Tag: Jim Shannon

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

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps her Department is taking to assist Ethiopia with famine relief and support in dealing with draught.

James Wharton

Ethiopia is coming out of its worst drought for 30 years. At the peak of the crisis, over 18 million people (approximately 20% of the population) were in need of food assistance.

The UK responded quickly and decisively to the humanitarian crisis and was the second largest bilateral donor. We have provided emergency support for 3.8 million people to date. Through the Government of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Nets Programme (PSNP), which boosts household food security for extremely poor and vulnerable people over five years, UK funds are supporting 1.7 million people in 2016. We will continue to provide support over the coming months, including through longer term programming which will help strengthen the Government of Ethiopia’s ability to cope with future climate shocks.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia in each of the last five years.

David Mowat

This information is not collected.

Fibromyalgia UK has estimated that around 2.5 million people in the United Kingdom are affected by fibromyalgia based on a study conducted in 2010. The study is available at:

www.fmauk.org/general-articles-highlights-208/372-survey-of-five-european-countries-prevalence-of-fibromyalgia

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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, how many incidents of Larsen trap tampering there have been in each of the last five years.

Rory Stewart

Defra does not collect data relating to the interference with traps, including Larsen traps.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the return to Afghanistan of Al-Qaeda.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has regular discussions with his US counterpart and other allies on global security challenges, including Afghanistan. In addition, Government officials regularly discuss insurgency and terrorism in Afghanistan, including Al-Qaeda, with US and NATO partners. This includes how we can best continue to support the Afghan National Unity Government to deliver their own national security.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to promote Small Business Saturday.

Anna Soubry

The Department is fully supportive of the Small Business Saturday campaign and recognises the role it plays in highlighting the importance of small businesses to their local area and the UK as a whole.

This is the third year we have worked with Small Business Saturday. I attended the UK campaign launch event on July 16^th and support is being co-ordinated across government to further promote the campaign in the run up to December 5^th.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges on the availability of cancer treatments relating to genetically-edited immune cells.

Jane Ellison

There have been no discussions with the royal colleges on the availability of cancer treatments relating to genetically-edited immune cells.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the change in the bee population over the summer of 2015.

George Eustice

Records from volunteer societies provide a rich source of data and can be analysed to show how bee populations are changing. In 2014 Defra published a pilot indicator of changes in the wild bee population in the UK. This showed that between 1980 and 2010 some bee species had become more widespread, but that a greater number had become less so.

Defra is working with the research community to improve and update this indicator on pollinators. However, there is currently insufficient data to provide an assessment of changes over the summer of 2015. We hope to update the indicator in future years.

The Government continues to work to strengthen monitoring. In 2014 Defra commissioned a two-year project to develop a robust and affordable framework for monitoring pollinators, which can be applied by volunteers and professionals across the UK. This will report in early 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the (a) NFU and (b) other farming bodies on the effect of herbicides on reducing crop yields.

George Eustice

I have had regular meetings with the National Farmers Union (NFU) and other farming bodies where herbicide issues will have been discussed, but there have been no discussions about herbicides reducing crop yields.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mandatory requirements are in place to ensure that care home staff are well trained.

Alistair Burt

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 all providers of regulated activities have to register with the CQC and follow a set of fundamental standards of safety and quality below which care should never fall.

The Fundamental Standards include a regulation on staffing which ensures that suitably qualified, competent, skilled persons must be deployed. This regulation also ensures that the person employed receives the appropriate training, professional development and have the opportunity to obtain further qualifications appropriate to the work they perform.

CQC inspections ensure that providers are meeting these Fundamental Standards and have a wide range of enforcement powers if a provider fails to meet them.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Afghan government on sexual abuse of and physical attacks on young boys and girls in Afghanistan.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK continues to raise this issue both with the Government of Afghanistan and in multilateral fora. We welcome the Government of Afghanistan’s public commitment of support for human rights and eliminating violence against women and girls, most recently at the September 2015 Senior Officials Meeting in Kabul.

Through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Human Rights and Democracy Programme Fund almost £400,000 has been allocated to address the psychological needs of victims of sexual harassment and violence; support state institutions to improve their response to victims; and raise awareness of the threats.

We are also funding the United Nations Population Fund in Afghanistan (UNFPA) to provide family protection units, which will include psychological aftercare for survivors of sexual violence. This complements the Department for International Development’s work to strengthen access to justice for survivors of violence.

Afghanistan is one of six focus countries for the UK’s National Action Plan for Women, Peace and Security, for which there is a joint implementation plan across FCO, MOD, and DFID. We have also been involved and continue to support the Afghan National Action and Implementation plan.