Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve the treatment on the NHS for people with Lyme disease.

Jane Ellison

The National Health Service already provides medical care following existing guidance but to strengthen the evidence base we have commissioned the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop guidelines for the recognition and treatment of Lyme disease; this is expected in June 2018.

New diagnostic tests for Lyme disease are regularly reviewed by Public Health England (PHE) who also participates in a Europe wide Quality Assurance programme to ensure that the most suitable tests available are used.

In addition, PHE provides information on Lyme disease and tick awareness to the medical profession and the public, hold regular medical training days, and work with Lyme Disease Action to support the needs and interests of patients.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment the Government has made of the current level of housing provisions; and what steps he is taking to ensure that the most vulnerable have access to suitable housing.

Brandon Lewis

There was an estimated 23.4 million dwellings in England as of 31 March 2014, an increase of 137,000 dwellings on the previous year. This includes 4 million social and affordable rented dwellings (Private Registered Providers plus local authority tenures) (1).

We are doubling the housing budget to deliver one million more homes, including spending £8 billion to build 400,000 new affordable housing starts by 2021, the biggest new affordable homes programme since the 1970s, and committing £2.3 billion towards delivering 200,000 new Starter Homes.

(1) Source: DCLG Dwelling Stock Estimate, 2014, England
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/423249/Dwelling_Stock_Estimates_2014_England.pdf

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the President of Indonesia on the protection of religious minorities in that country.

Mr Hugo Swire

We take freedom of religion or belief seriously. Our Ambassador in Jakarta has raised these issues with the Minister of Religious Affairs, Indonesian civil society, and religious leaders. He urged them to ensure the rights of all individuals to practise their religion or belief freely were fully respected and protected.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of rising school rolls on the number of school nurse training places required.

Jane Ellison

In April 2014, Public Health England and the Department published guidance to commissioners for services to school aged children, Maximising the school nursing team contribution to the public health of school-aged children.

Each year Health Education England (HEE) provide local and national forecasts of the supply that will arise over the next five years and use these forecasts to discuss with stakeholders whether this supply will match the system’s view of future demand including the extent to which any current shortages will be addressed. This analysis and discussion is then used to identify whether any changes are required to the volumes of training commissioned by HEE.

Consideration of the impact of rising school rolls will feed into HEE’s planning, though the final training settlement for 2017/18 is under negotiation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to maintain the level of funding for specialist nurses.

Ben Gummer

It is Health Education England’s (HEE) responsibility to ensure that there is sufficient future supply of staff, including those needed in specialist fields, to meet the workforce requirements of the English health system.

HEE publishes an annual Workforce Plan which is built upon the needs of local employers, providers, commissioners and other stakeholders who, as members of its Local Education Training Boards (LETBs), shape the 13 local plans.

The Workforce plan is predominately an aggregate of the local LETB plans, but the final national plan is only agreed with the advice and input of its clinical advisory groups and Patients’ Advisory Forum, as well as the Royal Colleges and other stakeholders.

Once staff are qualified, it is for individual employers to ensure their staff remain up to date with, or acquire, specialist skills to provide safe and effective patient care through Continuous Professional Development and provide sufficient funding locally to ensure this occurs.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle increases in energy costs for manufacturing companies in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) the rest of the UK.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government is ensuring the continued international competitiveness of energy intensive industries in Northern Ireland and across the United Kingdom by providing relief to mitigate the impact of energy and climate change policy on electricity bills. In addition to the £160 million of compensation already provided since 2013, Government began paying compensation to eligible companies for renewable energy policy costs earlier this year, following state aid clearance. Companies in Northern Ireland are eligible to apply for this compensation. A Great Britain-wide consultation on replacing this compensation with an exemption was launched on 1 April and the Northern Ireland Executive will consult separately on this in the future.

We are also acting to reduce electricity costs at the most fundamental levels through both short-term cost control measures and investment in new energy infrastructure.

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

To ask the Attorney General, if he will take steps to offer incentives to encourage more solicitors to offer pro bono work.

Robert Buckland

Pro Bono is a voluntary commitment made by lawyers who understand that the service they provide is invaluable to those individuals who would otherwise be denied access to justice.

As pro bono champions of the Government, the Law Officers support a number of projects through our co-ordinating committees. The Government has also provided funding for several projects, such as the Litigants in Person package run by the Ministry of Justice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing on the NHS laser-guided shoes to people with Parkinson’s disease.

Jane Ellison

No assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing laser-guided shoes to people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) on the National Health Service. We understand this new innovation, whilst promising, remains at a relatively early stage in terms of development and testing. Good quality evidence from clinical trials would be needed before clinicians and commissioners could make appropriate assessments about the clinical and cost effectiveness of the shoes and consider their suitability for patients with PD.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on steps to support first-time buyers.

Brandon Lewis

The Secretary of State has had no formal meetings with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive.

However, the Department is actively involved with the British Irish Council, who meet frequently to discuss cross-cutting housing issues and share expertise.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Bahrain on the protection of the rights of the Shia population in that country to manifest their religion through teaching, worship and observance.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We follow the political situation closely in Bahrain, including Shia interests. We regularly discuss freedom of religion and belief with the Government of Bahrain, including at the highest levels, I did so most recently on 2 June when I met with the Bahraini Foreign Minister at the biannual UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group meeting, and the Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) did so most recently with his Bahraini counterpart, Sheikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa on 14 June 2016.