Tag: Jim Shannon

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.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives of the shipping industry on the proposed referendum on membership of the EU.

Mr David Lidington

The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation of the UK’s EU membership. We have been keeping Parliament informed of our progress and engaging with a range of stakeholders, including business. We are not aware of any approaches made directly from shipping industry representatives.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many illegal firearms were seized in each of the last five years; and how many of those were (a) pistols, (b) rifles, (c) shotguns and (d) machine guns.

Mike Penning

The Home Office does not maintain records of firearms seized by police forces in England and Wales.The National Ballistics Intelligence Service regularly assesses the volume and type of illegal firearms in use in the UK. The information is operationally sensitive and is not suitable for release.