The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been diagnosed with Castleman disease in each of the last five years.
George Freeman
Information on the number of diagnoses of Castleman disease is not held centrally.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent steps he has taken to prevent pub closures.
Anna Soubry
This Government is committed to supporting a fair and flourishing pubs sector. We have scrapped the beer duty escalator, and at Budget 2015 we cut beer duty for the third year in a row. Through the Community Right to Bid, we are giving communities in England a fairer chance to bid to buy and run their pub by listing it as an Asset of Community Value. We are introducing a statutory Pubs Code and an independent Adjudicator to govern the relationship between large pub-owning companies and the thousands of tenants that run tied pubs across England and Wales. These measures will help to ensure the pubs industry continues to thrive, to the benefit of all those who work hard to make the pub the mainstay of our communities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make available on the NHS cyber-knife technology to treat cancer and reduce time spent in hospital by cancer patients.
Jane Ellison
Cyber-knife technology is one of three treatment platforms that can be used to treat a number of cancers, together with some benign conditions. The treatment platforms deliver stereotactic radiotherapy, both to the body (stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy) which is commissioned for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, and to the head (stereotactic radiosurgery/radiotherapy) for a range of cancer indications covered by clinical commissioning policies which can be found at:
www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-d/d05/
It should be noted that NHS England commissions on the basis of clinical indication and not specifically for treatment platforms. The choice of treatment platform used is ultimately a decision made by trusts themselves.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have been diagnosed with Lyme disease in each of the last five years.
Jane Ellison
The total number of laboratory confirmed Lyme disease cases for each of the last five years is shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Total number of laboratory confirmed Lyme disease cases for each of the last five years:
|
Year |
Total number of Lyme disease cases laboratory confirmed |
|
2010 |
905 |
|
2011 |
959 |
|
2012 |
1,040 |
|
2013 |
878 |
|
2014 |
735 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on the sale of meat and milk from cloned animals.
Jane Ellison
The sale in the European Union of meat and milk from cloned animals is subject to risk assessment under the EU Novel Foods Regulation. These Regulations are currently being revised and have been discussed at a European Council Working Group level, where the Food Standards Agency represents the United Kingdom. The European Parliament has now voted in favour of maintaining the risk assessment of products from cloned animals under the Novel Food Regulations, and the Council is expected to be asked for its formal view shortly.
The European Commission has put forward separate and more specific proposals on the cloning of farm animals and the food derived from them. The discussions on these proposals have yet to gain momentum.
There is currently no authorisation for any meat or milk from cloned animals to be in the UK food chain.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps he has taken to ensure data protection legislation is up to date; and what guidance he has issued to companies on compliance with such legislation.
Mr Edward Vaizey
The Government takes the protection of personal data very seriously and is committed to making sure that the data protection legislation is up to date. The Government is currently negotiating a new EU data protection package and it is important that it meets the needs of both individuals and of business.
Compliance with the Data Protection Act is regulated and enforced by the Information Commissioner’s Office which maintains guidance relating to the Act. Guidance for companies on compliance with the Act can be found at the ICO’s website: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what criteria are applied for the use of intraoperative radiotherapy for treating cancer by the NHS.
Jane Ellison
NHS England does not currently commission intraoperative radiotherapy for the treatment of cancer. To date it has been undertaken in a small number of centres in England as part of a clinical trial.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to encourage people to consume less salt.
Jane Ellison
New voluntary salt reduction targets have been developed for 76 specific food groups that contribute most to people’s salt intakes and major retailers, manufacturers and caterers are working to meet these targets by December 2017.
Maximum per serving salt targets for the out of home sector (restaurants and caterers) have also been set, covering the 10 most popular dishes on menus and children’s meals, and these are being supported by further actions in this sector, including training chefs, reformulating dishes and procuring lower salt ingredients.
The Front of Pack nutrition labelling scheme makes it easier for consumers, at a glance, to understand what they are buying and supports them to make healthier choices including reducing their intake of salt.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2015-10-27.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with shooting organisations on the cost of firearm licences.
Mike Penning
There have not been any recent Ministerial discussions with shooting organisations on the cost of firearm licences.
Following a public consultation on a proposal to increase firearms licensing fees, a new fee structure was introduced in Great Britain on 6 April 2015.
The Firearms Fees Working Group will be reconvened in the New Year to oversee the first annual review and representative members will be invited to attend.
The speech made by Jim Shannon, the DUP MP for Strangford, in the House of Commons on 29 November 2022.
I thank the Minister for having a certain firmness in his response, which is what we wish to hear. I welcome the news that the Chinese ambassador has been summoned by the FCDO to account for this arrest. I encourage the Minister to share—hopefully he can—all the justifications that will be given at that meeting. The reason given to the BBC by the Chinese authorities was that they had arrested Edward Lawrence for his own good in case he caught covid from the crowd. Wow, what a pathetic answer! My goodness. Such was their concern for him, a senior journalist in the BBC and a British citizen, that the Chinese police beat him and kicked him as he tried to lawfully cover a peaceful protest in Shanghai. He had all the necessary permits and licences, and is a veteran reporter in China.
The first question we need to ask is: what assessment has the FCDO Minister made of the safety of British journalists in China following this assault? It is important to remember that the arrest and assault of Edward Lawrence is not the first attack on freedom of speech, but just another example in a long line of journalists and human rights defenders who have been silenced, arrested or simply disappeared by the Chinese Communist party. This is the sixth urgent question granted in this parliamentary term on human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist party. We have seen the CCP establishing incognito police stations in the UK, the assault of Bob Chan outside the Chinese consulate in Manchester, the Xinjiang police files highlighting horrendous crimes against the Uyghurs, and the arrest of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. This is unprecedented and needs urgent action.
This incident is part of a clear pattern of behaviour of increased crackdowns and restrictions on Chinese people within China and on British soil in the run-up to, and following, the 20th national congress of the Chinese Communist party last month. Last night at the Lord Mayor’s banquet, the Prime Minister gave a speech stating that the “golden era” of China-UK relations was over. I welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment, which is worthy of saying. The director general of MI5 said that China represents
“the biggest long-term threat to Britain and the world’s economic and national security”.
Clearly, tougher action is needed to protect British citizens, human rights defenders, pro-democracy activists, and religious and ethnic minorities targeted by the CCP.
David Rutley
As always, my friend the hon. Gentleman raises important points, and he can be assured that when the Chinese ambassador is called in to the FCDO, they will be raised, particularly the immediate point about the arrest, its unacceptable manner and the justification, which as he highlighted is incredibly thin. In that meeting, we will also raise the wider point he has mentioned about the safety of journalists. He raises a number of other important points, including about Chinese police stations. As the Minister for Security, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tonbridge and Malling (Tom Tugendhat), made clear in his statement to the House on 1 November, reports of undeclared police stations in the United Kingdom are extremely concerning and will be taken seriously. The Home Office is reviewing our approach to transnational repression, and the Minister for Security has committed to providing an update on that work to the House in due course. The hon. Gentleman rightly says that there are wider concerns about the increasing authoritarianism and muscular foreign policy of the Chinese, and the Prime Minister rightly set out a new era of robust pragmatism, which we have seen grow over recent years, but which was clearly articulated by the Prime Minister yesterday.