Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to reduce Islamist culture at HM Prison Whitemoor.

Andrew Selous

Any behaviour by those convicted of extremist crimes or who subscribe to an agenda which seeks to promote extremist views will be challenged and managed accordingly.

In order to ensure our current practice is as robust and effective as possible in dealing with such beliefs, the Justice Secretary has commissioned a review, supported by external expertise, of the overall approach to dealing with Islamist extremism in prisons, probation and the youth justice system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will commission an independent five-year review of provision for diabetes.

Jane Ellison

There are no current plans to commission an independent five-year review of provision of diabetes. However, The management of adult diabetes services in the NHS: progress review, published by the National Audit Office on 21 October 2015, provides a review of the progress made by the National Health Service since 2012 on improving services and achieving better outcomes for people with diabetes:

https://www.nao.org.uk/press-releases/the-management-of-adult-diabetes-services-in-the-nhs-progress-review/

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on the reported abduction of girls for arranged marriages in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We are seriously concerned about reports of abduction of girls for forced marriage in Pakistan. It is the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan to ensure it guarantees the rights of all its citizens, regardless of their gender, faith or ethnicity. We raise the issues of women’s rights and religious freedom on a regular basis at a senior level with the authorities in Pakistan and press for greater protection of all citizens’ rights. The Girl Summit, hosted by the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), in July 2014, included a commitment to end child, early and forced marriage.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland of 18 November 2015, Official Report, what steps her Department is taking to support military veterans who served in Northern Ireland in 1972.

Mr Ben Wallace

The Government accepts that we have a duty of care to all current and former members of the Armed Forces, and the MoD pay for independent legal advice when both current and former members of the Armed Forces face prosecution in matters related to their service.

The Armed Forces Covenant sets out the relationship between the nation, the government and the armed forces recognising that the whole nation has a moral obligation to members of the armed forces and their families, and it establishes how they should expect to be treated.

In Northern Ireland, there is a bespoke aftercare package in place to support former members of the UDR and R IRISH (Home Service), their dependents and widows. This consists of welfare teams spread across Northern Ireland which offers vocational resettlement training, medical support, and a UDR/ R IRISH benevolent fund. In August 2015, the MoD agreed that the UDR & R IRISH (HS) Aftercare Service should continue to exist and be funded since circumstances leading to its inception have not markedly changed, need is still evident and demand is being effectively met. However, in line with other defence restructuring, it has been decided that eventually it should become owned by the MoD’s main veterans’ support organisation, known as Veterans UK.

This is in addition to the services available to all veterans; including Veterans UK (in particular the Veterans Welfare Service which has welfare representatives based across the UK); Service and ex-Service charities such as the Army Benevolent Fund – the Soldiers charity, SSAFA – the Armed Forces charity and Combat Stress.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce the cost to the economy of computer hacking.

Matthew Hancock

The Government takes cyber security very seriously: since 2011 we have invested £860 million in a National Cyber Security Programme to protect the UK from cyber attack. Measures have included: setting up a National Cyber Crime Unit, establishing CERT-UK – a computer emergency response team, creating a Cyber Information Sharing Partnership for companies to share information, the Cyber Essentials Scheme for businesses, cyber risk reviews for companies and developing cyber initiatives into the education process.

We will invest £1.9b in cyber security over the next five years to protect the UK from cyber attack. This ambitious level of investment will include: a programme of active cyber defence; creation of a National Cyber Centre and an ambitious skills programme.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the rate of transmission of sexually transmitted infections among (a) men and (b) women over 50.

Jane Ellison

The Government’s Framework for Sexual Health Improvement (2013) set out the ambition for improving sexual health and wellbeing of the population including continuing to reduce the rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Since 2013, local authorities have been mandated to provide genitourinary medicine (GUM) and integrated services for the early diagnosis and treatment of STIs; these services are open-access with no upper age limit. STI prevention programmes are the responsibility of local authorities, and there are a wide variety of local initiatives underway across England. Public Health England commissions a number of national HIV prevention activities and specialised sexual health information resources to provide educational and health resources to reduce the incidence of STIs including HIV in all age groups.

In 2014, there were 11,126 cases of new STIs including HIV in men aged over 50, and 4,103 cases of STIs including HIV in women aged over 50 years of age.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to encourage school children to participate in rifle shooting (a) sports and (b) as part of armed forces cadet activities.

Edward Timpson

Physical education (PE) is a compulsory subject at all four key stages in the national curriculum for maintained schools in England. It sets out the expectation that pupils should be provided with opportunities to engage in a broad range of competitive sports and activities. Teachers have the flexibility to organise and deliver a range of activities; this can include rifle shooting where teachers have the specific expertise.

The government announced in the summer that it was allocating £50m from LIBOR fines to support the cadet expansion programme. This will deliver the Prime Minister’s commitment to expand the number of cadet units to 500 across the UK by 2020.

The Cadet Expansion programme is a joint MOD/DfE initiative. Cadet units aim to build character, discipline and leadership skills, particularly among disadvantaged young people, through military themed activities. Cadets will have the opportunity to experience rifle shooting as part of the cadet syllabus under the supervision of fully trained Cadet Force Adult Volunteers.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that local NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups improve (a) screening, (b) vaccination and (b) symptom awareness in order to address geographical inequalities in cancer outcomes.

Jane Ellison

The NHS public health functions agreement, between the Secretary of State for Health and NHS England, enables NHS England to commission certain public health services, including national immunisation and screening programmes that will drive improvements in population health.

Through this agreement, NHS England commissions services from a variety of providers across England. It strives to reduce variation in local levels of performance between different geographical areas using contracting and commissioning levers, while national and local levels of performance are improved or maintained.

The Independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, in July this year, and recognised the importance of early diagnosis and symptom awareness to improve both patient outcomes and experience. NHS England has appointed Cally Palmer as NHS National Cancer Director. She will lead the implementation of the strategy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the UK has provided to interfaith peace-building initiatives in Nigeria; and what assessment he has made of the outcomes of such initiatives.

James Duddridge

We recognise the important role that interfaith understanding has to play in peace building in Nigeria.

The Department for International Development (DFID) supports a range of initiatives and economic projects to build bridges between Muslim and Christian communities across Nigeria and break the cycle of conflict. For example, through DFID’s Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) religious, traditional and community leaders meet monthly with NGOs, the police, security services and civil society actors to discuss and act on conflict issues.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of when lens implants to prevent age-related macular degeneration will be available on the NHS.

Alistair Burt

No such estimate has been made. Clinical commissioning groups are responsible for the commissioning of ophthalmic services in secondary care. Where National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance does not exist on a particular treatment, it is for commissioners to make funding decisions based on an assessment of the available evidence and on the basis of an individual patient’s clinical circumstances.

NHS Commissioners are required to have in place clear and transparent arrangements for local decision-making on the funding of treatments and for considering exceptional funding requests.