Jim Shannon MP: written questions
1010 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Carer's Allowance: OverpaymentsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 27 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34266More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many carers have received an earnings-related Carer’s Allowance overpayment since (a) 16 October and (b) 9 December 2024.
Answer: We do not have the in-year estimates for the time frame suggested however last year’s statistics are a guide to the overall overpayment levels.Levels of Carer’s Allowance overpayments for the year 23/24 can be found here:Fraud and error in the benefit sys...
Answered 10 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordCarer's Allowance: OverpaymentsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 27 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34265More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many carers have received a Carer’s Allowance overpayment since (a) 16 October and (b) 9 December 2024.
Answer: We do not have the in-year estimates for the time frame suggested however last year’s statistics are a guide to the overall overpayment levels.Levels of Carer’s Allowance overpayments for the year 23/24 can be found here:Fraud and error in the benefit sys...
Answered 10 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordHospices: Northern IrelandDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 27 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34264More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure adequate funding of hospices in Northern Ireland.
Answer: Healthcare, including hospice care, in Northern Ireland is devolved and, therefore, a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive, although we are always happy to learn from experiences in other countries, including within the United Kingdom, and share our ...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDefence: Northern IrelandMinistry of DefenceTabled 27 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34263More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his Northern Irish counterpart on the expansion of Northern Ireland's defence workforce.
Answer: Northern Ireland plays a vital role in the defence of the UK, as demonstrated by the £1.6 billion deal with Thales that the Prime Minister announced on 2 March 2025. The deal will see 200 new jobs created at Thales in Belfast, and hundreds more supported ...
Answered 6 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordEnergy: Northern Ireland and ScotlandDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 27 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34262More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on the proposed energy link between Northern Ireland and Scotland.
Answer: Details of Ministers' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Answered 7 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordRivers: SewageDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 27 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34261More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to help reduce sewage in rivers.
Answer: For too long, water companies have discharged unacceptable levels of sewage into our rivers, lakes and seas. That is why we are placing water companies under special measures through the Water (Special Measures) Act, which will strengthen regulation, incl...
Answered 10 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPension CreditDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 27 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 34260More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department holds data on the percentage change in uptake levels of pension credit between 2024 and 2025.
Answer: The latest Pension Credit take-up figures were published in October 2024. They showed that in financial year 2022/23, 65% of those entitled to Pension Credit claimed the benefit. This represents a 2 percentage point increase from financial year 2021/22, w...
Answered 6 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDental Services and Health Services: DisadvantagedDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33891More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of poverty on access to (a) health and (b) dental care.
Answer: Whilst there has been no formal assessment made, it is recognised that people living in the most deprived areas can face challenges accessing health and dental care.Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for arranging health services that are acces...
Answered 10 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: StandardsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33890More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the elected care framework.
Answer: We are committed to working closely with the Northern Irish and other devolved administrations to tackle the shared challenges faced by our health systems. Health is predominantly a devolved issue. However, the Department works collaboratively with the de...
Answered 7 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordUnemployment Benefits and Sickness Benefits: FraudDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33889More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have been sanctioned for claiming unemployment or sickness benefits whilst working and not declaring hours.
Answer: The department does not typically issue sanctions in these circumstances and a fraud or error penalty would instead be considered, where appropriate. We always encourage individuals to notify the department when a change of circumstances occurs, to avoid ...
Answered 6 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordNeurodiversity: Flexible WorkingDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33888More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to allow flexible working patterns for those that suffer with (a) autism, (b) ADHD and (c) other behavioural disorders.
Answer: ADHD and Autism are neurodevelopmental conditions which are often disabilities considered under the Equality Act 2010. The Equality Act 2010 and the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 require employers to make reasonable adjustments and to ensure the heal...
Answered 7 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordMental Health: PupilsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33887More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on tackling poor mental health in schools.
Answer: The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with the Department for Education to deliver the commitment to provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school through rolling out NHS Mental Health Support Teams in scho...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordTelevision Licences: Fees and ChargesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33886More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of recent increases to TV license fees.
Answer: The obligations placed on the BBC, and the public service it provides to the country, show the need for continued, sustainable public funding to support its vital work.The government has committed to retaining the licence fee for the remainder of the Char...
Answered 7 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPupils: AbsenteeismDepartment for EducationTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33885More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she has taken to reduce frequent absences of children from school.
Answer: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.Tackling absence is at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. If children aren’t in school, it doesn’t matter how effective or...
Answered 6 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordBowel Cancer: ScreeningDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33884More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on lowering the threshold for bowel screening to 50.
Answer: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) advises ministers and the National Health Service in the four United Kingdom nations about all aspects of screening. As screening is a devolved matter, it is then for each individual Government to decide on how...
Answered 17 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordDairy Farming: Northern IrelandDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33883More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support the dairy farming industry in Northern Ireland.
Answer: Dairy farming policy is a devolved matter and is therefore the responsibility of the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern Ireland. However, the UK Government is committed to tackling unfairness in the supply chain ...
Answered 11 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordAssets and Bank Services: RussiaTreasuryTabled 26 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33882More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the amount of Russian assets in bank accounts in the UK.
Answer: The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI), part of HM Treasury, announced in December 2023 that £22.7 billion of Russian Assets had been reported as frozen since February 2022 as of October 2023. This figure is collated from a cumulation of ...
Answered 3 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordProstate Cancer: ScreeningDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 25 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33450More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in Northern Ireland on using AI technology for prostate cancer screening.
Answer: The Government follows the advice of the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC currently does not recommend screening for prostate cancer because the current best test is not accurate enough for use in asymptomatic men.We are aware of very ...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordArtificial Intelligence: EmploymentDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 25 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33449More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many people are currently employed in the AI technology sector across the UK.
Answer: We are committed to building an AI sector that can scale and win globally, ensuring AI companies want to call the UK home. Our 2024 AI Sector Study found that the UK AI sector employs over 64,000 people in the UK, up from just over 50,000 people in 2022, ...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordElectronic Cigarettes: ChildrenDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 25 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33448More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of under 16's who vape.
Answer: NHS England publishes estimates of the prevalence of vaping in children from the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use among Young People in England Survey. The latest figures are from the 2023 survey, and showed that 5% of children aged between 11 and 15 years ...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordKnives: SalesHome OfficeTabled 25 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33447More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the accessibility of knives online.
Answer: The Government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve knife crime in a decade and we are already taking a range of steps to make our communities a safer place for our young people.We know that more needs to be done to tackle the sale of knives and ...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordEnergy: PricesDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 25 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33446More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of recent reports that energy bills are forecast to rise from April 2025.
Answer: Energy bills are forecast to rise for the period 1 April to 30 June 2025 due to an increase in international gas prices.The Government believes the only way to protect consumers permanently is to speed up the transition towards homegrown clean energy. The...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordInfected Blood Compensation SchemeCabinet OfficeTabled 25 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33445More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the devolved nations will receive their redress payments for the infected blood scandal.
Answer: The Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is a UK-wide body, established by the Victims and Prisoners Act to administer the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme to victims of the infected blood scandal across the UK. IBCA began making payments to peo...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordPovertyDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 25 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33444More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of housing poverty.
Answer: Poverty statistics are published on both a before housing costs and after housing costs basis. An assessment can therefore be made on the impact of housing costs on poverty over time. Statistics on the number of individuals living in absolute and relative...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordElectric Vehicles: Charging PointsDepartment for TransportTabled 25 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 33443More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the number of electric vehicle charging points in the UK.
Answer: As of 1 February 2025, the Government and industry have supported the installation of 74,234 publicly available charging devices (including 14,687 rapid charging devices) across the UK. More than 680,000 English households have access to a domestic chargi...
Answered 5 Mar 2025
Original Parliament record
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