Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to support people in improving digital skills.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In February 2025 we published the Digital Inclusion Action Plan, which set out the first five actions the Government is taking to boost digital inclusion across the UK. This includes expanding opportunities for digital upskilling and strengthening support for the Essential Digital Skills framework, which helps individuals and employers understand and build the digital skills needed for work and everyday life. As part of the Action Plan, DSIT launched an 11.9m Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, supporting 85 projects across England, and with funding allocated to devolved governments to support further projects in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Through the Government’s digital entitlement, eligible adults can access fully funded essential digital skills courses and qualifications, supporting people to get online safely and confidently, improve their employability, and access public services. To increase awareness and take-up, DSIT have also launched marketing activity running as part of DfE’s ‘Skills for Life’ campaign, working with partners across the public, private and voluntary sectors.
Alongside this, DSIT is delivering the £187 million TechFirst programme that will support over 4,000 domestic graduates, researchers and innovators and engage 1 million students in digital skills and AI learning. These measures support people at all stages of life to develop the digital skills they need to participate fully in the digital economy and society.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help tackle online abuse against young people.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Online Safety Act contains robust provisions to protect young people from online abuse.
Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must protect all users from illegal harassment and content and children from harmful content, including hateful and abusive content. These provisions are already in force, and Ofcom has robust enforcement powers for platforms who fail to fulfil their duties.
The Act will also require the largest categorised services to offer adults user empowerment tools to enable them to reduce engagement with abusive content. Ofcom will be consulting on these user empowerment tools this year.
We continually monitor the Act’s impact and effectiveness to ensure all users are protected online.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential implications for its policies of allegations that prisoners in Bahrain have been subject to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 15 July in response to Question HL8922, which - for ease of reference - is reproduced below:
The UK regularly engages with the Government of Bahrain and, where appropriate, the independent oversight bodies on a range of human rights and governance matters - those with broader societal impact and individual cases. This has included the cases of Abduljalil al-Singace and Hasan Mushaima. The UK remains committed to supporting reforms in Bahrain.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government has made representations to the Government of Bahrain on the detention and health of Hassan Mushaima and Abduljalil al-Singace.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided in the House of Lords on 15 July in response to Question HL8922, which - for ease of reference - is reproduced below:
The UK regularly engages with the Government of Bahrain and, where appropriate, the independent oversight bodies on a range of human rights and governance matters - those with broader societal impact and individual cases. This has included the cases of Abduljalil al-Singace and Hasan Mushaima. The UK remains committed to supporting reforms in Bahrain.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the humanitarian situation in Pakistan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Minister of State for International Development discussed the humanitarian situation in Pakistan during her visit to the country in early December. In a press release following her trip, she said: "Pakistan is also a country suffering the devastating consequences of climate change, with extreme flooding putting lives at risk, stifling economic growth, and damaging key infrastructure. British expertise will help Pakistan strengthen its adaptation to climate change, its resilience to extreme weather events, and the speed of its response and recovery when crises occur."
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 have been diagnosed with malaria in the last 12 months.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There has been a total of 1,812 cases of malaria reported in the United Kingdom in the twelve months between January and December 2024. The UK Health Security Agency publishes annual malaria statistics in an annual report, titled Malaria in the UK. The statistics for the twelve months between January and December 2025 will be published in 2026.
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 his Department is taking to increase the proportion of patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease receiving annual reviews.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Annual reviews, including reviews of medication, play a key role in the ongoing management of people with respiratory diseases, such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They are recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, as part of its guidance for the diagnosis and management of asthma and COPD
The majority of patients with COPD and asthma are managed by general practitioners and members of the primary care team. The provision of annual reviews is incentivised in primary care through the Quality and Outcomes Framework. There are indicators for annual reviews for both COPD, namely COPD010,and asthma, namely AST007, within this framework.
Further details on these indicators are available in the QOF guidance at the following link:
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 referrals have been made for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as part of the Targeted Lung Health Checks programme; and what regional variation there has been in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease diagnoses arising from that programme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data requested is not available centrally. To enable faster diagnosis and earlier access to treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, access to spirometry tests in community diagnostic centres (CDCs) is growing and will continue to do so as more sites come online. The first five months of 2025/26 saw an increase in CDC spirometry testing of approximately 2,000 tests per month more than in the previous year.
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 his Department has made of the uptake of the Flu Jab in Autumn 2025.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
For England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) publishes provisional vaccine uptake data throughout the flu season. Weekly national level data for general practice (GP) patients is available from October to January and can be found at the following link:
Provisional monthly national, regional, and local level data for GP patients, school-aged children, and frontline healthcare workers is available throughout the season. The first monthly data for the 2025 to 2026 season includes all vaccinations given between 1 September to 31 October 2025 and is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#seasonal-flu-vaccine-uptake:-figures
Compared with the equivalent time period last season, 2024 to 2025, influenza vaccine uptake is higher in two and three years olds, school-aged children, pregnant women, and frontline healthcare worker, and for those aged 65 years old and over and those in clinical at-risk groups, uptake is comparable, with less than a 1% difference. Final end of season data is published in the annual reports in late spring, at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/vaccine-uptake#seasonal-flu-vaccine-uptake:-figures.
Annual reports contain final end-of-season data from multiple previous seasons.
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 he is taking to help prevent the spread of measles in schools.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Vaccination is the safest and most effective way to protect children and staff against measles. In England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care to improve uptake of the routine childhood immunisation programme, including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. The UKHSA also works closely with the Department for Education and a broad range of stakeholders and partners at the national, regional, and local level to communicate the importance of the MMR vaccine and the risk of measles, across media, social media, and through engagement with local communities.
The UKHSA Health Protection Teams work closely with local partners and schools to respond to measles outbreaks when they arise. Guidance for educational settings on preventing and managing infectious disease like measles is available at the following link:
Information for parents whose children have contracted measles can be found at the following link:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/measles/
From 1 January 2026, general practices will offer eligible children a combined vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella instead of MMR, as part of the routine infant vaccination schedule. Further information is available at the following link: