Tag: Jim Shannon

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 increase the number of educational programmes on cancer screening.

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 the average length of time was for the process of fostering a child in each constituent part and county of the UK in each of the last three years.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many incidents of domestic violence were recorded in each county and constituent part of the UK in each of the last five years.

Karen Bradley

The Office for National Statistics publishes data on the number of domestic abuse incidents recorded by the police in England and Wales, at police force level in Focus on: Violent Crime and Sexual Offences 2013/14 – Appendix Table 4.08, available here: www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/crime-stats/crime-statistics/focus-on-violent-crime-and-sexual-offences–2013-14/index.html

The increases seen in domestic abuse incidents recorded by the police over this time period is thought to reflect improvements in the identification and recording of these incidents by the police.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) adults and (b) children undertake appropriate health checks to prevent diabetes complications.

Jane Ellison

Public Health England (PHE) supports local authorities to implement the mandated NHS Health Checks programme. A routine part of NHS Health Checks involves assessing a person’s risk of type 2 diabetes and, for those at risk a diagnostic test is carried out for confirmation of diabetes.

The NHS Diabetic Eye Screening Programme aims to reduce the risk of sight loss among people with diabetes through early detection and timely treatment, if needed, of diabetic retinopathy.

The Healthy Child Programme ‘Pregnancy and the first five years of life’ provides five core reviews for all pregnant women and young children and provide a framework for health promoting and primary prevention activities around behaviours such as breast feeding, healthy nutrition, physical activity and healthy weight which will influence a child’s future health including onset of obesity and type 2 diabetes. The reviews are followed up with early intervention and targeted support for families where additional needs have been identified. The Healthy Child Programme ‘0-19’ provides advice and guidance including healthy weight management, nutrition, physical activity and support children with additional health needs including diabetes.

Improving outcomes for those with diabetes is of great concern to the Government. We will announce our plans in due course.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of solar panels to reduce energy costs for consumers.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government proposed changes to the feed-in tariff scheme (FITs) as part of the FITs review, on which we consulted widely between 27^th August and 23^rd October. The proposals made clear that FITs generation tariffs are set taking into account: bill savings to the generator; value of power exported; and value of the generation tariff balanced against the costs of deploying, operating and maintaining the installations. Detail on the potential value of bill savings was set out in the impact assessment which was published alongside the FITs consultation.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on research into the use of aspirin to improve fertility.

George Freeman

The Department has had no such discussions. The Department’s National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including the use of aspirin or other treatments to improve fertility. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions he has had with his Russian counterpart on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.

Tracey Crouch

Both my Department and UK Anti-Doping engage regularly with international counterparts to discuss a range of sporting matters, including tackling doping in sport.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Saudi Arabian counterpart on trafficking of Yesidi girls from IS-controlled territories.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We continue to condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed by Daesh against all communities throughout the areas under its control. We are working closely with our international coalition partners to assist and protect civilians wherever we can.

The human rights situation for many living in areas under Daesh control is gravely concerning, including for Yezidi women. We have received reports of the ordeal faced by these women and others abducted by Daesh including rape, sexual abuse, forced marriage, forced conversion and women being sold as slaves. Through the Department for International Development we are funding activities to protect vulnerable civilians including through legal assistance and support groups for women.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the government of Romania on improving media freedom and media pluralism in that country.

Mr David Lidington

The British Embassy in Bucharest follows the issue of media freedom in Romania closely, given its impact on the quality of democracy and on the rule of law. As part of the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), to which Romania has been subject since its EU accession, the European Commission has called on Romania to “review existing standards to safeguard a free and pluralist media”. We have worked closely with the European Commission and the Romanian government in encouraging full implementation of CVM recommendations including on the relationship between the media and state institutions.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what account his Department takes of the human rights situation and reports of persecution on the basis of religious belief in Iran in setting its policy on changes to sanctions imposed on that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

We continue to urge Iran to abide by its international commitments to ensure all Iranians enjoy the rights and freedoms they are entitled to. There has been no real improvement in the human rights situation, and in some cases, the situation appears to have worsened. As such, we have designated over 80 Iranians responsible for human rights violations under EU sanctions.