Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment his Department has made of the human rights situation in Lhasa.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are concerned about human rights violations in Lhasa and Tibet more widely, including restrictions on freedom of religion or belief and on freedom of assembly and association, reports of forced labour, and reports that boarding schools are being used to assimilate Tibetan children into Han culture.
The UK Government consistently raises human rights issues with the Chinese authorities - the Foreign Secretary did so in February in a meeting with China's Foreign Minister. We also regularly raise Tibet in multilateral fora, for example, in January at China's Universal Periodic Review, and on 20 March as part of our Item 4 statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
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 assessment she has made of the adequacy of the uptake of the cervical cancer vaccine.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The routine human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme for adolescents offers a life-saving vaccine to all children in Year 8, to protect them against strains of HPV that can cause some cancers including cervical, anal, head, and neck. High-risk HPV DNA is found in over 99% of all cervical cancers. The UKHSA monitors uptake of the adolescent HPV vaccination programme, and publishes annual statistics for England and the United Kingdom, with further information available at the following link:
This data is used by local NHS Screening and Immunisation Teams to develop local plans to improve uptake and reduce inequalities, in collaboration with key partners such as directors of public health, and their teams in local authorities. Publication of statistical data also generates national communication activity, to raise awareness and improve uptake.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve the (a) detection and (b) management of drones around UK airports.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulate the use of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (drones) to ensure the use of drones remains safe and secure.
Some airports in the UK are already using drone detection systems supplied by third parties to detect and/or manage drone activities within their airspace.
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 many people under the age of 18 were diagnosed with ADHD in the last 12 months.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Data on the number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is not held centrally, but may be held locally by individual National Health Service trusts or commissioners.
The Department is exploring options for improving data collection and reporting on waiting times for ADHD assessments and diagnoses, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way and in line with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s guidelines. In line with this, the National Institute for Health and Care Research has commissioned a research project to provide initial insights into local ADHD assessment waiting times data collection, and NHS England is currently scoping a national programme of work on ADHD, to understand more about the issues relating to ADHD service provision across the country.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether Ministers in his Department have plans to meet with Hong Kong activists (a) Nathan Law, (b) Finn Lau and (c) Christopher Mung.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We will not tolerate any attempt by any foreign power to intimidate, harass or harm individuals or communities in the UK. Officials in Hong Kong, Beijing and London have raised the issuing of arrest warrants and bounties for these individuals with the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities. As the Foreign Secretary said on 14 December, the Hong Kong Police are deliberately targeting individuals for exercising their right to freedom of expression. We have called for the repeal of the National Security Law and continue to make clear our strong objections, including to its extraterritorial reach. That extends to the decisions by the Hong Kong Police to issue arrest warrants and bounties for activists. We call on Beijing to repeal the National Security Law and end its persecution of political activists.
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 information his Department holds on the number of people diagnosed with mouth cancer in the last twelve months.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not available for the last twelve months. The most recent data available from 2021 shows 9,018 people were diagnosed with mouth cancer in England. Further information is available at the following link:
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions for aggravated assault there have been in the last 12 months.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions for criminal offences, including various assault offences, covering the time period requested. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained in the following published tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.
Information relating to aggravating factors for assault offences is only available centrally where this forms a specific offence in legislation, including those listed below. Information on other aggravating factors may be held on court records but to examine individual court records to identify all aggravated assaults would be of disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions for domestic abuse there have been in the last 12 months.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions for criminal offences covering the period requested. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained in the following published tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.
However, it is not possible to separately identify convictions for ‘domestic abuse’ because the information held centrally is related to the offence in law for which a defendant is convicted for. Domestic abuse related offences can be prosecuted under a wide range of legally defined offences. This information may be held on court records, but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to help individuals aged over 65 living in rented accommodation.
Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Renters (Reform) Bill is currently making its way through Parliament. It will deliver the Government’s commitment to a fairer private rented sector in England, improving the system for responsible tenants and good faith landlords.
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 guidance her Department plans to issue to asthmatic people on projected high pollen levels this summer.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
At present, NHS England has no plans to issue guidance to asthmatic people on projected high pollen levels this summer. However, the National Health Service website contains advice on asthma, which includes advice on understanding and managing triggers, such as pollen. The NHS site also links to Asthma and Lung UK’s advice on asthma management, which contains more detailed information on managing triggers, and how best to reduce risk when pollen levels are high.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has new capabilities for monitoring real-time pollen levels for this year’s pollen season. This adds to the UKHSA’s Real-time Syndromic Surveillance, which includes the monitoring of presentations of asthma to the NHS. The UKHSA also provides weekly updates via publicly available surveillance bulletins, which are available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/syndromic-surveillance-systems-and-analyses.
In addition to this work, the Met Office provides alerts and advice when pollen levels are high. These alerts provide valuable information on pollen levels over the next five days for asthmatics and hayfever sufferers, so they can appropriately modify their planned future activities, and ensure they use or have their medication with them.