Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) maintain and (b) increase the proportion of land used for growing cucumbers.

George Eustice

Commercial cucumber growers in the UK require heated glasshouses.

In 2010, we introduced the National Planning Policy Framework which encourages sustainable growth in rural areas and promotes the development and diversification of agricultural and other land-based rural businesses. We aim to remove the barriers to building glasshouse nurseries.

There are several examples where large industrial plants have constructed substantial heated glasshouse facilities adjacent to their factory to make use of surplus heat and carbon dioxide in horticultural production. The government supports innovative initiatives of this sort.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects transfer devices that enable people with single-sided deafness to hear sounds from their deaf ear in their other ear to be available through the NHS.

Alistair Burt

The information requested on the number of people with single-sided deafness is not available in the format requested. However, the following table shows the number of patients admitted to hospital with a diagnosis of single-sided deafness in the last five years in England.

Year	2010 – 2011	2011 – 2012	2012 – 2013	2013 – 2014	2014 – 2015
Male	277	286	295	336	301
Female	299	279	310	336	332

This data may include the same person being admitted to hospital on more than one occasion and the data excludes diagnoses that were made outside of secondary care.

The Action Plan on Hearing Loss was jointly published in March 2015 by the Department and NHS England. It sets out the case for taking action on the rising prevalence and personal, social and economic costs of uncorrected hearing loss and the variation in access and quality of services experienced by people with hearing loss.

Transfer devices are available through the NHS. NHS England is developing commissioning guidance on the provision of hearing loss services, as part of its commitments in the Action Plan on Hearing Loss. The guidance will support clinical commissioning groups when making local decisions and help improve equality of access and patient experience.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps the Government has taken to reduce the incidence of money-laundering in the UK.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government’s Anti-Money Laundering regime has a clear aim: to make the UK financial system a hostile environment for illicit finances, whilst minimising the burden on legitimate businesses and reducing the overall burden of regulation.

In Europe, we worked hard during the negotiation of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive to encourage European partners to match our level of ambition in combatting money laundering. The Directive was formally adopted in June 2015 and it will be transposed into UK law by June 2017. The Government plans to publish a consultation on the changes early next year. The consultation will run for a full 12 weeks. We will consult on areas where the Directive gives us options or discretion on how we transpose its provisions.

Domestically, HM Treasury and Home Office have worked closely together to draw up the UK’s first National Risk Assessment (NRA) of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing, which was published on 15 October 2015. The NRA is the next step in ensuring that our anti-money laundering regime is robust, proportionate and responsive to emerging threats. The NRA found that while the UK’s response to money laundering and terrorist financing risks is well developed, more could be done to strengthen the UK’s anti-money laundering regime. The Treasury and Home Office are working together on a comprehensive Action Plan to address these issues, to ensure that the UK continues to lead the global fight against illicit financial flows.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the incidence of (a) CRE and (b) other superbugs which are persistent to antibiotics.

Jane Ellison

The Government has already taken significant action to address carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae and other organisms that are resistant to antibiotics.

The UK 5 Year Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy set out key steps for tackling organisms that are resistant to a range of antibiotics. As part of our strategy to reduce the incidence of such infections, we have tightened the regulatory aspects in England by revising the Health and Social Care Act Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections in July 2015. The revised Code strengthens links and references to antimicrobial resistance within primary and secondary care. Furthermore, the NHS Standard Contract published in March 2015 included amendments to require compliance with the Code of Practice. This enables regulators such as the Care Quality Commission to look at compliance with the Code within its inspection programme.

At the same time, we have ensured that a range of guidance and tool kits have been produced to support healthcare staff to manage carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae and other resistant bacteria. Public Health England has published updated standards in June 2015 covering additional training on infection and control, which includes a carbapenemese-resistant Enterobacteriaceae toolkit for the non-acute and community sector.

In terms of surveillance of carbapenemase-resistant organisms, Public Health England has rolled out the second generation surveillance system for the reporting of notifiable infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance in December 2014. It has also developed an electronic system for reporting carbapenemase-producing organisms, to allow demographic and clinical risk information to be captured and analysed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to develop a strategy for tackling and treating TB throughout the UK.

Jane Ellison

The Collaborative Tuberculosis (TB) Strategy for England 2015-2020¹ was launched in January 2015. It lays out 10 key ‘areas for actions’ needed to achieve a year on year decrease in TB incidence, a reduction in health inequalities and, ultimately, the elimination of TB as a public health problem in England.

Since the strategy was launched Public Health England, together with NHS England, have formed a TB Strategy implementation team and established seven TB control boards across England. These boards are leading the local delivery of the 10 key ‘areas for action’.

As health is a devolved matter, Ministers do not regularly discuss these issues, however research and evidence of best practice is made available throughout the United Kingdom.

¹Public Health England. Collaborative Tuberculosis Strategy for England 2015 to 2020 [Internet]. 2015. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/collaborative-tuberculosis-strategy-for-england

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that antibiotics are prescribed in proportion to the severity of the illness.

Jane Ellison

Public Health England is undertaking work to reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in general practice through low cost and scalable interventions designed by behavioural scientists. In addition, Public Health England has developed the Antibiotic Guardian campaign to improve behaviours around the use of antibiotics amongst both the public and healthcare professionals.

Furthermore, in August 2015 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidelines on the effective use of antimicrobials (including antibiotics) in children, young people and adults. It aims to change prescribing practice to help slow the emergence of antimicrobial resistance and ensure that antimicrobials remain an effective treatment for infection.

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng15.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department’s policy is on the provision of precautionary mastectomies for women who have not been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Jane Ellison

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance to the National Health Service on bilateral risk-reducing mastectomy in its clinical guideline, Familial breast cancer: classification, care and managing breast cancer and related risks in people with a family history of breast cancer (June 2013). This is available at:

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg164/chapter/1-recommendations

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Chinese authorities on the reported arrest of Pu Zhiqiang.

Mr Hugo Swire

As the Minister of State, my noble Friend the right hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns, explained in her written answer of 30 December, we are deeply concerned by the conviction of Pu Zhiqiang, which raised serious issues about due process and transparency and justice in China. We have continued to raise his case with the Chinese authorities. Most recently, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), re-iterated our concerns with the Chinese government during his visit to China on 5 January. My Right Honourable Friend once again underlined our disappointment at the treatment of diplomats and journalists outside Pu’s trial.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve end of life care and the account taken of the needs of patients with regard to (a) hydration and (b) respect and dignity.

Ben Gummer

The Government is committed to making improvements in the quality of care people experience at the end of life.

In 2014, we set out five priorities for care of the dying person which should underpin the care being delivered to all dying people. The priorities for care state that an individual plan of care, which includes food and drink, symptom control and psychological, social and spiritual support, is agreed, co-ordinated and delivered with compassion.

In December 2015, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance on the care of dying adults in the last days of life, including guidance on medical nutrition and hydration. Clinicians and commissioners should have regard to this guidance when making decisions about care for people at the end of life.

The priorities also set out the critical importance of compassion, respect and dignity in delivering care to dying people and the implications, for staff, commissioners and providers, when making decisions about how end of life care services will meet the needs of local people. The new approach to care, based on these fundamental principles, is being used by clinicians across the country.

In the coming months, we will be setting out the Department’s plans for building on this progress and achieving further quality improvements in end of life care throughout this Parliament.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been diagnosed with tinnitus in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison

This information is not collected. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates that around six million people in the United Kingdom have some form of tinnitus with about 600,000 experiencing it to an extent that it affects their quality of life.