Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-09-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has taken steps to support the Northern Ireland Executive in the regeneration of coastal areas in Northern Ireland.

James Brokenshire

I have visited some of the coastal communities in Northern Ireland and aside from their general beauty I have seen how vital they are to local economy. Since its launch in 2012 the UK Government’s Coastal Communities Fund has helped coastal towns across the UK to strengthen their appeal as places to live, work and visit. In Northern Ireland 11 awards have been made, worth £2.5m.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what targets he has set for recruiting female soldiers into the Armed Forces Reserve; and how he plans to track those soldiers’ performance through the recruiting process.

Mark Lancaster

There is a combined UK Regular and Future Reserve 2020 target to increase female personnel to 15 per cent of total intake by 2020. Progress against this target is reported on a biannual basis in the Armed Forces Biannual Diversity Statistics. The information can be found in table 26 at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-armed-forces-biannual-diversity-statistics-2016

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that sprinkler systems are installed in all schools.

Nick Gibb

The proper standard of fire safety, to protect life and property, is essential in our schools. All schools must comply with building and fire safety regulations.

All new schools are assessed on a case-by-case basis for fire safety and, where it is concluded that sprinklers must be fitted to protect property or keep children safe, they will be. This is consistent with the position set out in our Fire Safety Design for Schools – Building Bulletin 100 (BB100) guidance for schools in England and Wales.

Schools in Northern Ireland are required to comply with the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 and the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 which reinforces a risk based approach to fire prevention.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of organ donors from ethnic minorities.

Nicola Blackwood

There are a number of specific initiatives to increase the number of organ donors from ethnic minorities. Less than 5% of deceased organ donors are from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) background, yet patients from BAME communities represent around a quarter of people waiting for a transplant.

The Department works with and supports the National BAME Transplant Alliance to coordinate the work of BAME organisations working within these communities to increase the number of people from a BAME background on the organ donor register and the number of transplants from BAME donors.

The Department has also funded Kidney Research UK to undertake a Peer Educator Project working with the Pakistani Muslim Community in Birmingham and the Bangladeshi community in Tower Hamlets to raise awareness about organ donation.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has developed a behaviour change campaign strategy in support of the Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020: A UK Strategy. This includes increasing its education and engagement activities with BAME communities and a Faith Action Plan outlining action to work in partnership with faith leaders. NHSBT also has a wide range of leaflets promoting organ donation that are translated into a number of different South Asian languages including Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to encourage more regular blood pressure checks as a means of reducing costs to the NHS of conditions that otherwise remain undetected.

Nicola Blackwood

Public Health England (PHE) established the Blood Pressure System Leadership Board (BPSLB) to help drive improvements in the prevention, detection and management of high blood pressure. In 2014 the group published ‘Tackling high blood pressure: From evidence into action’, which sets out priority interventions required and key partner commitments. In the same year, PHE commissioned an assessment of the cost effectiveness of selected blood pressure interventions to help inform the work of the BPSLB.

Between April 2013 and June 2016, 4.58 million people have benefitted from a blood pressure check as part of their NHS Health Check. Recent evaluation of the programme demonstrated that one case of hypertension was diagnosed in every 27 people receiving a check.

PHE and partners have developed a Heart Age Tool, designed to help people understand their heart health and cardiovascular risk factors, including blood pressure. Over one million people have used the tool to date.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to reduce average household debt.

Harriett Baldwin

Household debt as a proportion of income has fallen to 144 per cent in Q2 2015, from a peak of 168 per cent in Q1 2008. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past we have created the independent Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England, to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assistance the Government is providing for housing associations in building more affordable homes for first-time buyers.

Brandon Lewis

The Government is committed to helping hard working families meet their aspirations to own their own homes and it is a priority to increase the provision of affordable housing available to first time buyers.
We have exceeded expectations over the last five years in delivering affordable homes, with more than 260,000 delivered since April 2010.

We are committed to deliver a further 275,000 new affordable homes by 2020. This is well under way with over £1bn of the 2015-18 affordable homes programme already allocated to deliver new affordable homes across the country.

Shared ownership is an integral part of this programme and helps those who may be otherwise priced out of the market to get a foot on the property ladder. Between April 2010 and March 2015 we delivered 41,000 new shared ownership homes.

Through shared ownership and the Government’s commitment to build 200,000 Starter Homes by 2020, we are on track to help thousands of families achieve the dream of home ownership for the first time.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to prevent jihadists recruiting young people through social media sites.

Mr John Hayes

Extremist and terrorist organisations such as ISIL are using the internet to disseminate propaganda and recruit individuals to their groups or to support their aims. Despite the vast majority of British Muslims wanting nothing to do with ISIL, some vulnerable individuals, including young people, are being misled by ISIL’s damaging propaganda through its use of social media sites.

We are therefore working with responsible social media companies to take robust action against terrorist material. Since 2010, over 110,000 pieces of terrorist-related material have been removed at the request of the dedicated Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU). We are pressing social media companies to take stronger, faster and further action to combat the use of their services by terrorist and extremist groups. We want to see a zero tolerance approach to terrorist activity on their networks. We are also working in partnership with civil society organisations prepared to confront the extremist narratives online, increasing their confidence and capability to challenge extremist content effectively and to provide credible alternatives.

We have seen an increase in the pace and scale of terrorist communications by groups such as ISIL, encouraging vulnerable young people to travel to conflict zones like Syria and Iraq. Therefore, it is essential that we equip young people with an awareness of the dangers of terrorist and extremist propaganda and the skills they need to protect themselves from it. The Home Office funds local projects that encourage young people to think critically about potentially harmful or extremist views presented on the internet through addressing all forms of radicalisation.

The Prevent statutory duty introduced this year places an obligation on specified authorities to have due regard to preventing people from being drawn into terrorism. This includes, where relevant, having policies in place relating to the use of IT equipment and considering whether IT equipment should use filtering solutions that limit access to terrorist and extremist material. The Channel programme, which is part of the Prevent duty, is a multi-agency process designed to stop people being drawn into terrorism or terrorist related activity. People identified as being at risk of radicalisation from any source, including online radicalisation, are offered tailored support to address their vulnerability. This support often involves specialist intervention providers who understand the ideology of terrorism and extremism and will seek to steer the vulnerable people away from it.

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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