Tag: Jim Shannon

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what advice his Department makes available on the prevention of loss of hearing amongst older people.

Alistair Burt

NHS England and the Department jointly published the Action Plan on Hearing Loss in March 2015. The action plan identifies exposure to noise and increasing age as the two major risk factors of hearing loss in working age and older adults. It includes a key objective to: improve the hearing health of all communities, improving equalities and reducing inequalities through prevention of hearing loss; ensure that diverse communities are aware of the importance of good hearing and communication; and, provide effective and up to date communication support for people living with hearing loss to ensure they realise their aspirations. Delivery of this objective will be supported by:

• NHS England working with partners to promote the development of care programmes to focus on people at risk, including those with dementia, depression, diabetes and cataracts.
• Public Health England collating existing data on incidence, prevalence and impact of hearing loss in people aged 65 and over and if possible in key groups such as people with dementia; and,
• The Health and Safety Executive: working with industry stakeholders to identify opportunities to improve compliance with the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005; and, reviewing the feasibility of otoacoustic emissions (OAE) testing as a leading indicator of damaging exposure to noise for workers.

An oversight group with membership from government departments, arm’s length bodies and stakeholders in the hearing loss community will review and monitor progress of implementation of the Action Plan on Hearing Loss.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have had corrective laser eye surgery in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt

Corrective laser eye surgery (surgery to correct a refractive error) is not routinely carried out on the National Health Service other than for exceptional clinical reasons. Refractive errors can be successful corrected with glasses or contact lenses. Data is not collected on the number of corrective laser eye surgery procedures carried out in the independent sector or on the number of successful or unsuccessful procedures.

The following table, provided by the Health and Social Care Information Centre, shows a count of Finished Admission Episodes (FAEs) for those diagnosed with disorders of refraction and accommodation who underwent corrective laser eye surgery between 2009-10 to 2013-14. This data includes a range of laser eye surgery procedures and is therefore not exclusive to corrective laser eye surgery.

Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector

Source:Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make it her policy to attach conditions to aid to Pakistan relating to the prevention of persecution of and discrimination against Christians.

Mr Desmond Swayne

Our aid relationship with any government is based on an assessment of their commitment to our Partnership Principles, which include human rights. The Government of Pakistan has publicly recognised the problems facing minorities, and the need to bring an end to religious persecution. We remain fully committed to working in partnership with them to achieve this.

We raise these issues regularly with the Government of Pakistan; most recently the Head of DFID Pakistan raised this issue in October as part of the annual Bilateral Assistance Talks. Withdrawing aid would undermine our ability to protect the poorest, including many minority and excluded groups.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to make available on the NHS the treatment of lymph nodes to ease the pain of women with breast cancer.

Jane Ellison

Lymph nodes are often one of the first sites to which cancer spreads. Therefore, treatment and, in some cases, removal of lymph nodes is standard practice across the National Health Service to treat cancers which have spread locally.

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

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that people aged over 50 are protected from (a) household and (b) vehicle insurance scams.

Harriett Baldwin

The Government takes insurance fraud very seriously and has taken significant action in this area to protect consumers.

The Government set up the Insurance Fraud Taskforce in January 2015 to investigate the causes of fraudulent behaviour and recommend solutions to reduce the level of insurance fraud, including household and vehicle insurance scams, in order to ultimately lower costs and protect the interests of honest consumers. Its interim report was published in March 2015 and a final report will be published shortly.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the programme to reintroduce the great bustard on Salisbury plain.

Rory Stewart

This project is run by the independent Great Bustard Group. I understand that by the end of 2016 there should be enough evidence available on the survival and dispersal of the birds to know whether the population on Salisbury Plain can successfully rear new birds to join the adult population.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-11-30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the spread of hepatitis C.

Jane Ellison

The Department recognises the public health importance of hepatitis C in the United Kingdom. Following a Tuberculosis/Hepatitis C summit held in London in March, Public Health England (PHE) has a comprehensive range of measures in place to tackle the spread of hepatitis C through surveillance, research, advocacy and commissioning-support activities. PHE is working with local authorities on action plans and work programmes to drive improvements in the prevention, awareness raising, diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C across the UK at a local level.

These activities are undertaken by PHE’s local and national teams and in collaboration with NHS England and third sector partners. The Department works with NHS England to identify the most appropriate way to commission services, to ensure that the right cohorts of patients are able to access treatment when they need it. Particularly in the patients with liver disease from hepatitis C, access to care has specific challenges, and commissioning services will aim to reduce any inequities.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Education on ensuring that children have access to the countryside and learn about wildlife.

Rory Stewart

The Secretary of State is working closely with Department for Education Ministers to ensure the national curriculum gives all children the opportunity to learn about nature and the environment. In particular, we are providing more opportunities for school children to plant, care for and learn about trees. This will give young children the chance to understand and connect with nature, and play a role in making their school grounds and local communities cleaner and greener.

Defra, Natural England and English Heritage have also funded the Natural Connections project which aims to increase the number of school- aged children experiencing the full range of benefits that come from learning in local natural environments. The approach is being piloted in 5 areas across the South West of England and has involved 125 schools.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-12-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people from Pakistan applied for asylum under the detained fast-track procedure for reasons of religious persecution and discrimination in each of the last three years.

James Brokenshire

The basis of an individual’s asylum claim is not recorded on Home Office systems. It is not therefore possible to differentiate Pakistani applicants claiming for reasons of religious persecution and discrimination from Pakistani applicants claiming for one or more other reasons in the Detained Fast Track (DFT) or the non-detained process.

Certification under section 94 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 is not requested by an applicant. It is applied by the Secretary of State in circumstances where the applicant’s claim is refused and considered to be so lacking in merit as to be clearly unfounded.

The number of initial certified refusals for Pakistan main asylum applicants, from year ending September 2013 to year ending September 2015, was 604. The Home Office publishes data on asylum applications and decisions on a quarterly and annual basis. The information supplied on certified refusals is based on initial decisions which do not necessarily relate to applications made in the same period.

No assessment has been made of any difference that might exist between grant rates in respect of Pakistani applicants in the DFT process when it operated, and cases entering the non-detained process at the same time. However, as the DFT process avoided claims involving particular complexity and/or vulnerability, and prioritised cases which appeared to be late or opportunistic, it is to be expected that the DFT would have fewer grants than the non-detained process.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on allegations of doping in athletics.

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.