Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has had discussions with his German counterpart on improving the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease by the NHS.

Jane Ellison

No specific discussions have been held but the National Health Service, Public Health England and national laboratories across Europe use well established, standardised, tests and international External Quality Assurance schemes are in place to ensure consistency across Europe.

However, Lyme disease is a complex infection and we recognise that challenges in diagnosis and treatment remain. In light of this, the Department is commissioning three reviews on the diagnosis, treatment and transmission of Lyme disease to inform future decision making.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department is taking to make available to people without online access guidance on comparisons of energy prices among different energy providers.

Andrea Leadsom

Consumers without access to the internet can shop around to find a better deal for their energy by using a price comparison company, which is accredited to the Confidence Code operated by Ofgem and provides a free telephone price comparison service. In addition Citizen Advice offers advice and support on energy switching.

The following companies offer such a service:

Energyhelpline 0800 074 0745

Moneysupermarket 0800 177 7087

SimplySwitch 0800 011 1395

UK Power.co.uk 0800 188 4906

uSwitch 0800 051 5493

Energylinx 0800 849 7077

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the UN Secretary-General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict, published in April 2016, if his Department will support the immediate establishment of an international, impartial investigation into reported international humanitarian law violations by all parties in the conflict.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK Government has been clear that we want to see thorough and conclusive investigations where allegations have been made against parties to the conflict in Yemen regarding international humanitarian law. The Saudi Arabian government has its own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail on how they investigate such incidents earlier this year and that any lessons learned would be acted upon. We note the announcement on 6 June of the UN Secretary, Ban Ki Moon, that the United Nations and the Saudi-led Coalition will jointly review the cases and numbers in the Children and Armed Conflict Report.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to improve end-of-life care over the next five years.

Ben Gummer

We are committed to ensuring that everyone at the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care that is tailored to their needs and preferences.

The Government will shortly publish its response to the independent Review of Choice in End of Life Care which will set out actions to improve quality, choice and personalisation of end of life care in the context of delivering the NHS Five Year Forward View throughout this Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on reducing the number of people sleeping rough in the UK.

Mr Marcus Jones

One person without a home is one too many. That is why we have increased central investment to tackle homelessness over the next four years to £139 million. This includes a new national £10 million programme to support innovative ways to prevent and reduce rough sleeping, building on the success of our No Second Night Out initiative.

Homelessness is a devolved matter. I have not had any conversations with my counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive but would be happy to do so.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make laser treatment for chronic gum disease available on the NHS.

Alistair Burt

All clinically necessary dental treatment is available on the National Health Service and it is for a clinician to determine the best treatment option for a patient.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-13.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will hold discussions with credit card companies on steps to support people who have large credit card debts related to shopping.

Simon Kirby

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, one of which is the extent of unaffordable credit card debt. On 3 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 is currently asking for feedback on the findings and potential remedies.

The Government is looking forward to the final report in Q3 2016, 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 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to improve the training available to medical practitioners on the treatment of people with chronic diseases.

Mr Philip Dunne

It is the responsibility of the professional regulators, such as the General Medical Council (GMC), to set the standards and outcomes for education and training and approve training curricula to ensure newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. This includes training in the treatment of people with chronic diseases.

Higher Education Institutions are responsible for ensuring the programmes they provide allow healthcare students to meet the outcomes set out by the regulators upon graduation.

The Royal Colleges, for example the Royal College of Nursing, the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal College of Surgeons, also have responsibility for developing curricula for doctors and nurses, in particular postgraduate curricula.

In England, Health Education England works with bodies that set curricula such as the GMC and the Royal Colleges to seek to ensure training meets the needs of patients, including those with chronic diseases.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the UN on forced organ harvesting in China.

Alok Sharma

The Government has no plans to make representations to the UN on organ harvesting in China. We pay close attention to the human rights situation in China, including allegations of organ harvesting and encourage China to implement its public commitment to stop the use of organs from prisoners. Our current assessment of the human rights situation in China can be found in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Government has made of the potential effect of the single-tier state pension on the level of income of widows.

Richard Harrington

Under the new State Pension over three million women stand to receive an average of £11 a week more State Pension by 2030.

Around four percent of women reaching State Pension age in the first ten years following implementation will be affected by ending access to a derived basic pension while still married and/or when widowed. The proportion falls to two percent or less for succeeding cohorts. We are not able to provide an impact specifically on widows as the analysis does not separately identify the proportion of those who are affected only while married because they predecease their spouse.