Tag: Jim Shannon

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Reserves recruits made it through Phase 1 of the recruitment process in the last 12 months; and whether the target for such recruitment was met.

Mark Lancaster

Information on how many members of Future Reserves 2020 have completed Phase 1 training and commenced Phase 2 training in the 12 months to 31 July 2016 is shown below:

Maritime Reserve 160

Army Reserve FR20 1,830

Royal Auxiliary Air Force 270

There is no target for completing Phase 1 training but targets exist for trained strength, new entrant inflow and ex-regular trained joiners.

Notes

• 1. Future Reserves 2020 includes volunteer reserves who are mobilised, High Readiness Reserves and those volunteer reserves serving on Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) and Additional Duties Commitment (ADC). Sponsored Reserves who provide a more cost effective solution than volunteer reserve are also included in the Army Reserve FR20.
• 2. Professionally Qualified Officers have been excluded for the Army Reserve FR20 as they may be simultaneously completing Phase 1 and Phase 2 training.
• 3.Figures represent the number of personnel who have completed Phase 1 training and commenced phase 2 training the following month in the 12 months ending 31 July 2016.

• 4.Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest 20 to avoid systematic bias.

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 estimate her Department has made of the number of cattle which have died of disease or were put down on account of disease in each of the last five years.

George Eustice

Defra collects data on cases of notifiable or reportable diseases, as per a legal requirement. The department does not estimate the number of all cattle or all pigs which have died of disease or were put down on account of disease as the department does not collect cattle or pigs death data.

There have been no pig deaths due to notifiable disease in Great Britain in the last 5 years. There were two cattle deaths in 2015 from Anthrax. The most recent data on Bovine Tuberculosis is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/incidence-of-tuberculosis-tb-in-cattle-in-great-britain

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many abortions have been performed on the grounds of possible abnormalities detected in the womb in each of the last five years.

Nicola Blackwood

Data for the last five years derived from HSA4 forms notifying abortions is available through the following links:

Year	Data
2011	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/200529/Abortion_statistics__England_and_Wales_2011.pdf
2012	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/307650/Abortion_statistics__England_and_Wales.pdf
2013	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319460/Abortion_Statistics__England_and_Wales_2013.pdf
2014	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433437/2014_Commentary__5_.pdf
2015	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/529344/Abortion_Statistics_2015_v3.pdf

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to assist young people experiencing anxiety and depression.

Nicola Blackwood

Our Government is committed to delivering the vision set out in the Future in Mind report, which sets out the five-year vision of major system-wide transformation to improve access to high-quality mental health care for all children and young people when they need it and as close to home as possible. Since its publication in March 2015, working alongside our partners in Government and arm’s length bodies, progress has been made on many of the key ambitions to improve access to high-quality support across the country.

The core delivery mechanism for this ambitious programme of transformation are Local Transformation Plans, which are publically available and should cover the full spectrum of need for children and young people who have existing or emerging mental health problems, including anxiety and depression.

To support this transformation, an additional £1.4 billion funding has been made available over the course of this Parliament. This will also enable the expansion and extension of the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme so that high quality evidence-based interventions, including for anxiety and depression, can be delivered by children and young people’s mental health services across England.

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 male infertility and diabetes or heart disease.

George Freeman

The Department has not commissioned nor assessed specific research on this topic.

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 playing rugby 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 discussions the Government has had with the government of Somalia in preparations for elections in that country in 2016; and what assistance the UK has offered for those preparations.

James Duddridge

We are in regular discussions with the Federal Government of Somalia on the electoral process in 2016. The UK also co-chairs, with the Federal Government of Somalia, the elections working group set up under Somalia’s New Deal Compact, supporting preparations for the 2016 electoral process. At the UN General Assembly in September, My Right Honourable Friend the Member for Witney (David Cameron), the Prime Minister, discussed progress towards an inclusive electoral process with the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, as did My Right Honourable Friend the Member for Welwyn Hatfield (Grant Shapps) Minister of State in the Department for International Development, with Prime Minister Omar Abdullah Sharmarke. Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Somalia attended the National Consultative Forum recently convened by the Federal Government of Somalia to discuss electoral preparations. In the UN Security Council, the UK is working to ensure that Somalia remains a high priority and that there is a coordinated international position in support of the electoral process in Somalia in 2016. The UK provides funding to the UN election support programme in Somalia through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund. This channels support to Somalia’s National Consultative Forum and National Independent Electoral Commission. The UK is also working in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support a nationwide civic education programme that would last for 5 years and would cover all elections in Somalia, both local and national, during that time. The UK provides funding to the UN election support programme in Somalia through the Conflict, Security and Stability Fund. This channels support to Somalia’s National Consultative Forum and National Independent Electoral Commission. The UK is also working in partnership with USAID to support a nationwide civic education programme that would last for 5 years and would cover all elections in Somalia, both local and national, during that time.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many seizures of illegal drugs took place in the UK in each of the last five years; and what the value was of the drugs seized in each such case.

Mike Penning

‘Drug Seizures in England and Wales, 2014/15’ was published on 5 November 2015. This statistical release covers the number of drug seizures made by both police forces and Border Force in England and Wales from 2006/07 to 2014/15. The publication can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2015

Data specifically on the number of seizures made by police forces and Border Force in England and Wales in 2014/15 can be found in Summary Table 1 of the data tables.

The Home Office does not hold information centrally on the number of drug seizures in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Border Force publishes the number of seizures of drugs at the UK border on Gov.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-august-2015

The Home Office and Border Force do no hold any information on the value of drugs seized.

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 ensure that young women attend screening for cervical cancer.

Jane Ellison

The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises Ministers and the National Health Service in all four countries about all aspects of screening policy. The UK NSC reviews its recommendations on a three year basis or earlier if any new peer reviewed evidence emerges.

The UK NSC is currently reviewing the evidence on whether human papillomavirus testing as primary screening for cervical disease should replace the currently used cytology test and whether faecal immunochemical testing could be used as the primary screening marker in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme. Public consultations on both reviews have just closed and the UK NSC is expected to make a recommendation to ministers later this month.

The NHS Breast Screening Programme is currently carrying out a long-term trial to investigate extending current screening eligibility to women aged 47-49 and 71-73. Over two million women have taken part in a randomised control trial, with the impact on breast cancer mortality rates due to be reported in the early 2020s. The UK NSC will consider the research evidence when it is published.

We are not aware of steps being taken by employers to enable staff to take time off work to attend cancer screening appointments. However, Macmillan has produced, “Your rights at work” an information leaflet on reasonable adjustments in the workplace for people who have or have had cancer.

In 2011, the UK NSC recommended that bowel scope screening could be offered in addition to the homes testing kit as part of the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme. Currently 76% of bowel scope screening centres in England are operational, and the Secretary of State’s commitment is to have this programme rolled out to all screening centres in England by the end of 2016. Health Education England has commissioned a training pilot for non-medical endoscopists (NMEs) to provide accelerated training in certain diagnostics procedures, with the aim of providing additional screening capacity. The pilot will commence in January 2016. A framework has also been developed to help NMEs demonstrate that they have achieved the competency levels required for their role.

The NHS Screening Programmes have a dedicated team who oversee education, training and stakeholder information. This involves working closely with Royal Colleges, Professional bodies, stakeholder groups, NHS England, Health Education England and the Public Health England campaigns team. A vast range of educational resources exist which are free to NHS staff and cover all screening programme plus the theory and practice of screening. The team is currently expanding the range of taught courses and e-learning resources to make learning more accessible. Accessible patient information is available to educate users of the service and enable informed choices regarding screening. This is complemented by a comprehensive set of material on NHS Choices regarding all 11 NHS Screening Programmes. Patient information is constantly updated and users are involved in the reviews and evaluation of all materials.

To increase rates of cervical screening in young women, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment programme has commissioned a £1 million study to determine which interventions are effective at increasing screening uptake amongst women who are receiving their first invitation from the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. The study began in November 2011 and reports can be expected in spring 2016.

In addition, the Department of Health Behavioural Insight team is developing a trial to investigate the use of behavioural insights to optimise the content of the invitation letter for cervical screening.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to expedite the process for fostering a child.

Edward Timpson

As this is a devolved matter we can only provide information for England.

Between 2013 and 2015, the government invested £900,000 to support local authorities and their partners in recruiting and retaining the foster carers they need to ensure that there is a range of placement options available to meet the needs of local looked-after children. In 2013, the government streamlined and strengthened the assessment and approval process for foster carers in England. The government introduced a two-stage process to ensure efficiency and transparency. The expected timeframe for approving a person wishing to become a foster carer is eight months but this can vary depending on individual circumstances.

Information on the average duration of foster placements that ceased in England in the year ending 31 March 2014 is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption–2 .

Information on the average duration of foster placements that ceased in England in the year ending 31 March 2013 is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption

Information on the average duration of foster placements that ceased in England in the year ending 31 March 2012 is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-by-local-authorities-in-england-including-adoption.

Analysis of the average duration of foster placements has not been undertaken below national level.

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