Tag: Jim Shannon

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she was aware of the Homeless World Cup taking place; and what discussions her Department has had with the organisers of that event.

Tracey Crouch

The Homeless World Cup is an excellent example of how sport can transform the lives of homeless people all over the country, and we particularly championed the role of Pride House in creating spaces for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex people to engage with and celebrate the event.

As outlined in our Sport Strategy, the Government recognises the power of engaging in sport and wants to encourage more people from every background to regularly take part in sport.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what support his Department is providing to pensioners who depend on charities and families to pay household bills.

Richard Harrington

This Government is committed to providing a secure and dignified retirement for those pensioners who would otherwise find themselves without an adequate income.

Pension Credit is an income-related benefit paid out of general taxation which targets help at the poorest pensioners. Pension Credit tops up a person’s other income to a standard minimum amount – currently £155.60 for a single person and £237.55 for a couple. Higher amounts may be available for those with a severe disability, caring responsibilities or certain housing costs. The amount of Pension Credit a person receives depends on how much money they have coming in each week and how much they have saved or invested; regular payments from a charity or relative will generally not count towards this calculation.

People in receipt of Pension Credit may also qualify for other benefits (each with their own conditions of entitlement) such as Cold Weather Payments, Funeral Payments from the Social Fund and the Warm Home Discount Scheme. Other benefits such as Housing Benefit and help from the Local Council Tax Reduction scheme are available to Pension Credit recipients and to others who may qualify on the grounds of low income.

Pension Credit recipients are also exempt from certain health charges. Other benefits including Winter Fuel Payments, free prescriptions and concessionary travel are available on the grounds of age.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Reserves recruits made it through Phase 1 of the recruitment process in the last 12 months; and whether the target for such recruitment was met.

Mark Lancaster

Information on how many members of Future Reserves 2020 have completed Phase 1 training and commenced Phase 2 training in the 12 months to 31 July 2016 is shown below:

Maritime Reserve 160

Army Reserve FR20 1,830

Royal Auxiliary Air Force 270

There is no target for completing Phase 1 training but targets exist for trained strength, new entrant inflow and ex-regular trained joiners.

Notes

• 1. Future Reserves 2020 includes volunteer reserves who are mobilised, High Readiness Reserves and those volunteer reserves serving on Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) and Additional Duties Commitment (ADC). Sponsored Reserves who provide a more cost effective solution than volunteer reserve are also included in the Army Reserve FR20.
• 2. Professionally Qualified Officers have been excluded for the Army Reserve FR20 as they may be simultaneously completing Phase 1 and Phase 2 training.
• 3.Figures represent the number of personnel who have completed Phase 1 training and commenced phase 2 training the following month in the 12 months ending 31 July 2016.

• 4.Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. Numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest 20 to avoid systematic bias.

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 estimate her Department has made of the number of cattle which have died of disease or were put down on account of disease in each of the last five years.

George Eustice

Defra collects data on cases of notifiable or reportable diseases, as per a legal requirement. The department does not estimate the number of all cattle or all pigs which have died of disease or were put down on account of disease as the department does not collect cattle or pigs death data.

There have been no pig deaths due to notifiable disease in Great Britain in the last 5 years. There were two cattle deaths in 2015 from Anthrax. The most recent data on Bovine Tuberculosis is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/incidence-of-tuberculosis-tb-in-cattle-in-great-britain

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many abortions have been performed on the grounds of possible abnormalities detected in the womb in each of the last five years.

Nicola Blackwood

Data for the last five years derived from HSA4 forms notifying abortions is available through the following links:

Year	Data
2011	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/200529/Abortion_statistics__England_and_Wales_2011.pdf
2012	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/307650/Abortion_statistics__England_and_Wales.pdf
2013	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319460/Abortion_Statistics__England_and_Wales_2013.pdf
2014	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/433437/2014_Commentary__5_.pdf
2015	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/529344/Abortion_Statistics_2015_v3.pdf

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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 assist young people experiencing anxiety and depression.

Nicola Blackwood

Our Government is committed to delivering the vision set out in the Future in Mind report, which sets out the five-year vision of major system-wide transformation to improve access to high-quality mental health care for all children and young people when they need it and as close to home as possible. Since its publication in March 2015, working alongside our partners in Government and arm’s length bodies, progress has been made on many of the key ambitions to improve access to high-quality support across the country.

The core delivery mechanism for this ambitious programme of transformation are Local Transformation Plans, which are publically available and should cover the full spectrum of need for children and young people who have existing or emerging mental health problems, including anxiety and depression.

To support this transformation, an additional £1.4 billion funding has been made available over the course of this Parliament. This will also enable the expansion and extension of the Children and Young People’s Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme so that high quality evidence-based interventions, including for anxiety and depression, can be delivered by children and young people’s mental health services across England.

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.