Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to ensure a just transition when moving from fossil fuels to a hydrogen-based economy.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As well as supporting UK energy independence, low carbon hydrogen will be critical to helping British industries transition from oil and gas, provide greener energy for power, transport and potentially home heating. Government’s working closely with the oil and gas industry to achieve a managed transition, including through the North Sea Transition Deal. Deal recognises the world-leading skills of the sector and supply chain and key role it could have in helping deliver net zero and Hydrogen production ambition. The Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill sends a strong signal to support the continued investment necessary to our energy security and transition to cleaner technologies.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to increase awareness of naloxone.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Naloxone is highly effective in reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, and the Government is working to widen access to, and increase the uptake of, this life saving drug. A prescription only medicine that is available across the United Kingdom, naloxone can be prescribed by a doctor or non-medical prescriber or provided, under a Patient Group Direction. It can also be supplied without prescription by drug services, which include specialist National Health Service and voluntary sector treatment services, as well as community pharmacies providing other substance misuse services across the UK.

Naloxone has been available for anyone to use in an emergency since 2005. There is good awareness of it, supported by earlier guidance by the Department and its agencies in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023. Drug treatment services and their suppliers also provide independent awareness-raising materials, targeting people who use opioids.

The Government launched a UK-wide public consultation to seek views on our proposal to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 so that more professionals, services, and family members can give out take-home naloxone supplies. The consultation closed on 6 March 2024, and the responses are currently being analysed. The Government will publish its official response shortly.

The Government is working to increase naloxone carriage, and has provided additional investment in drug treatment services to support this work. In England, local authorities and their partners have been increasing naloxone supply in recent years. There are now three naloxone products available, and supply has been meeting demand. To enable the Government to respond to any future change in demand for naloxone, the Department is working with the Home Office to model scenarios where demand for naloxone may increase, and has conducted a commercial engagement exercise to better understand the naloxone market, and the market’s capacity to respond to changes in demand.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of creating a national naloxone programme.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Naloxone is highly effective in reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, and the Government is working to widen access to, and increase the uptake of, this life saving drug. A prescription only medicine that is available across the United Kingdom, naloxone can be prescribed by a doctor or non-medical prescriber or provided, under a Patient Group Direction. It can also be supplied without prescription by drug services, which include specialist National Health Service and voluntary sector treatment services, as well as community pharmacies providing other substance misuse services across the UK.

Naloxone has been available for anyone to use in an emergency since 2005. There is good awareness of it, supported by earlier guidance by the Department and its agencies in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023. Drug treatment services and their suppliers also provide independent awareness-raising materials, targeting people who use opioids.

The Government launched a UK-wide public consultation to seek views on our proposal to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 so that more professionals, services, and family members can give out take-home naloxone supplies. The consultation closed on 6 March 2024, and the responses are currently being analysed. The Government will publish its official response shortly.

The Government is working to increase naloxone carriage, and has provided additional investment in drug treatment services to support this work. In England, local authorities and their partners have been increasing naloxone supply in recent years. There are now three naloxone products available, and supply has been meeting demand. To enable the Government to respond to any future change in demand for naloxone, the Department is working with the Home Office to model scenarios where demand for naloxone may increase, and has conducted a commercial engagement exercise to better understand the naloxone market, and the market’s capacity to respond to changes in demand.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is for publishing a response to her Department's consultation on Expanding access to naloxone.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Naloxone is highly effective in reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, and the Government is working to widen access to, and increase the uptake of, this life saving drug. A prescription only medicine that is available across the United Kingdom, naloxone can be prescribed by a doctor or non-medical prescriber or provided, under a Patient Group Direction. It can also be supplied without prescription by drug services, which include specialist National Health Service and voluntary sector treatment services, as well as community pharmacies providing other substance misuse services across the UK.

Naloxone has been available for anyone to use in an emergency since 2005. There is good awareness of it, supported by earlier guidance by the Department and its agencies in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023. Drug treatment services and their suppliers also provide independent awareness-raising materials, targeting people who use opioids.

The Government launched a UK-wide public consultation to seek views on our proposal to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 so that more professionals, services, and family members can give out take-home naloxone supplies. The consultation closed on 6 March 2024, and the responses are currently being analysed. The Government will publish its official response shortly.

The Government is working to increase naloxone carriage, and has provided additional investment in drug treatment services to support this work. In England, local authorities and their partners have been increasing naloxone supply in recent years. There are now three naloxone products available, and supply has been meeting demand. To enable the Government to respond to any future change in demand for naloxone, the Department is working with the Home Office to model scenarios where demand for naloxone may increase, and has conducted a commercial engagement exercise to better understand the naloxone market, and the market’s capacity to respond to changes in demand.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the availability of naloxone across England.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Naloxone is highly effective in reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, and the Government is working to widen access to, and increase the uptake of, this life saving drug. A prescription only medicine that is available across the United Kingdom, naloxone can be prescribed by a doctor or non-medical prescriber or provided, under a Patient Group Direction. It can also be supplied without prescription by drug services, which include specialist National Health Service and voluntary sector treatment services, as well as community pharmacies providing other substance misuse services across the UK.

Naloxone has been available for anyone to use in an emergency since 2005. There is good awareness of it, supported by earlier guidance by the Department and its agencies in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023. Drug treatment services and their suppliers also provide independent awareness-raising materials, targeting people who use opioids.

The Government launched a UK-wide public consultation to seek views on our proposal to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 so that more professionals, services, and family members can give out take-home naloxone supplies. The consultation closed on 6 March 2024, and the responses are currently being analysed. The Government will publish its official response shortly.

The Government is working to increase naloxone carriage, and has provided additional investment in drug treatment services to support this work. In England, local authorities and their partners have been increasing naloxone supply in recent years. There are now three naloxone products available, and supply has been meeting demand. To enable the Government to respond to any future change in demand for naloxone, the Department is working with the Home Office to model scenarios where demand for naloxone may increase, and has conducted a commercial engagement exercise to better understand the naloxone market, and the market’s capacity to respond to changes in demand.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make it his policy to allow water customers to have a meter removed from their property.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government has committed to a 20% reduction in water demand by 2038 and halving leakage by 2050. Metering is central to identifying and reducing leakage and enabling better value for money for the consumer. The Government set out that water companies in areas of ‘water stress’ can compulsorily meter, following evidence it provides value for money and has customer support in their resource planning. Where this is the case, a customer may not be able to switch back to unmeasured charges. Other water companies do offer the opportunity for customers to switch back to an unmeasured charge following meter installation. All water companies offer social tariffs as part of affordability packages for consumers who may be struggling to pay their water bills.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether the provisions on knives in the Criminal Justice Bill will also extend to weapons used for historical re-enactments.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

In the Criminal Justice Bill 2023 we are introducing three measures to tackle knife crime:

• Increasing the maximum penalty for selling knives to those under 18 or selling prohibited weapons to 2 years imprisonment.
• Giving the police a new power to seize any bladed article if they are lawfully on premises and suspect that the relevant article would be likely to be used in connection with unlawful violence.
• Creating a new offence of possessing an article with blade or point or an offensive weapon with intent to use unlawful violence.

These measures will apply to all pointed or bladed articles, including those used for historical re-enactment.

On 25 January we laid the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) Order 2024 in Parliament. The Order has now been approved by both Houses of Parliament and this will prohibit the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes from 24 September 2024.

Zombie-style knives are defined in the Statutory Instrument and to fall under the legislation would need to be a bladed article with a plain cutting edge and a sharp pointed end, with a blade of over 8 inches in length, which also has one or more of, a serrated cutting edge, more than one hole in the blade, spikes or more than two sharp points in the blade.

Items which match this criteria will fall under the legislation including those used for historical re-enactment; however, there is a defence in the legislation for in scope items which are blunt.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Prime Minister’s speech on welfare of 19 April 2024, who the specialist work and health professionals are that will be responsible for issuing fit notes; and whether his Department plans to provide training to those professionals on the range of health conditions relevant to the issuing of fit notes.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The trailblazers announced at Autumn Statement 2023 will recruit clinical and non-clinical professionals into roles where they will be provided with additional training and support to conduct robust and in-depth work and health conversations with people, who in turn will be provided with advice and guidance on how they might be able to stay in, or return to, work with the support of their employer.

Our ambition is to co-develop a new fit note process delivered through multi-disciplinary teams, bringing together the issuing of fit notes with health and work advice to support people who are at risk of falling out of work or who have already fallen out of work due to ill health.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department held discussions with organisations representing disabled people on the announcements made in the Prime Minister’s speech on welfare of 19 April 2024.

Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Secretary of State, and ministers, regularly meet with organisations representing disabled people, regarding a range of issues, including welfare. Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly on gov.uk in line with transparency data releases and can be found here: DWP ministerial gifts, hospitality, travel and meetings, - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of continuing Place of Destination checks for plants at Border Control Posts until January 2025.

Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Place of Destination scheme will not be carried forward beyond 30 April 2024. It was only ever intended to be a temporary solution, and moving controls to BCPs and Control Points is vital to achieving the biosecurity aims of the BTOM, by increasing the percentage of consignments we are able to inspect.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many troops were serving in the British Army as of 24 April (a) 2010 and (b) 2024.

Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)

The table below shows the Army Full Time Trained Strength as at 1 April 2010 and Army Full Time Trade Trained Strength as at 1 January 2024.

Notes/Caveats:

1. Figures are published quarterly therefore figures have been supplied as at 01 January 2024 as these are the latest published stats in the public domain.
2. Full Time Trained Strength and Full Time Trade Trained comprises Trained UK Regular Forces, Trained Gurkhas and Full Time Reserve Service Personnel (FTRS).
3. Figures have been rounded to 10 for presentational purposes; numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.
4. Names and definitions have been changed between 2010 and 2024 but figures are comparable.

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Found: 7 of 13 (53.8%) Andy McDonald (Labour, Middlesbrough) (added 5 Jan 2022) 9 of 16 (56.2%) Charlotte

Found: Q327 Charlotte Nichols: The Government’s critical imports and supply chain strategy says that DBT

Found: Julie Marson MP (Conservative, Hertford and Stortford ) Andy McDonald MP (Labour, Middlesbrough) Charlotte

Found: Q26 Charlotte Nichols: We spoke before about the Government’s application of the strategic export

Found: Nichols Tracey Crouch Dr Dan Poulter Rachel Hopkins Matt Warman Rosie Duffield Nadia Whittome

Found: Nichols Tracey Crouch Dr Dan Poulter Rachel Hopkins Matt Warman Rosie Duffield Nadia Whittome

Found: Nichols Tracey Crouch Dr Dan Poulter Rachel Hopkins Matt Warman Rosie Duffield Nadia Whittome

Found: Nichols Tracey Crouch Dr Dan Poulter Rachel Hopkins Matt Warman Rosie Duffield Nadia Whittome

Found: Nichols Tracey Crouch Dr Dan Poulter Rachel Hopkins Matt Warman Rosie Duffield Nadia Whittome

Found: Nichols Tracey Crouch Dr Dan Poulter Rachel Hopkins Matt Warman Rosie Duffield Nadia Whittome

Found: Not called _38 Nadia Whittome Caroline Lucas Afzal Khan Ian Byrne Charlotte Nichols Kate Osborne