Tag: Jim Shannon

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to assist students with minimising the accrual of credit card debt.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government has fundamentally reformed regulation of the consumer credit market, which includes the credit card sector. Consumer credit regulation transferred from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2014.

The FCA is currently undertaking a thorough review of the credit card market through its ‘credit card market study’. The market study is investigating three areas, including the extent of unaffordable credit card debt and how consumers can drive effective competition through shopping around and switching.

On the 3rd November 2015 the FCA published its interim report which found that the market was working reasonably well for most customers. However, the FCA expressed concern about the scale of potentially problematic debt in this sector, and the incentives for firms to manage this.

The interim report also included the FCA’s early thinking on potential remedies which include measures to give consumers more control over their credit limits, measures to encourage customers to pay off debt quicker when they can afford to, and proposals that firms do more to identify earlier those consumers who may be struggling to repay and take action to help them manage their repayments.

The FCA also set out potential measures to allow consumers to open access to their credit card usage to other market participants, as well as clarifying standards for price comparison websites, in order to facilitate shopping around and switching. The FCA is currently asking for feedback on the findings and potential remedies.

The Government is looking forward to the full report in the spring, and would encourage interested parties to give their views to the FCA to assist it in addressing the issues it has identified.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government has given to the government of Nepal on the conduct of elections.

Mr Hugo Swire

The UK provided £14 million to support the 2013 Constituent Assembly elections in Nepal. This consisted of support to provide an environment conducive to free, fair and inclusive elections and technical support.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been (a) killed and (b) injured working in ports in each of the last five years.

Justin Tomlinson

Table 1 attached contains data on the number of people who have been reported under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) as (a) killed and (b) injured working in the ports and docks industry in each of the last five years. Please note the caveats included within the table.

The main Standard Industry Classification (SIC) codes used to define the ports and docks industry fall under the general category for the transport industry, of which there are many sub-categories. Considerable overlap exists between codes relating to transport, and codes relating to warehousing and cargo handling, as many organisations are involved in both types of work but can only be attributed to one SIC code. Therefore it is possible that other accidents relating to the ports and docks industry have been classified under different SIC codes; this should be taken into consideration when interpreting the data. A comprehensive text search of all RIDDOR notifications for reference to incidents occurring in ports or docks could not be done without incurring disproportionate cost, and moreover would not be statistically rigorous.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with (a) NATO and (b) the Balkan states on increasing the number of NATO troops and amount of materiel in those states.

Mr Julian Brazier

The UK is fully engaged with NATO’s regular reviews of its distribution of troops and materiel to ensure the Alliance is adaptable to the changing security situation. The NATO Kosovo Force (KFOR) – around 4,600 personnel – is reviewed regularly, with SHAPE currently reporting a positive security and political situation. NATO Allies regularly train in the Western Balkans region, and in 2016 the UK will contribute troops to: Exercise CARPATHIAN EXPRESS and Exercise STEADFAST COBALT in Romania; Exercise STEADFAST LEV in Bulgaria; Exercise IMMEDIATE RESPONSE in Slovenia; and Exercise JOINT EFFORT in Albania.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects that retinal implant chips will be available through the NHS to treat blindness.

Alistair Burt

It is for local National Health Service commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund new treatments, taking into account the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, available evidence and individual patient’s clinical circumstances.

NICE issued interventional procedures guidance on the insertion of a subretinal prosthesis system for retinitis pigmentosa in December 2015. NICE’s recommendation was that this procedure should only be used in the context of research, due to the limited evidence being available on its safety and efficacy.

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

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

Jane Ellison

This data is not available in the format requested.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Government is doing to improve the sharing of intelligence among EU countries to reduce the movement of terrorists across Europe.

Mr John Hayes

The UK works closely with European counterparts in the shared goal of preventing and disrupting the movement of terrorists across Europe. The UK is committed to working towards being fully compliant with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2178 which required countries to takes steps to address the foreign terrorist fighter phenomenon, including reducing their movement.

We work with Member States intelligence services on a bilateral basis and through the Counter Terrorism Group. Beyond our extensive engagement on intelligence channels, including senior visits and operational support, we also work closely with partners through bilateral policy and law enforcement exchanges on counter-terrorism, and discuss the issues at high-level fora such as Justice and Home Affairs Council. We exchange threat assessments and information on our respective approaches to counter terrorism with Member States.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to his Colombian counterpart on the number of trade union activists who have been killed in Cartagena in the last six months.

Mr Hugo Swire

I am aware that a trade unionist was tragically killed in Cartagena on 15 December 2015. I understand that the Colombian authorities are investigating the case. We consistently urge the authorities to follow due process in all cases.

Our Embassy in Bogotá takes every opportunity to urge the Colombian government to take further measures to prevent violence and threats against human rights defenders, including trade unionists. The British Ambassador in Bogota recently raised concerns about human rights defenders with the Colombian Interior Minister on 1 February and with the Presidential Advisor for Human Rights on 4 February. Furthermore, this year we are funding a Colombian NGO to develop protection measures for human rights defenders in rural areas. Our Embassy will continue to raise these issues in regular meetings with the Colombian government.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Turkish counterpart on ensuring that Kurds are part of Syria peace talks.

Mr David Lidington

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has had a number of conversations about Syrian peace talks with the Foreign Minister of Turkey and other Turkish leaders, including during his recent visit to Turkey and at the Syria Conference in London. There was agreement on the importance of support to intra-Syrian negotiations on political transition in Syria. Any political settlement must be inclusive and we trust that the process will bring in a full range of Syria groups at the right time.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the value was to the UK economy of the game meat market in each of the last five years.

Anna Soubry

Official statistics are not broken down in sufficient detail in order to separate the value added and employment attached to the processing and sale of game-meat from that of other meat or poultry products.