Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle recruitment to Palestine Action.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This Government is clear that encouragement of terrorism, including glorifying the commission or preparation of acts of terrorism, fundraising for the purposes of terrorism, and inviting support for a proscribed terrorism organisation, such as Palestine Action are all criminal offences. Those under the Prevent duty should not provide a platform for an offence to be committed, or facilitate this activity through provision of endorsement, funding or other forms of support. The Prevent Duty Guidance sets out how local partners should reduce permissive environments to disrupt those who radicalise others to terrorism.
Through the Prevent programme, the Home Office works closely with local partners, policing, and other government departments to raise awareness of the signs of radicalisation and disrupt those groups that radicalise others, online and in communities. This includes ensuring that individuals, particularly those subject to the Prevent duty, are aware that a Prevent referral should be made if there are concerns that a person may be on a pathway that could lead to terrorism.
More broadly, our efforts to counter extremism span a broad range of Government and law enforcement activity and we must persist in our efforts to challenge extremist narratives, disrupt the activity of radicalising groups, and directly tackle the causes of radicalisation.
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 she is taking to increase the number of early interventions for prostate cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Early cancer diagnosis remains a key priority for the Government, and we recognise the importance of implementing early interventions to provide faster diagnoses and quicker access to treatment, including for patients with prostate cancer.
To help develop early interventions for prostate cancer, the Government has invested £16 million into the Prostate Cancer UK-led TRANSFORM screening trial, which aims to identify more effective approaches for detecting prostate cancer earlier. The UK National Screening Committee, which independently advises ministers, is also reviewing the evidence for both population-wide and targeted prostate cancer screening.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve early intervention for SEN children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
We know that early identification of needs is crucial to children’s development, health and life chances. This ensures that the right support is put in place as early as possible to ensure children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can get the best start in life.
On 7 July, we published our commitment to Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life. We have pledged to invest close to £1.5 billion over the next three years to realise the Opportunity Mission and ensure every child has the best start in life. Through this investment, we will expand and strengthen family services, make early education and childcare more accessible and affordable, and improve the quality of early education and childcare.
The government has announced funding for Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority to ensure that children and families who need support the most, especially those from low-income backgrounds or those with additional vulnerabilities, can access it. Hubs will be open to all families, but we expect them to be located mainly in disadvantaged communities where support is most needed.
To support settings to identify need early, we are strengthening the evidence base of what works to improve early identification in mainstream settings. Recently published evidence reviews from University College London will help to drive inclusive practices as they highlight what the best available evidence suggests are the most effective tools, strategies and approaches.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support working parents with childcare costs in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The early education and childcare entitlements are a devolved matter.
Parents may be eligible for childcare support through Tax-Free Childcare or Universal Credit Childcare which are UK-wide offers. Tax-Free Childcare can help with an additional 20% contribution to their childcare costs outside the entitlements, which can be worth up to £2,000 per year for children aged 0 to 11 or up to £4,000 per year for disabled children until they are 17.
Universal Credit Childcare aims to support parents to become financially resilient by moving into work and progressing in work. Eligible Universal Credit claimants can claim back up to 85% of their registered childcare costs each month regardless of the number of hours they work.
Support and guidance from pregnancy to early childhood is available here: https://www.beststartinlife.gov.uk/.
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 potential merits of lowering the age at which women are offered their first smear test.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The cervical screening age in the United Kingdom was officially changed from 20 to 25 years old in 2003. This decision was made by the Advisory Committee on Cervical Cancer Screening which advised the NHS Cervical Screening Programme to raise the starting age due to evidence that screening younger women could do more harm than good. This is because: cervical abnormalities are common in women under 25 years old, but they usually resolve naturally; screening could lead to unnecessary treatments, which carry risks such as increased chances of pre-term delivery; and cervical cancer is extremely rare in women under 25 years old.
Since then, the human papillomavirus vaccination programme has been introduced, which means the vast majority of women under 29 years old have been offered the vaccine that protects against most forms of cervical cancer.
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, what steps she is taking to support grassroots sports.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone should have access to, and benefit from, quality sport and physical activity opportunities.
In England, the Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sports through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions.
Sports facilities provide important community hubs for people of all ages to be active and connect people to the places in which they live. On 19 June 2025, we announced that following the Spending Review at least £400 million is going to be invested into new and upgraded grassroots sport facilities in communities right across the UK, supporting the Government's Plan for Change. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans.
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 assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the recent murder of an Alawite school teacher in Homs, Syria.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We remain deeply concerned about incidents of violence in Syria, including the reports of Reham Hammouda's murder. We continue to advocate for an inclusive political transition, a greater focus in social cohesion, and protection of the rights of all Syrians, regardless of religious or ethnic background. When I met the Foreign Minister and Justice Minister in Damascus in August, I underlined the need for the Syrian Government to ensure that the justice system serves all Syrians.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure police officers are able to perform day to day duties during protests outside hotels housing migrants.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government recognises the operational challenges posed by protests including those taking place outside hotels housing asylum seekers and remains committed to supporting policing so that forces can maintain core duties while managing public order.
Routine abstraction of officers from core roles impacts policing teams’ ability to work with communities to tackle crime and local issues, as well as delivering a consistent and visible presence. However, the deployment of officers and force priorities are matters for the operationally independent Chief Constables.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle workplace discrimination.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Equality Act 2010 provides protection against discrimination, harassment and victimisation in the workplace and in wider society.
The government has introduced and supports a number of schemes and initiatives to support those who have faced discrimination in the workplace. Among these are the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) and the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).
The EASS is a government helpline established to provide free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns. You can contact the EASS via their website, which you can access here: http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/, by telephone on 0808 8000082 or text phone on 0808 8000084. The EASS is able to intervene on an individual’s behalf with a service provider to help resolve an issue. The EASS can also advise people who wish to take their complaint further on their options.
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) provides authoritative and impartial advice free to employees or employers in relation to employment discrimination issues via their website. and telephone helpline 0300 123 1100 or text relay service 18001 0300 123 1100. You can access the website here: http://www.acas.org.uk. Acas also provides employees and employers with Early Conciliation to help them resolve/settle their workplace dispute without going to court.
The Employment Rights Bill, introduced to Parliament on 10 October 2024, contains robust measures to safeguard working people, including protections from sexual harassment, employer action plans covering gender and menopause, and improved dismissal protections for new and expecting mothers.
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 was allocated to immunisation programmes in each financial year since 2022-23.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We have interpreted “allocated” here to mean overall expenditure on vaccination and immunisation programmes. The expenditure by NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on vaccination and immunisation programmes, including associated costs, is set out below. In total, the expenditure on vaccination and immunisation programmes across NHS England and the UKHSA was approximately:
These figures cover spend across England, except for COVID-19 vaccine procurement and associated costs, which are on a United Kingdom-wide basis.