Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people were diagnosed with (a) anxiety and (b) depression in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt

Data published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre on the number and prevalence of patients aged 18 and over on the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) depression register in England, as at 31 March for the years 2010/11-2014/15 is shown in the table below.

Data on anxiety is not collected through QOF.

Year	Number of general practitioner (GP) practices	Patient list size all ages	Percentage aged 18 and over	Estimated patient list size of those aged 18 and over	Number of patients aged 18 and over on the depression register	Prevalance
2014/15 2013/14 2012/13 2011/12 2010/11	7,779 7,921 8,020 8,123 8,245	55,817,654 56,324,887 56,012,096 55,525,732 55,169,643	79.3 79.3 79.0 79.0 79.0	45,083,980 44,667,478 44,238,483 43,855,136 43,578,391	3,305,363 2,912,592 2,582,233 5,123,948 4,878,188	7.3 6.5 5.8 11.7 11.2

Source: Quality and Outcomes Framework annual publications, 2010/11 to 2014/15

Note:

Data from years prior to 2012/13 are not comparable with data for years 2012/13 onwards as the QOF business rules for including patients on the depression register changed in 2012/13. Prior to 2012/13, all patients with a record of unresolved depression at any point in their GP patient record were included on the register. As of 1 April 2012, the register rules were changed to only include patients with a new diagnosis of depression in the preceding 1 April to 31 March, who have had a bio-psychosocial assessment by the point of diagnosis.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to help people with cancer who are also suffering from depression.

Jane Ellison

The independent Cancer Taskforce published its report, Achieving World-Class Cancer Outcomes, in July 2015, with the mental health issues often experienced by those with cancer highlighted. A cross-system cancer transformation board, chaired by the National Health Service National Cancer Director, Cally Palmer, is being established to oversee the implementation of the taskforce recommendations.

As part of our approach to support people living with and beyond cancer, we announced in September that, by 2020, the 280,000 people diagnosed with cancer every year will benefit from a tailored recovery package. These recovery packages, developed in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, will be individually designed to help each person live well beyond cancer, including elements such as physical activity programmes, psychological support and practical advice about returning to work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to reduce levels of obesity.

Jane Ellison

Tackling obesity, particularly in children, is one of our major priorities. Progress has been made in recent years, but we know we have much further to go. We will be launching our childhood obesity strategy shortly. It will look at everything that contributes to a child becoming overweight and obese. It will also set out what more can be done by all sides.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of food labelling on reducing the (a) calorie intake and (b) weight of people.

Jane Ellison

Feedback from consumers consistently indicates that clear food labelling helps people to make healthier choices. For example, the United Kingdom voluntary front of pack nutrition labelling scheme, recommended by UK Health Ministers in June 2013, incorporates percentage Reference Intakes information, together with the levels of energy kcal/kJ and four colour-coded nutrients: fat, saturates, sugars and salt. This helps consumers judge how much energy and nutrients a portion of the labelled food will contribute to their overall diet, and also enable them to compare products.

The scheme is based on extensive consumer research and is the result of a full written public consultation, followed by collaboration with the food industry and groups representing consumers and public health interests to develop it.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the cost per household of implementing measures agreed at the Paris Climate Conference.

Andrea Leadsom

The UK’s contribution to the Paris Agreement will be determined by our commitments to meeting EU climate and energy targets, and by the UK’s own domestic framework, comprising a 2050 emissions reduction target of at least 80% on 1990 base year levels and a series of five-year carbon budgets, as established by the Climate Change Act 2008.

The level of the Fifth Carbon Budget covering the period 2028-2032 is required to be set in law by the end of June this year. When making the decision on the level, the Government is required to take account of a number of factors including social circumstances, and in particular the likely impact of the decision on fuel poverty. This decision will be accompanied by an impact assessment which will set out illustrative costs and benefits of meeting different budget levels, recognising that the actions to meet the budget will be uncertain at that stage. In addition, our new emission reduction plan is due to be published towards the end of this year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive on steps to increase exports of food from Northern Ireland to China.

George Eustice

There has been very close collaboration at ministerial and official level to increase food exports to China. On her recent visit the Secretary of State highlighted the Northern Ireland priorities of securing approval for pork plants, finalising access for pig trotters and progressing negotiations for poultry meat. Supporting this extension of access, officials work closely with colleagues from Invest Northern Ireland to ensure complementary export promotional work in China.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the total number of people from the UK who have joined Daesh.

Mr John Hayes

We believe approximately 800 UK linked individuals of national security concern have travelled to take part in the Syrian conflict since it began. Of those who are known to have travelled, about half have returned.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to make high-dose prostate therapy available on the NHS.

Jane Ellison

Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) is commissioned by NHS England. NHS England’s commitment was to ensure that a minimum of 24% of patients requiring radical radiotherapy had access to inverse planned IMRT from April 2013, and this has been achieved nationally.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the likelihood of the Colombia Peace Agreement being reached on 23 March 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Hugo Swire

Talks continue in Havana and both sides are working to meet the 23 March deadline. However, the priority is reaching a sustainable agreement, not the exact date. As President Santos himself has said “If it’s two days after, or one day before, or a week later, it doesn’t matter.”

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, for what reasons the proposed hepatitis C improvement framework has not been published.

Jane Ellison

NHS England’s work to deliver a framework for hepatitis C services has been progressed so far through the formation and implementation of operational delivery networks providing clinical leadership which has progressed in parallel with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence assessment of new drug therapies. NHS England and Public Health England are currently considering the best approach to build further development of hepatitis C services which cuts across a number of commissioning organisations and that NHS England will be publishing an update shortly.