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177350

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
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	Sick Leave
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many days work is lost due to illness each year; and what steps he is taking to reduce absence from work.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	223194
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Office for National Statistics estimated that around 131 million working days were lost due to sickness absences in the UK in 2013, down from 178 million days in 1993.[1] To help tackle this, the Government has recently launched Fit for Work. Fit for Work provides work-related advice to GPs, employers and employees via a website and telephone line. It also provides an opportunity to refer employees who are expected to reach four weeks of sickness absence for an occupational health assessment. The advice element of Fit for Work is live across England and Wales and in Scotland.</p><p> </p><p>Since January 2015 some GPs in the Sheffield and North Wales (Rhyll) area have had the opportunity to try the assessment element. This will be expanded across the country over a period of months from spring, building on this experience and learning. In Scotland, the assessment element went live, initially in three NHS Board areas, in January 2015. As with England and Wales, this will be expanded across Scotland from the spring.</p><p> </p><p>Fit for Work is a fully transferred matter with respect to Northern Ireland. Decisions on whether to establish a similar service in Northern Ireland are for the Northern Ireland Executive.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Government is publicising the Mental Health Support Service of Access to Work via Disability Confident, to help retain people with mental health conditions in work.</p><br /><p>[1] ONS February 2014 <a href="http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_353899.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171776_353899.pdf</a></p> answering member constituency Forest of Dean answering member printed Mr Mark Harper question first answered 09/02/2015 12:35:15 answering member 1520 label Biography information for Mr Mark Harper
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

177497

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
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	Birds: Conservation
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 protect woodcock habitat.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	223195
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2015 answer text <p>Around 150 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) have been notified for woodland breeding bird assemblages, many of which include breeding woodcocks. Conservation objectives for these SSSIs include maintaining the diversity of breeding bird assemblages and maintaining the area of habitat supporting those assemblages.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Countryside Stewardship, the new agri-environment scheme, will have land management options for woodlands and grasslands which are likely to benefit both breeding and wintering woodcock where they are deployed.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 09/02/2015 17:37:49 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

177498

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
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	Birds: Conservation
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 protect capercaillie habitat and reduce the number of pine martens.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	223196
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2015 answer text <p>Wildlife management and protection are devolved issues, so I can only answer for England. There are no populations of capercaillie in England. In England, pine martens are protected and Defra has no plans to take steps to reduce their numbers.</p> answering member constituency Camborne and Redruth answering member printed George Eustice question first answered 09/02/2015 17:27:12 answering member 3934 label Biography information for George Eustice
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

177526

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	Hernias: Surgery
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people had hernia operations in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	223197
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2015 answer text <p>This information is not available in the format requested.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The following table provides information concerning the number of finished consultant episodes (FCEs)<sup>1</sup> with a main or secondary procedure<sup>2</sup> of hernia operation<sup>3,4</sup> for the years 2009-10 to 2013-14<sup>5</sup>.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>FCEs</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>127,273</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>127,025</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>133,617</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>132,172</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>139,072</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector</p><p> </p><p><strong><em> </em></strong></p><p> </p><p><em>Notes:</em></p><p> </p><p>1. A FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number 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.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>2. The number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was recorded in any of the 24 (12 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 4 prior to 2002-03) procedure fields in a Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) record. A record is only included once in each count, even if the procedure is recorded in more than one procedure field of the record. Note that more procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary procedure.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>3. The following codes were used to identify hernia operations:</p><p> </p><p>G23 - Repair of diaphragmatic hernia</p><p> </p><p>R01.2 - Fetoscopic insertion of tracheal plug for congenital diaphragmatic hernia</p><p> </p><p>R04.6 - Percutaneous insertion of fetal tracheal plug for congenital diaphragmatic hernia</p><p> </p><p>T16.4 - Repair of congenital diaphragmatic hernia</p><p> </p><p>T19 - Simple excision of inguinal hernial sac</p><p> </p><p>T20 - Primary repair of inguinal hernia</p><p> </p><p>T21 - Repair of recurrent inguinal hernia</p><p> </p><p>T23 - Repair of recurrent femoral hernia</p><p> </p><p>T24 - Primary repair of umbilical hernia</p><p> </p><p>T25 - Primary repair of incisional hernia</p><p> </p><p>T26 - Repair of recurrent incisional hernia</p><p> </p><p>T27 - Repair of other hernia of abdominal wall</p><p> </p><p>T97 - Repair of recurrent umbilical hernia</p><p> </p><p>T98 - Repair of recurrent other hernia of abdominal wall</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>4. Changes to coding classifications: OPCS-4:</p><p> </p><p>Operative procedure codes were revised from 2006-07:</p><p> </p><p>- 2013-14, 2012-13 and 2011-12 data uses OPCS 4.6 codes</p><p> </p><p>- 2010-11 and 2009-10 data uses OPCS 4.5 codes</p><p> </p><p>- 2008-09 and 2007-08 data uses OPCS 4.4 codes</p><p> </p><p>- 2006-07 data uses OPCS 4.3 codes</p><p> </p><p>- Data prior to 2006-07 uses OPCS 4.2 codes</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>All codes that were in OPCS 4.2 remain in later OPCS 4 versions, however the introduction of OPCS 4.3 codes enable the recording of interventions and procedures which were not possible in OPCS 4.2. In particular, OPCS 4.3 codes onwards include high cost drugs and diagnostic imaging, testing and rehabilitation. Some such activity may have been coded under different codes in OPCS 4.2. These changes may explain some apparent variations over time. Care needs to be taken in using the newer codes as some providers of data did not start using the new codes at the beginning of each data year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>5. HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Conversely, apparent increases in activity may be due to improved recording of diagnosis or procedure information.</p><p> </p><p>Note that HES include activity ending in the year in question and run from April to March, e.g. 2012-13 includes activity ending between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><em>Source:</em> Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Battersea answering member printed Jane Ellison question first answered 09/02/2015 17:18:13 answering member 3918 label Biography information for Jane Ellison
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

177527

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
answering body	Department of Health
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health
answering dept sort name	Health
hansard heading	NHS: Translation Services
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 translation and interpretation costs in the NHS.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	223190
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p>It is for National Health Service providers to decide how much funding they allocate towards the cost of providing translation and interpretation services for patients, their families and the public.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Norfolk answering member printed Norman Lamb question first answered 10/02/2015 12:19:09 answering member 1439 label Biography information for Norman Lamb
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

177551

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Police: Translation Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reduce translation and interpretation costs in police forces.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	223192
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/02/2015 answer text <p>The provision of translation and interpretation services is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of each force in England and Wales. These services fall into one of the categories in which Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables have agreed to move to standardise specifications of their requirements and to aggregate buying power to improve the value for money they obtain.<br><br>Under this Government, collaborative procurement of goods and services has delivered £200 million in savings for the taxpayer.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hemel Hempstead answering member printed Mike Penning question first answered 06/02/2015 14:02:19 answering member 1528 label Biography information for Sir Mike Penning
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

177576

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Translation Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce translation and interpretation costs in the courts.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	223191
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Department provides interpreters in compliance with its international obligations to ensure that trials are fair.</p><p>Following a competitive process, the Department entered into a contract for language services which went live on 30<sup>th</sup> January 2012. The contract was introduced to tackle the inefficiencies and inconsistencies in the previous system. The contract has delivered significant improvements so far and we now have a system that is robust, sustainable and able to deliver a quality service at an affordable level. As a result of the contract, we spent £27m less in the first two years it was running.</p><p>The contract remains on target to achieve the forecasted savings over its whole life term.</p><p>We will of course continue work to further drive improvements in performance and to reduce the burden on taxpayers.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 10/02/2015 14:25:46 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

177609

registered interest
date	03/02/2015
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	Translation Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce translation and interpretation costs in benefit offices.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	223193
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>From April 2014, DWP has not offered Interpreters as a matter of routine to new Jobseeker Allowance (JSA) claimants. There is an expectation that all new JSA claimants will have a level of English which enables them to compete and be successful in the UK labour market. JSA claimants are encouraged to use friends and family as interpreters if this is appropriate.</p> answering member constituency Wirral West answering member printed Esther McVey question first answered 10/02/2015 15:30:19 answering member 4084 label Biography information for Esther McVey
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

175927

registered interest
date	27/01/2015
answering body	HM Treasury
answering dept id	14
answering dept short name	Treasury
answering dept sort name	Treasury
hansard heading	Self-assessment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to encourage people to complete their tax returns by 31 January.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	222146
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/02/2015 answer text <p>The 31 January deadline for online filing of tax returns is well known among Self Assessment (SA) filers, more than two-thirds of whom are represented by agents. For the past three years, more than 90% of customers filed on time.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) uses a mixture of direct reminders and a multimedia proactive publicity campaign to raise awareness and encourage people to pay and file on time.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Hertfordshire answering member printed Mr David Gauke question first answered 03/02/2015 13:58:29 answering member 1529 label Biography information for Mr David Gauke
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

175935

registered interest
date	27/01/2015
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	Fly-tipping
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to enable the seizure of vehicles involved in fly tipping and illegal dumping.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	222114
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2015 answer text <p>Local authorities and the Environment Agency currently have powers to seize vehicles and property under the Control of Pollution (Amendment) Act 1989.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are currently consulting on proposals to commence similar powers under the Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 and introduce new regulations, setting out revised procedures in respect of the stop, search and seizure of vehicles suspected of being involved in waste crime, including fly-tipping and illegal dumping of waste. The revised procedures will make it easier for local authorities and the Environment Agency to exercise the powers in order to identify who is responsible for committing waste offences. Subject to the outcome of the consultation we plan to make the Commencement Order and lay the revised regulations in March this year.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North Cornwall answering member printed Dan Rogerson question first answered 02/02/2015 11:58:04 answering member 1504 label Biography information for Dan Rogerson
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon