Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to encourage the use of (a) credit unions and (b) the help to buy scheme by armed forces personnel.

Mark Lancaster

In October 2015, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) launched a facility to make Credit Union services available to UK Armed Forces personnel via payroll deductions. The launch was communicated through the MOD intranet and gov.uk website, and also cascaded to the single Service welfare and internal communications leads.

Three chosen Credit Unions are now working together collectively under the banner ‘Joining Forces’ to provide Service personnel with access to dependable savings facilities and safe affordable loans. Further details are available from their website: http://joiningforcescu.co.uk/

Joining Forces have an employee who works solely on behalf of the collective to deliver presentations and information packages to personnel on military bases. They are also examining various strategies to promote their services through Armed Forces publications and engagement with the Families Federations.

Work is currently under way to enable veterans who are in receipt of an Armed Forces pension to access the services provided by Joining Forces. It is expected that this facility will go live later this year.

Take-up of the £200 million Forces Help to Buy (FHTB) scheme has been very encouraging. The scheme has already given £93.7 million to help over 6,100 Service personnel buy or extend their homes. While there is no advertising budget for FHTB, the success stories of the scheme continue to be communicated through routine internal channels, as well as MOD social media where appropriate. These examples are cascaded via the individual Service networks to raise awareness of the scheme and to inform Service personnel of the support available to them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-01.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on the connection between memory loss and viral illness.

Jane Ellison

No such discussions have taken place.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if the Cross Government Working Group on Drones will conduct a detailed examination of the security threats posed by drones as part of its work.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Cross Government Working Group is undertaking analysis of the potential use of drones for criminal and terrorist purposes, and the impacts of their negligent use near sensitive locations, such as airports.

Guidance on tackling the risks of criminal drone use has been provided to constabularies across the UK.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many treatments for rare and infectious diseases have been approved for use on the NHS based on a foreign laboratory test analysis.

Jane Ellison

The information requested is not available. The most appropriate treatment for a rare and infectious disease is determined by the physician looking after the patient. Where laboratory tests have been conducted abroad, they may be repeated in the United Kingdom depending on the condition, particularly where laboratory practice or standards in the country of origin are in doubt.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps she has taken to prevent the growing of cannabis.

Karen Bradley

Growing cannabis, whether for personal use or organised supply, is illegal and those who do so can face significant jail sentences.

The investigation and prevention of illegal cannabis cultivation is an operational matter for the police. The police use proactive operations and seizures to target dealers and the organised gangs behind illegal cannabis farms and promoting cooperation with all partners including the fire service, energy companies and the property sector.

They are also working to continually improve their knowledge and understanding of the trade through activity-led intelligence gathering.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-04-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with (a) the Russian business community and (b) other Russian citizens living in the UK on Russian attitudes towards the West.

Mr David Lidington

During my visit to Moscow in December 2015, I discussed Russian attitudes towards the West with a group of Russian political commentators. I also meet periodically with the Russian Ambassador to the UK to seek the views of the Russian Government.

Officials at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UK Trade and Investment meet Russian individuals and businesses on a regular basis, principally through the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce (RBCC) which celebrates its centenary year in 2016. The UK Government also continues to support the development of cultural and people-to-people links which can help build trust between our two countries, such as through the 2016 UK-Russia Year of Language and Literature.

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 potential contribution of public health nursing to (a) improving the health of the population and preventing acute hospital admissions and (b) delivering the Government’s commitment to seven-day NHS services.

Ben Gummer

Improving population health is the responsibility of every nurse and they have a role in working with individuals, communities and/or the population to prevent illness, protect health and promote wellbeing. The National Health Service Five Year Forward View (FYFV) sets out the need to close the health and wellbeing gap, radically upgrade prevention as part of a drive to reduce acute hospital admissions, and deliver seven-day hospital services for patients with urgent or emergency care needs. The new framework for nurses, midwives and care staff in England, Leading Change, Adding Value, scheduled for publication later this month, sets out how these professionals will support delivery of the FYFV. There are 10 commitments in the framework, of which three specifically relate to population health and population health and prevention.

To support all health care professionals including nurses to provide evidence based preventative interventions and measure their impact, Public Health England will be launching a resource called All Our Health later this month.

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 reduce the level of student debt among nurses.

Ben Gummer

The Government is currently consulting on its proposed scheme for student finance. As part of that consultation a number of questions are asked about student support. The Government will respond to the consultation in due course.

It is for the respective Governments in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to consider such issues for their health system.

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 funding her Department has allocated to help develop clean energy storage.

Andrea Leadsom

Energy storage is one way to provide flexibility to the energy system and to help make best use of our low carbon electricity generation. DECC has provided more than £18m of innovation funding since 2012 for development and demonstration storage technologies; including funding for four storage technology demonstration projects. In the Budget 2016 announcement, the government confirmed that it would allocate at least £50 million to help innovation in energy storage, demand-side response (DSR) and other smart technologies over the next five years.

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

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many reported drink-related violent incidents involved the use of alcohol bottles in each of the last five years.

Mr Rob Wilson

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.