Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with the Welsh Government on a potential exclusion from the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 in the context of the inclusion of glass in a deposit return scheme.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have always maintained that deposit return schemes across the UK should be interoperable to reduce complexity for businesses and consumers, and to avoid unnecessary barriers to trade. We want to ensure that the schemes operate seamlessly for businesses and consumers across the UK.
Defra is working closely with devolved administrations on the next steps to achieve interoperable schemes that work across the UK.
There has been no recent discussion with the Welsh Government on a potential exclusion from the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 in the context of the inclusion of glass in a deposit return scheme.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the introduction of a Sickness absence recording tool (SART) code for menopause.
Answered by Mims Davies - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government believes it is vital that employers support their workers affected by symptoms of the menopause and we are raising awareness of this alongside the Government’s Menopause Employment Champion.
It is important for individual businesses to decide how to record staff absences and support their own workers. The Government has shared guidance and best practice on the Menopause Resources Hub on the Help to Grow portal.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has had discussions with industry representatives on the implementation of a deposit return scheme since November 2023.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is pushing ahead with its programme of reforms to reduce waste and improve our use of resources and remain committed to our goal of eliminating avoidable waste by 2050. It’s essential that we work closely with industry to make sure our reforms will be a success, and we will continue to engage with businesses closely as we proceed with introducing the deposit return scheme.
Defra engage stakeholders across industry (including large and small drinks producers, retailers, wholesalers, and the hospitality sector). We are listening to, and will continue to work with, industry to assess the feasibility of the implementation date as we progress with this project including as part of the Deposit Management Organisation application process.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the study by Gabriel A. Brooks and Luke Clark entitled, The gamblers of the future? Migration from loot boxes to gambling in a longitudinal study of young adults, published in Computers in Human Behaviour, volume 141, in April 2023.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government struck a balanced and evidence-led approach in our review of gambling regulation. We continue to monitor research, and have carefully considered the findings in this study. We recognise that there is a growing body of research that provides evidence of an association between loot box purchases and gambling activity, as well as evidence of a link with a variety of harms, including harmful gambling. However, research has not established whether a causal relationship exists, and there are a range of plausible explanations.
In order to address gaps in research around these and similar areas, we have developed and published the Video Games Research Framework to support high quality independent research into video games, including loot boxes. We are also introducing a statutory levy charged to gambling operators which will raise trusted, long-term funding for gambling research. We are clear that we will continue to look carefully at any further research that results from that and take action if necessary.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 60 g) of the Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, published by his Department on 27 March 2023, whether that stakeholder engagement has been completed; which stakeholders were consulted; and if he will publish the results of the engagement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
‘Cuckooing’ is most commonly associated with the county lines drug distribution model. That’s why, as part of our ambitious 10-year Drugs Strategy, we are investing up to £145m over three years to tackle drugs supply and county lines activity, taking action against county lines holders and safeguarding children and vulnerable people.
The targeted stakeholder engagement exercise, announced as part of the Government’s Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan in March 2023, was conducted over the spring/summer of this year. Officials engaged on the potential merits and scope of a new offence to tackle cuckooing with a variety of key stakeholders such as the police, CJS partners, local authorities, other Government departments, specialists in the field which included academics and NGOs, and the Devolved Governments.
The results of the engagement exercise revealed there are a range of powers and tools available to disrupt cuckooing activity and officials continue to work closely with police and wider partners to both raise awareness of cuckooing and share effective practice to tackle this abhorrent practice.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the University of Bristol research paper entitled, The prevalence of gambling adverts during the opening weekend of the English Premier League 2023-23, published 2024; and if she will take legislative steps to reduce the number of gambling adverts shown during football matches.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that, while millions of people gamble online without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences. In our approach to gambling advertising, we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising that is most likely to appeal to children, while still allowing sports bodies and others to benefit commercially from deals with responsible gambling firms. There are robust rules in place to ensure that gambling advertising is socially responsible and cannot be targeted at or strongly appeal to children. The Government welcomed the voluntary whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting ads during live sports programmes, agreed by industry. According to figures from the Betting and Gaming Council, the ban reduced gambling advertisement views by children (age 4-17) by 70% over the full duration of live sporting programmes. We also welcomed the Premier League’s announcement that it will ban gambling sponsors from the front of shirts, and are working with a wider group of sports governing bodies to introduce a Code of Conduct on responsible gambling sponsorship.
We continue to monitor research, and have carefully considered the findings in the study by the University of Bristol. Furthermore, we are introducing a statutory levy charged to gambling operators which will raise trusted, long-term funding for gambling research. We are clear that we will continue to look carefully at any further research that results from that and take action if necessary.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to assess the healthcare needs of disabled people with (a) neurodivergence, (b) learning disabilities and (c) other conditions during menopause.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No assessment has been made. The Department and the National Health Service are implementing a programme of work to improve menopause care so all women can access the support they need.
Under the Equality Act 2010, public sector organisations are already required to make changes in their approach or provision to ensure that services are accessible to disabled people as well as to everybody else. To make it easier for people with a learning disability and autistic people to use health services, NHS England is working to improve the use and recording of reasonable adjustments to ensure care is tailored appropriately.
All organisations that provide NHS care are required to follow the Accessible Information Standard which aims to ensure that people who have a disability, impairment or sensory loss are provided with information that they can easily read or understand and can communicate effectively with services. People over the age of 14 with a learning disability can receive an annual health check to maintain their health. This can identify undetected health conditions early and ensure the appropriateness of ongoing treatments.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to provide tailored information about menopause for (a) autistic people and (b) people with learning disabilities.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We have launched a women’s health area on the National Health Service website, alongside new and updated pages which includes a menopause page and a hormone replacement therapy (HRT) medicines hub. The NHS England Menopause Improvement Programme has created ‘The Menopause’ factsheet which will help individuals understand and manage their perimenopause and menopause and direct them to further sources of information.
NHS organisations and publicly funded social care providers must comply with the Accessible Information Standard (AIS) to meet the communication needs of patients and carers with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss. NHS England has completed a review of the AIS to help ensure that everyone’s communication needs are met in health and care provision. The revised standard will be published in due course.
Following publication, NHS England will continue work to support implementation with awareness raising, communication and engagement and updated e-learning modules on the AIS to ensure NHS staff are better aware of the standard and their roles and responsibilities in implementing it.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she has taken to ensure that her policies on the menopause take into account the experiences of autistic people.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Menopause is a priority area within the Women’s Health Strategy, and the Department and the National Health Service are implementing a programme of work to improve menopause care so all women, including those who are autistic, can access the support they need. The NHS England National Menopause Care Improvement Programme is working to improve clinical menopause care in England and reduce disparities in access to treatment. The programme aims to ensure that individuals receiving menopause care are listened to and heard, including autistic people and women who are neurodiverse.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with the gambling industry on the potential impact of safer gambling week on (a) the volume of (i) marketing and (ii) direct marketing offers, (b) game speed and (c) gambling harm.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
His Majesty’s Government recognises that while millions of people gamble without experiencing problems, for some it becomes an addiction with serious consequences.
The Secretary of State and I recently met with the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) and other industry representatives to discuss industry-led safer gambling measures and implementation of the gambling white paper. We welcome industry-led initiatives such as Safer Gambling Week. Figures from the BGC indicate that in 2022 Safer Gambling Week messaging made nearly 30 million impressions on social media, and that around 200,000 accounts set deposit limits during that month, with 61 percent of those players setting a limit for the first time. Such limits can be an important measure in preventing harm. We understand safer gambling week has no impact on the volume of marketing (although its content is likely to be different) or game speed.
However, as outlined in the gambling white paper, we are working with the industry, Gambling Commission and others to implement a wide range of proportionate measures to protect customers from practices and products which can drive harm.