Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled PFAS Plan: building a safer future together, updated on 3 February 2026, is she will set out progress and next steps on the measures on consumer articles, including indicative timeframes for their delivery.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s PFAS Plan published on 3 February 2026 sets out the Government’s approach to PFAS, including those used in consumer articles. The timeline for implementing the next steps on measures relating to consumer articles is set out in the actions table in the PFAS Plan. Action is already underway, with the joint Defra-OPSS roundtable scheduled for April 2026. This will serve as a next step in understanding the risks associated with PFAS in consumer goods and assessing potential regulatory options.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled PFAS Plan: building a safer future together, updated on 3 February 2026, is she will set out the expected timeline for implementing the measures relating to consumer articles.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government’s PFAS Plan published on 3 February 2026 sets out the Government’s approach to PFAS, including those used in consumer articles. The timeline for implementing the next steps on measures relating to consumer articles is set out in the actions table in the PFAS Plan. Action is already underway, with the joint Defra-OPSS roundtable scheduled for April 2026. This will serve as a next step in understanding the risks associated with PFAS in consumer goods and assessing potential regulatory options.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
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 reports that a Christian researcher in Egypt has been sentenced under blasphemy laws, including the potential impact on religious minorities freedom in that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and we continue to regularly raise rights concerns with the Egyptian authorities where appropriate.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Egyptian counterpart on the potential impact of the use of Egyptian national identity cards to record a person's religion on the level of religious discrimination.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and we continue to regularly raise rights concerns with the Egyptian authorities where appropriate.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what specific mechanisms will enable HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force to verify compliance with the vaping product registration scheme at the point of import; and whether registration numbers will be required on customs documentation.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Officials in the Department of Health and Social Care regularly meet with officials from other departments, including HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force, to share intelligence and ensure a coordinated approach to the enforcement of our rules on vaping products. This coordinated approach to enforcement will continue once the Tobacco and Vapes Bill becomes law and in the development of subsequent regulations.
We launched a call for evidence in October 2025 which sought further detail on the existing product notification schemes and where registration could go further than current requirements. The call for evidence closed on 3 December 2025, and we are in the process of analysing the responses. Policy proposals will be subject to further consultation before regulations are made with sufficient lead time for businesses to adjust to the new requirements.
The Government intends to implement vaping duty stamps alongside the Vaping Products Duty commencing in October 2026, in line with HM Revenue and Customs’ strategic objective of making it easy to get tax right and hard to bend or break the rules. Vaping duty stamps will support both enforcement bodies and industry in identifying products that are non-duty paid, therefore illicit. We will work with HM Revenue and Customs to ensure a joined-up approach, where appropriate.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what formal intergovernmental mechanisms are in place to coordinate enforcement of the vaping product registration and testing regime across the four nations of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Powers in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill allow us to develop a new registration and testing scheme for all vape, nicotine, and tobacco products. These powers will apply across the United Kingdom, and it is therefore vital that the future registration scheme works for all nations.
We are in the process of developing the new registration scheme and we launched a call for evidence in October 2025 which sought further detail on the existing product notification schemes and where registration could go further than current requirements. The call for evidence closed on 3 December 2025, and we are in the process of analysing the responses.
We are working closely with the devolved administrations on all future regulations and officials meet with them regularly to discuss a range of issues. This includes on the registration scheme and the coordination across the United Kingdom that will be a crucial part of any considerations. Policy proposals will be subject to further consultation before regulations are made with sufficient lead time for businesses to adjust to the new requirements.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he expects the vaping product registration scheme to be fully operational before the commencement of the Vaping Products Duty in October 2026; and what contingency arrangements will apply if implementation timetables differ.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Powers in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill allow us to develop a new registration and testing scheme for all vape, nicotine, and tobacco products. This will replace the current notification system and competent authority function which will remain in place until the new regulations. Our current intention is for the new scheme to be operational by the end of this Parliament.
While they are linked, there are differences between the future registration scheme and the Vaping Products Duty, commencing in October 2026, which will provide civil and criminal powers for HM Revenue and Customs to assess for duty and seize products and equipment used to produce or transport illicit products.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Office for Product Safety and Standards will oversee the vaping product registration scheme.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Officials from the Department of Health and Social Care and the Office for Product Safety and Standards are considering whether the Office for Product Safety and Standards would be best placed to oversee the future register.
Officials in Department of Health and Social Care and the Office for Product Safety and Standards have agreed, at a working level, an interim Memorandum of Understanding to review whether the Office for Product Safety and Standards is a suitable home for the future scheme. We expect to consult on proposals for the product registration scheme later this year.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when her Department plans to publish the results of its consultation on Out-of-school settings safeguarding which closed on 21 September 2025.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department is currently analysing responses to the call for evidence on out-of-school settings safeguarding, which sought to improve our understanding of current practice in the sector and invite views on possible approaches for further strengthening safeguarding standards. Given the significance of the issue, this analysis is being supported by independent external analysts.
The department also intends to carry out further engagement, including focus groups with parents and small providers, and sector roundtables with safeguarding experts and sector representatives before issuing a full response in due course.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department will consider a universal restriction on perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government published a PFAS Plan on 3 February 2026, which sets out our approach towards protecting human health and the environment from risks posed by PFAS. In the recently revised Environmental Improvement Plan, we have committed to reforming UK REACH. This will enable protections to be applied more quickly, more efficiently and more closely aligned with our closest trading partner the EU.