Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which languages to what level members of the 77th Brigade speak.

Penny Mordaunt

77th Brigade does not specifically select personnel for language capability. However, personnel within the brigade hold 59 ‘standard level profile’ (GCSE – to master’s degree level) qualifications in languages including Dari, Pashtu, Russian and Urdu. Some personnel hold more than one of these qualifications.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-06-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what proportion of the projected increase in defence expenditure during the current Parliament his Department expects to spend on (a) equipment and (b) the maintenance of equipment.

Mr Philip Dunne

As a result of the increase in the Defence Budget following the Spending Round, the rigorous efficiency programme being pursued by the Ministry of Defence and the uplift from the Joint Security Fund, our planned spend on equipment acquisition and support has risen from £166 billion to £178 billion over the ten years of the forward programme. The annual breakdown of the Equipment Plan 2016 will be published in the autumn and will detail the expenditure over this Parliament.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on the amount of regulation on farming.

George Eustice

Until we leave the EU, current arrangements for farming, fisheries, food and drink and our environment remain in place.

The negotiation for Britain’s future relationship with Europe will need to begin under the next Prime Minister.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea in reducing conflict in border areas between those countries.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

I refer the hon. Member to the answer the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Hon. Friend the Member for Rochford and Southend East (James Duddridge) gave on 29 June, to PQ 41027.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the level of compliance with Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency regulations which state that biosimilars should be subject to additional monitoring until the safety of such drugs is well established.

Nicola Blackwood

In accordance with European Union pharmacovigilance legislation, biosimilar products authorised in the EU since 1 January 2011 must undergo additional monitoring. The European Medicines Agency maintains and publishes a list of medicines subject to additional monitoring. These medicines are readily identifiable by an inverted black triangle which appears on the product information which is available to health professionals and patients.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-07-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to make personal devices for instant monitoring of insulin levels available to people with diabetes on the NHS.

Nicola Blackwood

We are not aware of any clinical utility associated with the instant monitoring of insulin levels. However, continuous glucose monitoring devices can measure glucose levels 24 hours a day and it is for National Health Service commissioners to decide whether to make these available to their local populations.

In August 2015, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidelines which recommend that such devices should not be made routinely available to people with Type 1 diabetes unless they are willing to commit to using them at least 70% of the time and to calibrate them as needed (as well as meeting certain other criteria).

NICE has found that, for some people, continuous glucose monitoring can have clinical benefit but generally it is not more effective than current methods of self-monitoring.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many dairy farmers there were in each of the last five years.

George Eustice

The number of dairy farms in England from 2011 to 2015 is shown below along with the number of cows in the dairy herd on these farms. The source of cattle population data is the administrative Cattle Tracing System (CTS) data.

Year	Number of dairy farms(a)	Number of cows in the dairy herd
2011	9 041	1 112 459
2012	8 663	1 104 676
2013	8 342	1 098 610
2014	8 092	1 128 548
2015	7 982	1 148 089

(a) Sourced from Cattle Tracing System (CTS). Defined as the number of holdings with more than 10 female dairy cows over 2 years old in the milking herd (i.e. with offspring)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the importance of direct long-haul air links with a hub airport when opening trade discussions around the world.

Mr John Hayes

Evidence on the links between long-haul air connections and international trade was presented by the Airports Commission in its Final Report and supporting documents. The Government is considering all of this evidence very carefully.

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 delivery of services under the CarillionAmey contract to support armed forces married quarters.

Harriett Baldwin

The Ministry of Defence has put in place a strategy to provide an alternative contractor should CarillionAmey fail to sustain performance.

The Department continues to assess CarillionAmey’s performance to determine whether the implementation of this strategy is necessary.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to enforce the EU-wide ban on 37 invasive species.

George Eustice

The EU Regulation on Invasive Alien Species came into force in January 2015, with the first list of 37 banned species published in August 2016.

We are preparing to introduce penalties and sanctions for breaches of the restrictions. We will also be setting up a permitting process. We plan to consult on our proposals shortly.