality rates due to be reported in the early 2020s. The UK NSC will consider the research evidence when it is published.

We are not aware of steps being taken by employers to enable staff to take time off work to attend cancer screening appointments. However, Macmillan has produced, “Your rights at work” an information leaflet on reasonable adjustments in the workplace for people who have or have had cancer.

In 2011, the UK NSC recommended that bowel scope screening could be offered in addition to the homes testing kit as part of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme. Currently 76% of bowel scope screening centres in England are operational, and the Secretary of State’s commitment is to have this programme rolled out to all screening centres in England by the end of 2016. Health Education England has commissioned a training pilot for non-medical endoscopists (NMEs) to provide accelerated training in certain diagnostics procedures, with the aim of providing additional screening capacity. The pilot will commence in January 2016. A framework has also been developed to help NMEs demonstrate that they have achieved the competency levels required for their role.

The NHS Screening Programmes have a dedicated team who oversee education, training and stakeholder information. This involves working closely with Royal Colleges, Professional bodies, stakeholder groups, NHS England, Health Education England and the Public Health England campaigns team. A vast range of educational resources exist which are free to NHS staff and cover all screening programme plus the theory and practice of screening. The team is currently expanding the range of taught courses and e-learning resources to make learning more accessible. Accessible patient information is available to educate users of the service and enable informed choices regarding screening. This is complemented by a comprehensive set of material on NHS Choices regarding all 11 NHS Screening Programmes. Patient information is constantly updated and users are involved in the reviews and evaluation of all materials.

To increase rates of cervical screening in young women, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme has commissioned a £1 million study to determine which interventions are effective at increasing screening uptake amongst women who are receiving their first invitation from the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. The study began in November 2011 and reports can be expected in spring 2016.

In addition, the Department of Health Behavioural Insight team is developing a trial to investigate the use of behavioural insights to optimise the content of the invitation letter for cervical screening.