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167481

registered interest
date	02/12/2014
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Bees
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle the bee disease foulbrood.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	216754
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2014 answer text <p>The Healthy Bee Plan sets out the Government’s approach to tackling our highest risks to bee health, which includes foulbrood. It is published at <a href="http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?sectionid=41" target="_blank">http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/index.cfm?sectionid=41</a>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The National Bee Unit has an extensive risk-based surveillance programme in place to check for bee pests and diseases, including American and European foulbrood. The programme targets apiaries that are at a higher risk of disease. Both American foulbrood and European foulbrood are notifiable. Where a case of European foulbrood is identified, the colony is destroyed or treated. For American foulbrood, the colony is destroyed and the hive boxes are sterilised. After treatment, beekeepers are not allowed to move bees from their apiary until a Bee Inspector has visited and confirmed the apiary is free of foulbrood.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Government is working with beekeeping associations to deliver guidance, advice and training on American foulbrood and European foulbrood prevention measures (such as biosecurity and barrier management), good husbandry and disease recognition. We are also working with professional bee farmers to establish an accreditation scheme which allows beekeepers with the appropriate training and practices to take greater responsibility for identification and control of foulbrood in their hives.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>One of the projects funded under the Insect Pollinators Initiative developed modelling systems for managing bee disease by studying the epidemiology of European foulbrood. The final report for this project was recently submitted. Defra has previously funded research on European foulbrood, including the shook swarm method for managing European foulbrood. Final reports are available for these projects.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 05/12/2014 14:00:31 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

167482

registered interest
date	02/12/2014
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Farms: Waste Disposal
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to ensure that green waste disposed on farmland does not contain plastic bags and other non-biodegradable material.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	216750
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2014 answer text <p>The Environment Agency regulates the recovery and disposal of green waste on farmland through a system of environmental permits or registered exemptions issued under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. The permit stipulates the types and quantities of waste that may be handled and imposes other conditions in order to protect human health and the environment.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Quality Protocols, supported by Publicly Available Standards such as those for compost (PAS 100) and the digestate from anaerobic digestion (PAS 110) are also in place. If these standards are met, the output is considered to be completely recycled and is no longer subject to waste management controls. These specifications allow only ‘source-segregated biodegradable’ inputs and this includes biodegradable garden and kitchen wastes collected from households. PAS 100 specifications include stringent limits on physical contaminants - such as metal, plastic and glass - that can be present in the finished composts.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 05/12/2014 13:58:52 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

167513

registered interest
date	02/12/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Sleeping Pills
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent representations he has received on the prescription of zolpidem.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	216755
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2014 answer text <p>In the 6 month period, June 2014 to November 2014, the Department received no written representations concerning the prescribing of zolpidem (Stilnoct).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 05/12/2014 12:50:25 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

167515

registered interest
date	02/12/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Cancer
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to help GPs diagnose cancer at an early stage.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	216751
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2014 answer text <p><em>Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer </em>(January 2011) is backed by an additional £750 million over the four year Spending Review period including over £450 million to achieve early diagnosis. The earlier diagnosis money is designed to support improved direct general practitioner (GP) access to four key diagnostic tests to support the diagnosis of brain tumours, bowel, lung, and ovarian cancers; and increased testing and treatment costs in secondary care. GPs are able to access these tests directly in cases where the two-week urgent referral pathway is not appropriate but a patient’s symptoms require further investigation. The intention is that more people presenting with relevant symptoms will be tested and at an earlier stage.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In 2012, the Department published ‘Direct access to diagnostic tests for cancer: best practice referral pathways for general practitioners’ to provide criteria for accessing these diagnostic tests.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The earlier diagnosis money also supports centrally led Be Clear on Cancer (BCOC) symptom awareness campaigns to raise the public’s awareness of cancer symptoms and encourage people with persistent symptoms to go to the doctor. Since 2011 the Department and Public Health England (since 2013) in partnership with NHS England (including NHS Improving Quality) and other stakeholders have run national BCOC campaigns for bladder and kidney, bowel, breast and lung cancers; regional campaigns for ovarian, oesophagogastric cancers, and local pilot campaigns to raise awareness of four symptoms of unexplained bleeding, lump, pain, and weight loss; and awareness of skin and prostate cancers.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As part of the BCOC campaign process, the Department, Public Health England, and NHS England have worked with Cancer Research UK and other partners to develop briefing sheets to support GPs and other healthcare professionals during the campaigns.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>More generally, to increase awareness of cancer amongst GPs, the Department supported British Medical Journal (BMJ) Learning to develop and launch an on-line learning tool for GPs in 2012. The tool offers accredited professional development and includes four modules - tackling late diagnosis; risk assessment tools; cancer pathway and the role of primary care; and diagnosing osteosarcoma and brain tumours in children with an additional section on communication skills. The tool can be accessed at:</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a href="http://learning.bmj.com/learning/home.html" target="_blank">http://learning.bmj.com/learning/home.html</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In 2013, Macmillan Cancer Support, partly funded by the Department, piloted an electronic cancer decision support (CDS) tool for GPs to use in their routine practice. It is designed to help GPs recognise the symptoms of cancer and identify patients that they might not otherwise refer urgently for suspected cancer. The CDS covers lung, colorectal, oesophagogastric, ovarian and pancreatic cancers and a new symptom checker for melanoma. Following the pilot, Macmillan Cancer Support is able to offer the tool to GPs.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In addition to this, since 2005, the Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer, published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has supported GPs to identify patients with the symptoms of suspected cancer and urgently refer them as appropriate. NICE is in the process of updating this guidance to ensure that it reflects the latest evidence and the anticipated publication date for the revised guidelines is May 2015.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 05/12/2014 13:06:18 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

167516

registered interest
date	02/12/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Organs: Donors
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure that donated organs are suitable for transplant.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	216752
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/12/2014 answer text <p>Potential donors are screened for a number of infections, such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C, Syphilis, Cytomegalovirus and Human T-cell lymphotropic virus. In addition, organs are routinely evaluated prior to retrieval, during retrieval and before implantation by both the retrieval team and the transplantation clinical team.</p><p> </p><p>Trained Specialist Nurses in Organ Donation review the donor’s clinical notes and contact the general practitioner or relevant health professional to obtain the medical history. In order to build an accurate background of the donor’s social and medical history, the Specialist Nurse approaches the family to gather information about the potential donor’s lifestyle choices, travel history and other factors that may impact on whether or not a donor’s organs are appropriate for transplantation, using a standard form to ensure that all relevant history is captured. The decision whether or not to accept an organ for a patient is ultimately made by the transplant surgeon, using their clinical expertise and the information collected to carefully weigh up the risks.</p><p> </p><p>In line with guidance, the transplant team discuss with the potential recipient any known risks associated with the organ which could affect its function in the short and long term before obtaining consent for its use.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 05/12/2014 13:07:31 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

165933

registered interest
date	25/11/2014
answering body	Department for Culture Media and Sport
answering dept id	10
answering dept short name	Culture, Media and Sport
answering dept sort name	Culture, Media and Sport
hansard heading	Mobile Phones: Theft
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will have discussions with mobile telephone companies on measures to prevent victims of mobile telephone theft having to pay excessive bills on their stolen telephones.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	215886
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2014 answer text <p>I have invited the major mobile network operators to a round table meeting in January to confirm details of the liability caps they will offer for unauthorised use of lost or stolen ‘phones.</p><p>We are tackling the problem of high bills when ‘phones are lost or stolen through the Telecommunications Consumer Action Plan.</p> answering member constituency Wantage answering member printed Mr Edward Vaizey question first answered 02/12/2014 10:27:51 answering member 1580 label Biography information for Lord Vaizey of Didcot
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

165960

registered interest
date	25/11/2014
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Marriage Guidance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to support husbands and wives with relationship problems to enable families to stay together.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	215885
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2014 answer text <p /> <p>This Government attaches a high priority to supporting couple relationships and committed a dedicated fund of £30 million for relationship support over the Spending Review period (2011-2015).</p><p> </p><p>We are funding a range of services through a number of expert providers to deliver relationship support provision, including preventative support targeted at couples at risk of family breakdown; activities to encourage the take-up of relationship support; and counselling for couples who may be experiencing difficulties.</p><p> </p><p>We have also introduced a Family Test which will mean that all new relevant domestic policies will need to be assessed for their impact on the family.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Steve Webb question first answered 02/12/2014 11:49:44 answering member 220 label Biography information for Steve Webb
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

166008

registered interest
date	25/11/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Drinks: Sugar
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the levels of sugar in children's drinks.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	215884
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2014 answer text <p>Through our voluntary partnership with industry, we have seen many supermarkets and soft drinks manufacturers take a range of actions to help consumers eat and drink fewer calories. This includes actions to reduce sugar in the drinks they produce and retail and to develop more no or low sugar options.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Examples of recent activity through the voluntary partnership to reduce the intake of sugar from soft drinks include: Britvic’s decision to take its full sugar Fruit Shoot off the market, which it is estimated will remove 2.2 billion kcals from children’s drinks; and the Co-operative Group’s decision to take-out the added sugar from its high juices, which will remove 1.5 billion kcals per year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The school food standards severely restrict the availability of drinks high in sugar. The regulations allow only healthy drinks to be provided in local authority maintained schools, academies set up prior to 2010 and academies and free schools signing their funding agreements from spring 2014.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition has recently published its draft recommendations on carbohydrates. The final report, together with advice from Public Health England on sugar in the diet, is expected to be published in late spring 2015. This will inform the Government’s future thinking on sugar.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 02/12/2014 13:22:35 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

166009

registered interest
date	25/11/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Surgery
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people have had to have implants replaced within five years in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	215887
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2014 answer text <p>Information relating to the number of implants which have been replaced within five years is not available.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Mid Norfolk answering member printed George Freeman question first answered 02/12/2014 14:47:53 answering member 4020 label Biography information for George Freeman
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

166015

registered interest
date	25/11/2014
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Meningitis: Children
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cases of meningitis in children there have been in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	215882
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2014 answer text <p>Meningitis can be caused by a variety of viruses, bacteria and fungi. Public Health England (PHE) does not collect data on all causes but has data on laboratory confirmed cases of invasive meningococcal disease, which is a major cause of bacterial meningitis in England and Wales. This data does not distinguish between presentations of invasive meningococcal disease such as meningitis and septicaemia.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The following table shows the number of cases of confirmed invasive meningococcal disease (all capsular groups) in those of 0-19 years of age, in the last five years (2009-2013).</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Confirmed cases of invasive meningococcal disease in England and Wales, PHE 2009-2013, 0-19 years of age:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Cases (All capsular groups) by age in years</p></td><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>2013</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Up to 1 year of age</p></td><td><p>233</p></td><td><p>239</p></td><td><p>187</p></td><td><p>175</p></td><td><p>161</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1 year of age</p></td><td><p>136</p></td><td><p>117</p></td><td><p>128</p></td><td><p>98</p></td><td><p>79</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2 years of age</p></td><td><p>78</p></td><td><p>64</p></td><td><p>66</p></td><td><p>51</p></td><td><p>50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>3-4 years of age</p></td><td><p>96</p></td><td><p>67</p></td><td><p>69</p></td><td><p>76</p></td><td><p>51</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5-8 years of age</p></td><td><p>71</p></td><td><p>51</p></td><td><p>54</p></td><td><p>34</p></td><td><p>50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>9-10 years of age</p></td><td><p>25</p></td><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>11-14 years of age</p></td><td><p>34</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>26</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>15-19 years of age</p></td><td><p>109</p></td><td><p>99</p></td><td><p>84</p></td><td><p>72</p></td><td><p>79</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total (0-19 years of age)</p></td><td><p>782</p></td><td><p>668</p></td><td><p>632</p></td><td><p>534</p></td><td><p>500*</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*= provisional data</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 02/12/2014 16:08:55 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon