Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Iraqi government on devolution of powers to the Kurdistan regional government.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The autonomy of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq remains enshrined in the 2003 Iraqi Constitution. The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson), our Ambassador to Baghdad, our Consul General in Erbil and I emphasise regularly with both the Government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government the UK’s aim to see a stable, democratic, prosperous and unified Iraq. We also work actively to ensure that both the Kurdistan Regional Government and Government of Iraq cooperate to resolve their differences. In that context we welcome the recent revenue sharing agreement over Kirkuk oil.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of Army Reserves successfully passed the annual mandatory training test in 2015.

Harriett Baldwin

Military Annual Training Tests (MATTs) are a series of 10 tests which members of the Army undertake to ensure that individuals remain competent and proficient in basic military skills and attitudes. The number of MATTs individual members of the Army are required to take varies depending on the role or specialism they are in, whether Reserve or Regular. For example those working in HQ or specialist/professional roles are not required to undertake all MATTs. Those Reserves failing to pass the MATTs they are required to take risk not qualifying for their annual training bounty.

The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with key health stakeholders on providing guidance for GPs on extending the length of appointment slots and increasing the number of appointments bookable for each GP each day.

David Mowat

General practitioners (GPs) are required to provide essential services to meet the reasonable needs of their patients within core hours. Length of appointment slots and number of bookable appointments is determined by individual GP practices. The Department has not had discussions with key health stakeholders on providing guidance for GPs on these matters.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an estimate of the average time taken by NICE to evaluate new orphan and ultra-orphan therapies in the last three years; and what the average time taken from approval is to access those therapies for patients living with rare and ultra-rare conditions.

Nicola Blackwood

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has advised that the average time it has taken to evaluate new orphan and ultra-orphan therapies under the highly specialised technologies (HST) programme to date has been 12-14 months. NICE published draft guidance (on average) 6-8 months into the process. NHS England has ensured access to treatments recommended by NICE through the HST programme is available to patients within three months of final guidance. NICE has also advised that its intention is to publish guidance within 4-6 months from marketing authorisation in the future.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many people have been convicted of animal cruelty offences in each of the last five years.

George Eustice

Details of convictions for animal cruelty cases for 2010 to 2015 can be found on the Government’s official website relating to Criminal Justice System Statistics in the document “Outcomes by Offence”. A link to the document can be found below. The data for animal cruelty is under the category “108 Cruelty to Animal”.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2015

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the fisheries Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive on the level of cod stocks in the Irish Sea.

George Eustice

Defra holds regular discussions on a wide range of fisheries issues, including cod stocks, with counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive. We are currently working together to prepare for the annual European fisheries negotiations that will take place in Brussels on 14-15 December 2015.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with manufacturers of drugs for the treatment of AIDS on preventing rises in the prices of such drugs.

George Freeman

There have been no such representations or discussions. The prices of branded medicines are controlled by the 2014 Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme or under the statutory scheme established under the Health Service Branded Medicines (Control of Prices and Supply of Information) (No.2) Regulations 2008 and the Health Service Medicines (Information Relating to Sales of Branded Medicines etc.) Regulations 2007.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with shooting bodies on ensuring an effective trap is developed to replace the Fenn trap.

Rory Stewart

Defra officials have held discussions with representatives of the shooting bodies, trap manufacturers and retailers to discuss alternatives to the Fenn trap. Defra is in the process of approving a replacement trap and has funded testing on a further two traps.

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 his Department’s strategies to prevent cancer.

Jane Ellison

One of the independent Cancer Taskforce report’s six strategic priorities is to “spearhead a radical upgrade in prevention and public health”. NHS England is currently working with partners across the health system to determine how best to take forward the recommendations of the report.

As part of putting in place a governance structure for delivery of the strategy, NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director. She will lead the implementation of the strategy, as well as new cancer vanguards using outcomes-based commissioning to redesign care and patient experience. Ms Palmer is Chief Executive of the Royal Marsden Hospital.

Public Health England (PHE) runs a number of successful campaigns relating to cancer prevention.

The tobacco marketing programme runs a range of activity to highlight the health harms of smoking. This includes demonstrating the link between smoking and cancer, as well as encouraging smokers to make quit attempts and signposting them to proven NHS tools and services to help. These programmes have been shown to have a positive impact on reducing adult smoking prevalence.

PHE’s flagship social marketing campaign, Change4Life, aims to help families and children in England to eat well, move more, and live longer. Some cancers are highlighted as a health consequence within the campaign messaging. The campaign has enjoyed considerable success and unparalleled levels of engagement. Since its launch in 2009, more than 2.7 million people have signed up to Change4Life and it now has more than 200 national partners. Its tools and resources incentivise and encourage behaviour change.

These complement the Be Clear on Cancer campaigns (BCoC) that encourage symptom recognition and earlier general practitioner presentation. BCoC campaigns have been running since early 2011 and have covered a number of cancers nationally and regionally.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent research his Department has commissioned or conducted on the health effects of e-cigarettes.

Jane Ellison

The National Institute for Health Research is currently funding a randomised controlled trial to examine the efficacy of e-cigarettes compared with nicotine replacement therapy, when used within the United Kingdom stop smoking service. The report of the trial is expected to be published in 2018.

Public Health England commissioned a comprehensive independent review of the latest evidence on e-cigarettes from leading academics. Their report, published on 19 August 2015, included the latest evidence on the safety and health effects of e-cigarettes.