Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the Government provides to the Kurdistan regional government related to the provision of education and language training in that region.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK is working with the Kurdistan Regional Government to promote education and language training, particularly through the work of the British Council. Working with institutions across the Kurdistan Region, the British Council is supporting projects to develop skills and build capacity in various sectors including in the vocational education sector. The British Council is also providing online English language opportunities for Kurdish learners and English training for educators. Some of this support is specifically targeted to assist refugees and host communities. We also support further education through our Chevening programme.

Since June 2014, the UK has committed £129.5 million in humanitarian assistance to Iraq. The UK is the largest contributor to the UN’s Iraq Humanitarian Pooled Fund, which has funded education projects for the most vulnerable displaced Iraqi children, amongst other programmes.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the military (a) capabilities and (b) asset levels in Northern Ireland to deal with the threat level.

Mike Penning

Both the adequacy of military capabilities and asset levels in Northern Ireland are continually reviewed with the Northern Ireland Office and civil authorities, who lead on security in Northern Ireland, to ensure our support is proportionate, effective and efficient. Policing and security remains the responsibility of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Security Service and therefore this includes our support to civil authorities. For example, support routinely provided in Northern Ireland includes explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and Defence are currently undertaking an enhancement of military vehicles used for the provision of this support.

I am withholding further information on assessments as its disclosure would prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of our armed forces.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he take steps to raise awareness among pregnant women of the (a) risks of alcohol consumption and (b) benefits of zero alcohol consumption.

Nicola Blackwood

The new United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ (CMO) low risk drinking guidelines provide the public with the most up to date scientific information to help people make informed decisions about their own drinking.

The guideline for women who are pregnant or think they could become pregnant, is that the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all, to reduce risks to the baby to a minimum.

The UK CMOs’ low risk drinking guidelines can be found at Gov.uk at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/alcohol-consumption-advice-on-low-risk-drinking

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-10-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of high drug prices on the budget of the NHS.

Nicola Blackwood

Total spending on drugs in 2010-11 was 12.5% of the health budget.

In 2015-16 total spend on drugs was 13.0% or 12.4% of the total budget if you include repayments to the Department from pharmaceutical companies as part of the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS).

Spending on drugs as a percentage of the overall departmental budget has remained fairly constant due to increased use of generic drugs and the PPRS.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to assist families who are in a position to lose their homes as a result of county court judgements.

Sir Oliver Heald

If a person finds that a county court judgment has been entered against them and they did not owe the money, they can apply to the court to have the judgment ‘set aside’. The Ministry of Justice is working with other government departments to check that creditors are using accurate address details when making money claims.

The Department for Communities and Local Government is responsible for housing policy. Under the homelessness legislation (Part 6 of the Housing Act) any family with dependent children will be provided with accommodation. Homelessness teams will often be able to help families with debt advice or assist them to obtain that advice.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to promote wildlife-friendly farming practices.

George Eustice

Agri-environment schemes play a major role in the conservation of wildlife in England. More than £900 million will be available for Countryside Stewardship for 2014 to 2020.

Biodiversity is one of the main objectives of Countryside Stewardship. The Wild Pollinator and Farm Wildlife Package options within the scheme will be of particular benefit to wild pollinators, farmland birds and other species. The package will play a key role in supporting Defra’s National Pollinator Strategy.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of when Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating programmes will be available throughout the NHS.

Jane Ellison

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Quality Standard for diabetes sets out that people with diabetes should receive a structured educational programme as this is key to ensuring that they are able to manage their condition as successfully as possible.

There are a number of national and locally developed patient education programmes, including Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating which is available to people with Type 1 diabetes via general practitioner referral.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage schools to teach (a) CPR and (b) other life-saving methods.

Edward Timpson

All schools are required to teach a balanced and broadly based curriculum that prepares them for adult life. The new national curriculum focuses on the essential knowledge so that teachers can design a wider school curriculum that best meets the needs of their pupils.

Many schools already choose to include CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and defibrillator awareness as part of their PSHE (personal, social, health and economic education) teaching. The non-statutory PSHE Programme of Study produced by the PSHE Association, teaches young people how to recognise and follow health and safety procedures, ways of reducing risk and minimising harm in risky situations, and how to use emergency and basic first aid.

Many schools also make use of organisations such as the Red Cross and St John Ambulance, to provide information to young people about first aid and dealing with emergencies.The British Heart Foundation has offered to provide free CPR training kits to every secondary school in the country, allowing young people to gain first-hand experience of this important life-saving skill. We have promoted this kit to schools through the all schools termly email and social media channels and we expect many schools to take up this offer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NICE has taken to make the Novalung treatment available on the NHS.

George Freeman

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended in interventional procedures guidance that the use of extracorporeal membrane ventilators, like Novalung, may be considered as a treatment option for suitable patients in a number of conditions.

NICE’s interventional procedures guidance is available on NICE’s website at: www.nice.org.uk/Guidance

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce and prevent incidences of pneumococcal pneumonia.

Jane Ellison

A national pneumococcal vaccination programme is in place to protect individuals for whom pneumococcal infection is likely to be more common and/or serious. Vaccination is provided to children as part of the routine childhood immunisation programme; those aged 65 years or over; and those aged between 2 and 64 years of age who are at increased risk of invasive pneumococcal disease.

There is an increased risk of getting pneumococcal pneumonia following influenza infection. Therefore people aged 65 years and older and those under 65 years of age in clinical risk groups are offered influenza vaccination each year to lower their risk of flu and also pneumococcal disease.

There has been a significant reduction in pneumococcal pneumonia in the United Kingdom, in all ages, this has mainly been the result of the impact of the UK childhood pneumococcal conjugate vaccination programme.