Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if the Government will raise the link between religious freedom and the degree of broader political liberalisation and stability during peace talks on Syria.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254, which the UK supported, urges all parties to the UN-facilitated political process to adhere to the principle identified by the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) to protect the rights of all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious denomination. Through our membership of the ISSG we will continue to seek to ensure that Syrian minorities will be included and safeguarded as the political process progresses. In our contact with members of the Syrian opposition, who have signed up to the Geneva Communiqué, we have maintained a strong line on our commitment to pluralism and the need to ensure that Freedom of Religion or Belief is enshrined as a constitutional right. A proportion of the High Negotiations Council, including members of the negotiating team, are drawn from religious minority groups in Syria’s richly diverse population.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he has taken to regulate the level of bank account charges in the last 12 months.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government is clear that consumers must be able to access clear and transparent information about the charges that may apply to financial services products, including bank accounts. In addition, the Financial Conduct Authority requires firms to be clear, fair and not misleading when giving information to consumers, including on fees and charges.

Following extensive Government negotiations with the banking industry on basic bank accounts, in January 2016 the UK’s nine largest banks and building societies implemented an agreement to end bank charges on those accounts when a direct debit or standing order fails. Basic bank accounts are now truly fee-free, helping people to manage their money without fear of running up an overdraft.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently investigating the retail banking market, including personal current accounts. In its May 2016 provisional decision on remedies, the CMA proposed requiring banks to take steps including: a monthly maximum charge for unarranged overdrafts; alerts to help customers avoid unarranged overdraft charges; improving comparisons by allowing customers to share data on transactions with other banks and trusted third parties; and regular prompts for customers to check that they are getting good value from their banking provider. The CMA will publish its final report on the retail banking market investigation by 12 August 2016. The Government stands ready to take action once the final report is published.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department has issued to parents on recommended amounts of sleep for children.

Jane Ellison

NHS Choices provides guidance for parents on the amounts of sleep for children at different ages as well as advice and support for parents and children about sleep hygiene. There is no national guidance on evidence-based recommended sleep duration for children because of the significant variation between children and the focus of advice to parents is on good bedtime routines and how to prevent and respond to common sleep problems.

The Start4Life Information Service for Parents includes advice on how to ease babies into good sleeping habits and dealing with common sleep problems. Content for the service is regularly updated and Public Health England (PHE) will continue to address the issue of sleep in children under five via the Start4Life Information Service for Parents.

PHE has also developed specific advice resources on sleep issues for children and young people with the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the MindEd programme.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the doctrine and concepts are of the 77th Brigade; and how those doctrines and concepts were developed.

Penny Mordaunt

Doctrine provides the philosophy and enduring principles by which military forces guide their actions. 77th Brigade uses a combination of NATO and UK doctrine including for Civil Military Cooperation, Security, Stabilisation, Information and Media Operations, as well as Peace Support and Humanitarian Assistance.

The doctrine applied by 77th Brigade has been developed through collaboration with NATO allies, within the UK military and with other Government Departments. It will also have called on the experience and expertise of other nations and academia. The doctrine is dynamic, being constantly tested against experience, and crafted for a contemporary environment, and will therefore continue to develop as new or anticipated challenges appear.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of Travellers’ diarrhoea there have been in each of the last five years; and what steps his Department is taking to advise people travelling about potential medications for that condition.

Jane Ellison

Diarrhoea can be caused by a number of organisms, viruses, bacteria and protozoa and in up to 40% of cases, the causative organism is not identified.

It is therefore usual to report a basket of organisms of specific concern. Salmonella, shigella, campylobacter, giardia and cryptosporidium are the main causes of gastrointestinal (GI) illness in travellers. These infections can sometimes be caught during travel abroad and known as traveller’s diarrhoea (TD).

Public Health England does not hold data on TD caused by viruses as viral GI illness is usually short lived and commonly resolved at home therefore no testing is carried out.

Travellers seeking advice on the management of TD are directed to the National Travel Health Network and Centre website. This is available free of charge to all travellers and each country page has general information including a link to food and water hygiene advice for all travellers to that country.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Vietnamese government on human rights abuses and persecution of Christians.

Mr Hugo Swire

The Government is committed to promoting and protecting the right to freedom of religion or belief around the world, and to being a strong voice internationally in defence of this fundamental right. We raise these and other human rights issues with the Vietnamese government regularly and at all levels. We also work with non-government organisations and likeminded embassies on human rights issues in Vietnam. I raised concerns about the general human rights situation in Vietnam with the Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister during the UK-Vietnam Strategic Dialogue in London in March 2016. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), discussed human rights with the Vietnamese Prime Minister during his visit to Vietnam in April 2016. We will continue to raise these issues with the Vietnamese authorities, including a concerning report from Amnesty International which has just issued on the treatment of prisoners of conscience in Vietnam.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Food and Drink Federation on tackling obesity.

Nicola Blackwood

Details of all Ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published quarterly in arrears on the GOV.UK website. The latest publication which covers meetings between January and March 2016 can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-external-meetings-2016

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the need for a proposed hepatitis C improvement framework; and if he will make a statement.

David Mowat

NHS England has already published its planning approach to implement National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended treatment during 2016/17. It has committed to producing a further operational framework for hepatitis C during 2016/17. Since making this commitment, NHS England’s approach is currently subject to legal proceedings which means that NHS England is keeping the timing of the publication of the Operational Framework under review.

In the meantime, NHS England continues to support the development of Operational Delivery Networks which provide an important local focus for improvements in hepatitis C. The National Health Service continues to work to deliver treatment to 10,000 patients. NHS England is also working with the pharmaceutical industry to secure reductions in price of these effective but costly drugs to enable more people to be cured of hepatitis C.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many women had their ovaries and fallopian tubes removed to prevent cancer in each of the last five years.

David Mowat

The following table provides the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with a primary or secondary diagnosis identifying that prophylactic surgery has been performed due to a family or personal history of cancer and a main or secondary procedure of salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes) in each or the last five years.

	FCEs
2010-11	1,194
2011-12	1,348
2012-13	1,252
2013-14	1,362
2014-15	1,504

Notes:

– Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

– Activity in English National Health Service Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.

– An FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs should not be considered a count of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.

– The following OPCS classification of interventions and procedures codes were used to identify a salpingo-oophorectomy:

Q22.1 – Bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of both ovaries and fallopian tubes)

Q23.1 – Unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (removal of one ovary and fallopian tube)

Q23.2 – Salpingo-oophorectomy of remaining solitary fallopian tube and ovary

Q24.1 – Salpingo-oophorectomy NEC (not elsewhere classified)

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with the government of Sudan on bringing peace to South Sudan.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

Whilst I have not yet personally discussed South Sudan directly with representatives of the Government of Sudan, the UK regularly engages with the Sudanese over this pressing issue. We do this both bilaterally and in the margins of international meetings on South Sudan’s peace process, such as July’s Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission Partners Group meeting, which Sudan hosted and co-chaired with China.