Tag: Jim Shannon

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from Pakistan applied for asylum under the detained fast-track procedure for reasons of religious persecution and discrimination in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire

The basis of an individual’s asylum claim is not recorded on Home Office systems. It is not therefore possible to differentiate Pakistani applicants claiming for reasons of religious persecution and discrimination from Pakistani applicants claiming for one or more other reasons in the Detained Fast Track (DFT) or the non-detained process.

Certification under section 94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 is not requested by an applicant. It is applied by the Secretary of State in circumstances where the applicant’s claim is refused and considered to be so lacking in merit as to be clearly unfounded.

The number of initial certified refusals for Pakistan main asylum applicants, from year ending September 2013 to year ending September 2015, was 604. The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications and decisions on a quarterly and annual basis. The information supplied on certified refusals is based on initial decisions which do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period.

No assessment has been made of any difference that might exist between grant rates in respect of Pakistani applicants in the DFT process when it operated, and cases entering the non-detained process at the same time. However, as the DFT process avoided claims involving particular complexity and/or vulnerability, and prioritised cases which appeared to be late or opportunistic, it is to be expected that the DFT would have fewer grants than the non-detained process.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on allegations of doping in athletics.

Tracey Crouch

Both my Department and UK Anti-Doping engage regularly with international counterparts to discuss a range of sporting matters, including tackling doping in sport.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to increase the level of home ownership relative to other EU countries.

Brandon Lewis

This Government is committed to increasing opportunities to help people achieve the aspiration of home ownership. Almost 270,000 people have been helped to buy a home since 2010 using government-backed schemes. In the Autumn Statement we announced that the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme will be extended for five years to 2021 with £8.6 billion of additional funding. This will assist the sale of up to 145,000 more new-build homes. We will also launch London Help to Buy in early 2016, increasing the equity loan in London from up to 20% to up to 40%, in recognition of the specific affordability issues resulting from higher house prices in the capital.

The Autumn Statement also confirmed a total of £8 billion for over 400,000 affordable homes, including £4.1 billion for 135,000 new Shared Ownership homes. This also includes delivery of 200,000 Starter Homes at a 20% discount for young first time buyers, with £2.3 billion committed to supporting these. As well as reinvigorating the Right to Buy in 2012, we have secured a historic deal with housing associations to give their tenants the opportunity to buy their home with an equivalent discount to the Right to Buy.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment he has made of the potential economic benefit to the north of England of faster rail links between north and south and better connectivity within the north of England.

Andrew Jones

The Department and Transport for North (TfN) are currently developing options for delivering the transformational rail connectivity in the north of England set out in the Northern Transport Strategy, and aim to have an understanding of the relative scale of costs and benefits of these options in autumn 2016.

As outlined in the recent HS2 Economic Case published in November 2015, the benefits of the full HS2 Y-Network are estimated to be £72.8bn (2011 prices, PV). This analysis calculated that the benefit cost ratio (BCR) of HS2 is 2.2 for the full Y-network, including wider economic impacts. Therefore, over £2 worth of benefits are expected for every £1 spent which represents high value for money.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential application in the NHS of a treatment for arthritis proposed by researchers at Queen Mary University involving injection of microvesicles.

Jane Ellison

We are aware of a recent study undertaken by Queen Mary University of London which suggested that arthritic cartilage could be treated by microvesicles. This work is still at a very early stage and the efficacy of such a treatment approach would need to be demonstrated in clinical trials before it could be considered for routine use in the National Health Service.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to provide paramedics with on-the-spot blood diagnostic devices for the detection of medical conditions.

Jane Ellison

The provision of medical equipment for front-line ambulance service staff falls within the responsibility of individual ambulance trusts. Paramedics already do have access to, and routinely carry, some blood-testing devices for example, to check for blood sugar.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to support global efforts against neglected tropical diseases.

Mr Nick Hurd

DFID is a global leader on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). At the high profile London Declaration on NTDs in 2012 the UK brought together the International Community including Leading pharmaceutical companies. We are meeting our commitments including spending £195m on NTDs through multi-year programmes and as a result of the London Declaration pharmaceutical companies have pledged drugs valued at US$17.8 billion from 2014 to 2020. We support programmes that tackle a range of NTDs including schistosomiasis (bilharzia), blinding trachoma, lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), onchocerciasis (river blindness) and visceral leishmaniasis. Eradication of Guinea worm disease is in sight and the UK has played a key role in this, supporting the work of the Carter Center and the World Health Organisation.

DFID support research through a range of initiatives which include the development of new treatment and diagnostic products, as well as implementation research

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the number of women murdered as a result of domestic violence.

Karen Bradley

Tackling domestic violence is a key priority for this Government. We put Domestic Homicide Reviews on a statutory footing in 2011 so that local areas and agencies identify lessons learned to help to prevent future homicides and violence. We have commenced a new domestic abuse offence to tackle controlling and coercive behaviour, and have rolled out Domestic Violence Protection Orders and the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme across the country. We have already committed £40 million between 2016 and 2020 to support domestic abuse victims, and provided £2 million to Safelives and Women’s Aid to support early intervention. We will shortly publish a refreshed cross-Government Violence Against Women and Girls strategy setting out how we will do more still to secure long-term funding for domestic violence services and support for all victims.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to support people suffering from acute stress.

Alistair Burt

Support for people experiencing acute stress is available through the improving access to psychological therapies programme which aims to help adults with common mental health conditions to recover. The programme uses a stepped care approach in which patients with higher need are referred for more intensive treatment.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent discussions his Department has had with NATO on progress with NATO’s Force Integration Units.

Mr Julian Brazier

The Ministry of Defence is fully involved in the development of NATO’s Force Integration Units (NFIU) and we will contribute personnel to the NFIUs in the Baltic States, Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania.