Tag: Jim Shannon

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make the meningitis W vaccine available to all people on the NHS.

Jane Ellison

Immunisation against meningococcal groups A, C, W and Y (MenACWY) was added to the national immunisation programme in August 2015 following advice from the expert body, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), in response to the rising number of meningococcal group W (MenW) cases.

The JCVI advised routinely offering MenACWY conjugate vaccine to teenagers aged around 14 years, and a catch-up programme to vaccinate all teenagers aged 14 to 18 years of age. This is because teenagers are the main carriers of the meningococcal bacteria, and so vaccinating this group should not only provide direct protection against MenACWY for teenagers who are at increased risk of meningococcal disease but, since teenagers are the main carriers, will also reduce meningococcal carriage rates and offer indirect protection for the rest of the population in the longer term.

The JCVI is keeping the situation under review, but has not advised vaccination of additional groups at this time. On the basis of this advice, we do not have any plans to offer MenACWY vaccination to other age groups at this time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to increase self-sufficiency in UK food production.

George Eustice

The UK’s current production to supply ratio is 76% for indigenous-type foods and 62% for all foods. This has remained steady over the last decade and is not low in the context of the last 150 years.

The Government is developing a 25 year food and farming plan to grow our food and farming industry. We want to export more and produce more for the domestic market. We aim to improve productivity and profitability through greater efficiency, the deployment of new technology and by building on the strong international reputation of the British brand at home and abroad.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many sexual offences have taken place in schools in each of the last five years.

Edward Timpson

The department does not hold information on the number of sex attacks that take place in schools.

The closest information we do hold is the number of pupils excluded due to sexual misconduct. However, this may not cover all sex attacks and would not include those committed by non-pupils.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to make activated charcoal available on the NHS to treat (a) alcoholism and (b) obesity.

Jane Ellison

It is for individual clinicians to make decisions on appropriate evidence based treatment together with the patient, taking into account any relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to control populations of invasive non-native waterfowl.

George Eustice

Defra, in conjunction with the Great Britain Non-Native Species Secretariat, takes the problems and risks associated with non-native waterfowl very seriously. Since the 1990s Defra has commissioned and invested in a range of research projects, carried out by the Animal and Plant Health Agency, on invasive non-native waterfowl, including an assessment of the options for large-scale control and field trials of removal techniques for Egyptian geese. Additionally, best practice management guidelines have been published for Canada geese.

Since 2005 Defra has also supported the UK Ruddy Duck Eradication Programme, and recently, established an Invasive Species Action Plan for the sacred ibis, and is developing an action plan for zoos to reduce the risk of escapes of all species, including waterfowl.

Section 14(1) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it illegal to release or allow to escape into the wild, any animal or plant which is not ordinarily resident in Great Britain and is not a regular visitor to Great Britain in a wild state, or is listed in Schedule 9 to the Act. This applies to all animals including waterfowl. An amendment to the 1981 Act, introduced this year in the Infrastructure Act 2015, introduced the provision of Species Control Orders, which can be used to remove any non-native species where they cause significant threats to biodiversity, the water environment, human health or the economy, in cases where a voluntary approach with landowners has otherwise failed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will make extra funding available for digital technology so that full monitoring of dissident Republicans can be maintained.

Mrs Theresa Villiers

This Government has put considerable effort into ensuring the Police Service of Northern Ireland is properly resourced to tackle the terrorist threat. We have provided £231million between 2011 and 2016, and this support has been crucial in helping to ensure that the PSNI’s investigative and operational capacity is effective.

As the Government’s Northern Ireland Manifesto at the election stated, we will always give the fullest possible backing to the PSNI.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

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

Jane Ellison

Information concerning the number of people diagnosed with epilepsy on an annual basis is not collected. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence advises that epilepsy has been estimated to affect between 362,000 and 415,000 people in England and the incidence of epilepsy is estimated to be 50 per 100,000 per year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect on agricultural land of invasive non-native waterfowl.

George Eustice

A 2010 report produced by the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI) (part funded by Defra) estimated the annual costs of non-native geese and swans to agriculture to be approximately £1.5 million. These costs included damage to crops due to grazing, trampling and reduction in soil quality, as well as costs of applying mitigation measures.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to monitor the use of drones in UK airspace.

Mr Robert Goodwill

The Civil Aviation Authority keeps a record of all the permissions they have issued to fly commercial drones in UK airspace. However this does not extend to leisure users of drones. To address this issue The Department for Transport is currently looking at a range of options including regulation, registration and licensing options and a database to increase transparency on the use of drones for the general public. We intend to consult on all of these issues and other possible solutions in 2016.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the prevalence of trans fats in food.

Jane Ellison

There have been no discussions with the royal colleges on measures to reduce the prevalence of trans fats in food.

Population average trans fats intakes account for 0.6-0.7% of food energy, which is well within the public health recommendation of 2% of food energy, and within the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of 1%.

Voluntary action by industry has been successful in removing artificial trans fats from a range of processed products. Over 70% of the retail and manufacturing market has committed to remove or not use artificial trans fats.

The European Commission’s report on trans fats intakes across the European Union, which is due to be published in December 2015, will inform our future thinking on trans fats.