Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase levels of blood donation.

Jane Ellison

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) provide blood donation services to the National Health Service, supplying a reliable, efficient supply of blood in England and North Wales. To secure a consistent donor base, NHSBT runs donor recruitment campaigns throughout the year to attract new donors, for example last year’s Missing Types Programme which featured the removal of the letters of A O B from famous locations and high street brands. NHSBT also ran the #BleedForEngland campaign around the World Cup using rugby celebrities which led to 100,000 new donor registrations. The recently completed New Year 2016 recruitment campaign also saw more than 30,000 people register to give blood.

On 1 February 2016 NHSBT confirmed that more than one million people are now registered to book blood donation appointments online.

NHSBT is also taking specific action to increase the number of blood donors from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community, particularly from Black African, Black Caribbean, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Indian communities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Colombian government on steps to tackle paramilitary groups in the Nariño region of the country.

Mr Hugo Swire

I am concerned about the continued negative influence of organised criminal gangs and resulting violence in Colombia, which challenges the implementation of the peace process. I am pleased to see that the Colombian Minister of Defence announced that tackling organised crime is a top priority for the Government of Colombia in 2016.

British Embassy officials in Bogota regularly discuss the challenges posed by armed criminal groups (so called ‘Bandas Criminales’ or BACRIM) in their meetings with the Colombian government. Our Ambassador to Colombia met the Minister of Interior on 1 February when they discussed security challenges, including those posed by the BACRIM. In forthcoming meetings with the Minister of Defence and Minister of Post-Conflict, the Ambassador will seek to raise these issues again. We are also contributing £1m to the MAPP-OAS (the Organisation of American States’ Peace mission) which is monitoring demobilisation.

On 1 February, President Santos created a committee to tackle organised criminal groups. He has ordered the military to intensify operations to prevent criminal groups stepping into a vacuum created by demobilising FARC units. He also stated that new ‘special forces’ will be created, including joint operations and intelligence. This new strategy will be accompanied by social programmes and aims to benefit communities in Colombia.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the potential future savings to the public purse of reducing (a) hepatitis C related end-stage liver disease and (c) liver cancer.

Jane Ellison

No such formal assessment has been made, although the potential benefits of new treatments becoming available are widely recognised.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Home Affairs on enabling foreign nurses to fill vacancies in the NHS.

Ben Gummer

Overseas nurses and their contribution to the National Health Service was discussed with the Home Office Secretary on 17 June 2015 in a scheduled bilateral meeting.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if his Department will provide support for producers of anaerobic digestive installations in completing planning applications for those installations.

James Wharton

My Department has made clear, through planning guidance, that anaerobic digestion as a form of waste development needs to be planned for. It is for local authorities to decide on the most appropriate strategy for managing waste in their area in line with planning policy and guidance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have registered as deaf in 2015.

Alistair Burt

The data requested is no longer collected centrally. On 31 March 2010, 56,360 people were recorded on the deaf register.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to upgrade the housing stock in Cyprus for service personnel and their families; and when such work will be completed.

Mark Lancaster

The upgrading and refurbishment of the housing stock in Cyprus is a continuous process. This financial year, the Ministry of Defence has invested £4.4 million on upgrades of Service Families Accommodation (SFA) in Cyprus and this investment will continue in 2016-17. The Defence Capital Infrastructure Programme includes a further £28 million project to refurbish SFA in Cyprus from 2019-2025.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Saudi Arabian government on the role of religious police in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We have not recently discussed the role of the religious police in Saudi Arabia with the Saudi Government.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) a ban on laser pens and (b) setting a minimum age for the purchase of laser pens; and what steps he is taking to ensure online sales of laser pens are regulated.

Anna Soubry

The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 requires all products that are placed onto the UK market whether bought on-line or in a shop to be safe.

The sale and use of laser pointers is an issue that cuts across a number of government departments. Following a cross-Whitehall meeting on 25 February, chaired by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Government has drawn up a plan to tackle these issues to ensure the safety of consumers and the wider public.

The Government is looking at a range of options which may include legislative for controlling the sales, use and possession of laser pens.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-03-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the time taken on investigations into still births.

Ben Gummer

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Green-top Guideline 55 on Later Intrauterine Fetal Death and Stillbirth (2010) guidance for obstetricians and midwives states that all stillbirths should be reviewed in a multi-professional meeting using a standardised approach to analysis. This will enable the identification of substandard care and establish whether any future preventative measures are required. Results of the review should be discussed with the parents.

The Government is investing £500,000 to develop and roll out by March 2017 a new web-based system to be used consistently across the National Health Service so staff can review and learn from every stillbirth and neonatal death.

All stillbirths should also be reported to the MBRRACE-UK collaboration (Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK) which undertakes national surveillance of late fetal losses, stillbirths and infant deaths.