Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on the potential lessons it has learnt from the collapse of Football Index.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The collapse of BetIndex Ltd, the operators of the novel gambling product Football Index, had a significant impact on former customers, and we recognise the frustration and anger that this has caused. As a result, the Government announced an Independent Review, conducted by Malcom Sheehan KC, which looked at how the company had been regulated and identified lessons learned for various agencies including the Financial Conduct Authority. These recommendations have since been implemented.
Following the collapse of Football Index, the then-Minister held several meetings with the Gambling Commission, and officials have worked closely with their counterparts at His Majesty’s Treasury on the role of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in this case.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support patients with inflammatory skin conditions to manage the impact of their condition on their mental health.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government is committed to supporting everyone’s mental health and wellbeing, and ensuring that the right support is in place, including for those with long term physical health conditions such as inflammatory skin conditions. This is why, between 2018/19 and 2023/24, National Health Service spending on mental health has increased by £4.7 billion, as part of the NHS Long Term Plan.
The NHS continues to develop the NHS Talking Therapies Long Term Conditions services to ensure that people with a long-term physical health condition, such as an inflammatory skin condition, have access to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommended psychological therapies.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will introduce a national register of people with silicosis.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are no plans to introduce a national register of people with silicosis. Data on the diagnosis of, and deaths due to, silicosis is collected by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Office for National Statistics. The HSE’s report, Silicosis and Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis Statistics in Great Britain, contains the latest data of the estimated number of new cases and deaths.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the number of convictions for class (a) A and (b) B drug possession in the last five years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
No specific assessment on trends in convictions for drug offences as a result of policy changes has been made, but the Government takes the matter of harmful drugs very seriously. Our approach to them remains clear - we must prevent drug misuse in our communities and support people through treatment and recovery.
The police have a range of powers at their disposal to deal with drug-related offences, such as illegal possession, and how police choose to pursue investigations is an operational decision for Chief Constables, but we are clear that we expect them to enforce the law. We expect police to take a zero tolerance approach to drug possession, and this can include sanctions other than prosecution. This includes referrals to treatment, as well as sanctions to make offenders understand the impact of their actions and opportunities for them to change their behaviour. However, we are clear prosecution remains an option to deal with repeat offenders.
We keep the classification of drugs under review. Ministers are subject to a statutory obligation to consider advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), an independent scientific advisory body, before making legislation on the classification of drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Legislative changes are accompanied by a robust impact assessment where we set out the potential impacts of such changes.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will take steps to help support Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia in the context of the detention and sentencing of several members of that community on charges related to their religious beliefs and activities.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The UK has repeatedly condemned Russia's persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses. The UK has raised its deep concerns in multilateral fora on several occasions, including at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), most recently on 2 May 2024, and at the UN Security Council. The UK will continue to call on the Russian Government to uphold its international commitments on the freedom of religion or belief and to end its persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department plans to update the National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures in relation to the potential risk surgical of fires.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In January 2023, following a consultation, the Centre for Perioperative Care published revised National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIPs2). These national standards specifically cover all invasive procedures, and include a requirement for local fire safety policies to minimise the risk of surgical fires and to contain a management plan in the event of one occurring. NHS England and the Department are not responsible for the NatSSIPs2 guidance, or further updates.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether he has held recent discussions with his Australian counterpart on the recent stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel during a church service in Wakeley, Australia.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK government condemns the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, and members of his congregation, during a church service in Australia. The Foreign Secretary has not spoken directly to the Australian Foreign Minister about this attack. However, the UK government is committed to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) globally and collaborates closely with the Australian government on tackling terrorism, including through law enforcement and Home Office channels.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the safety of Christian (a) clergy and (b) communities (i) in Kachin, Myanmar and (ii) around the world.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities, including the issue of persecution of Christians globally on account of their faith.
We are aware of the continued vulnerability of religious minorities in Myanmar, including in Kachin state. We are committed to supporting ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar and we continue to raise our concerns over discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities in international fora, including through our co-sponsorship of a UN Human Rights Council resolution on Myanmar in April.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding her Department has allocated to prostate cancer research in the last 5 years.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is proud to invest £1.3 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR research expenditure for all cancers was over £121.8 million for 2022/23, with more spent on cancer than any other disease group. In 2018, the Government announced £75 million towards clinical trials for prostate cancer, with a focus on improving early diagnosis, survival rates, and exploring options for different treatments for men affected by the disease.
Since April 2019, the NIHR has awarded £79.1 million across 49 prostate cancer research programmes. Research includes randomised controlled trials of different treatments for prostate cancer, a randomised controlled trial of different methods of biopsy for suspected prostate cancer, and survivors' rehabilitation evaluation after cancer.
On 19 November 2023, the Government and Prostate Cancer UK announced a £42 million screening trial to find ways of detecting the country’s most common male cancer earlier. Prostate Cancer UK is leading the development of the trial, with the Government contributing £16 million through the Department. Additionally, the NIHR supported over 100 commercial and non-commercial clinical research studies in 2023/24, through the NIHR Research Delivery Network.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of admissions to hospital due to alcohol poisoning in the last five years.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The following table shows the number of hospital admissions in England due to intentional self-poisoning by, and exposure to, alcohol, each year from 2017/18 to 2021/22:
Year | 2017/18 | 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 |
Admissions | 25,330 | 26,970 | 25,640 | 24,010 | 19,000 |
Source: Alcohol Profile - Hospital admissions due to alcohol, from the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, available at the following link:https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/local-alcohol-profiles/supporting-information/admissions2