Tag: Jim Shannon

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to reduce levels of knotweed proliferation; and what assessment she has made of the potential merits of making house and land owners more responsible for uncontrolled weed growth.

George Eustice

The Department takes the problems caused by Japanese Knotweed very seriously and has taken a number of steps to tackle this invasive plant.

Defra has provided funding of £390,000 for biocontrol work to tackle Japanese knotweed. A psyllid/insect, Aphalara itadori has been identified as a biocontrol agent capable of retarding the plant’s growth significantly and therefore reducing its ability to spread and regenerate. A closely monitored, licensed release programme has been ongoing since 2010 to assess the impact of this psyllid/insect, but as with other biocontrol programme, it can take five to ten years from release to achieve success.

Defra has also provided funding for Local Action Groups (LAGs) to tackle and raise awareness of invasive non-native plants, including Japanese knotweed. Additionally, Defra is currently funding a LAG coordinator to help groups with funding bids and provide advice.

Japanese knotweed is listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it an offence to allow the plant to escape or cause it to grow in the wild. Whilst landowners are under no statutory obligation to remove Japanese knotweed from their property, where they are acting unreasonably and allowing Japanese knotweed to cause a nuisance to the local community, local authorities and the police can now issue a Community Protection Notice against them to ensure that appropriate action is taken.

The issue of making land owners more responsible for uncontrolled weed growth.is complex. It could produce disproportionate or inequitable impacts such as the potentially high cost of removal and liability on landowners for clearance as a result of fly-tipping.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans for new implants for people diagnosed with damaged shoulder tendons to be available on the NHS.

Nicola Blackwood

It is for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) to provide national clinical guidance and advice to improve health and social care based on the latest research and evidence base for use of interventional procedures. NICE has not issued any guidance on the use of new implants for damaged shoulder tendons.

Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for commissioning services to meet the requirements of their local population. It would be for them to decide whether this procedure should be made available, taking into account any available evidence of its clinical and cost effectiveness.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions NHS England has had with clinical bodies on the introduction of new treatments based on immunotherapy.

David Mowat

NHS England already funds some immunotherapy treatments for kidney cancer, lung cancer, and melanoma.

It has had detailed discussions around the potential use of immunotherapies with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; the NHS England Chemotherapy Clinical Reference Group; and the Cancer Drug Fund team. They regularly draw on expertise from specific clinical professional groups and patient organisations when considering treatment decisions.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what research his Department has assessed or commissioned on potential links between prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and maintaining positive thinking into later life.

Jane Ellison

Reducing the incidence of dementia, improving dementia research, raising awareness and improving the treatment and care of people with dementia is a key priority for the Government. That is why in February 2015, the Prime Minister launched his Challenge on Dementia 2020 as a successor to the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2012-15. Under the Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia 2020, we set an ambition for:

– improved public awareness and understanding of the factors, which increase the risk of developing dementia and how people can reduce their risk by living more healthily. This should include a new healthy ageing campaign and access to tools such as a personalised risk assessment calculator as part of the NHS Health Check;

– increased identification of effective ways in which people can reduce their personal risk of developing dementia, including cardio-vascular and cognitive strategies, and ways of encouraging these approaches to improve public health and wellbeing; and

– overall spending for dementia research from all sectors to double by 2025.

Research funding for dementia research doubled under the last Government and will be maintained to total over £300 million over the period of the current government.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the number of people sustaining serious injuries as a result of participating in boxing in each of the last five years.

Tracey Crouch

DCMS does not hold information or data on the comparative health risks resulting from taking part in major sports.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Burmese government about (a) human rights and (b) conduct of the election in November 2015 in that country.

Mr Hugo Swire

I have consistently raised both human rights and elections in bilateral meetings I have held with the Burmese government in 2015. I raised both issues with the Burmese authorities during my most recent visit to the country in July, and reiterated these points when I met the Burmese Foreign Minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, in September in New York. I also regularly raise these issues in public, as I did during the adjournment debate on Burma on 22 October, and in multilateral fora, such as at the UN Secretary General’s Burma Partnership Group on 29 September.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many air passengers have made claims against airline companies for flight delays in each of the last five years; and how many such claims have been successful.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Government does not hold this data, it is owned by the individual airlines. The Civil Aviation Authority, as the National Enforcement Body under EU Regulation 261/2004 on Air Passenger Rights, does however collate and publish data on complaints that it receives from passengers. This information can be found on the CAA website:

http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=80&pagetype=88&pageid=27&sglid=27.

“

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote awareness in schools of the HPV vaccine.

Jane Ellison

A wide range of information tools are available and used to promote the awareness of human papillomavirus (HPV) immunisation in schools. These include leaflets, factsheets and question and answer sheets, vaccination record cards, information on the NHS Choices website, and further detailed clinical guidance to health professionals such as school nurses who are able to advise girls about HPV immunisation and respond to questions and concerns. In addition to nationally available material, local National Health Service staff also take steps to provide information on HPV immunisation in their areas. HPV vaccine uptake rates in England areamong highest in the world, with 86.7% of eligible 12 – 13 year olds receiving the full course of vaccine doses in 2013/14.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what meetings her Department has had to ascertain whether birds of prey predate on other birds of prey in order to inform her policies on bird conservation.

Rory Stewart

Bird of prey predation on other birds of prey is considered rare, occurring occasionally through territorial contact or nest defence where there is inter-species competition for space. Consequently no Department meetings have taken place to discuss the matter.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Indian counterpart on the treatment of Muslims and Christians in India.

Mr Hugo Swire

I discussed religious minority rights in India with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, V K Singh, on 5 November. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) also discussed this issue with Prime Minister Modi during his visit to the UK on 12-14 November. Mr Modi assured him that his government remained committed to diversity, and to protecting the fundamental freedoms of all India’s citizens. During their joint press conference, Prime Minister Modi was clear that he upheld the Gandhian traditions of diversity and that he would not accept any signs of intolerance.