Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to adopt the recommendations made by the Animal Welfare Committee in its updated opinion on farmed fish welfare.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal Welfare Committee has updated its 2014 Opinion on the welfare of farmed fish at the time of killing and we are studying the recommendations carefully to determine next steps.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has plans to (a) review the effectiveness of substance free living units and (b) make an assessment of the potential merits of extending those units across all prison estates.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As part of the ambitious cross-Government Drug Strategy, we are rolling out a range of interventions to support prisoners off drugs and into recovery. This includes expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs, with regular drug testing and incentives. We now have over 60 of these wings across the estate, and are aiming to reach up to 100 by March 2025. This will dramatically expand the number of prisoners who have access to these wings. Alongside this we are working to evaluate ISFLs to improve our understanding of the impact they are having and the experience of prisoners on these wings.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department is taking steps to increase the use of rooftop solar panels on (a) civic and (b) commercial buildings.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has established a Government/industry taskforce focussing on rooftop solar to drive forward solar deployment. The Government recently consulted on proposals to amend permitted development rights to support commercial solar and will publish practical guidance to support the installation of rooftop solar on its own estate and the wider public sector estate.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme provides grants for public sector bodies to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures, including solar.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with the Rail Delivery Group on the provision of baby changing facilities across the rail network.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Department is in regular dialogue with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) on measures that can be taken to make rail travel more accessible for those with young children. Earlier this year, we worked with the RDG to encourage operators to publish family-friendly travel information on their websites, to increase awareness of provisions already in place. In July 2023 the Rail Safety and Standards Board published an updated version of the Key Train Requirements document which includes further measures for operators to consider, which would help make rail travel more family-friendly,
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether officials in his Department have had discussions with the Rail Delivery Group on the potential merits of expanding the provision for set down and pick up areas for wheelchair and blue badge holders at railway stations across the network.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Train operating companies are responsible for managing station car parks and we expect them to take into consideration the needs of their passengers and the views of local partners. Operators are also expected to set out how assistance will be provided around the station, including when connecting from the train to the car park, as part of their Accessible Travel Policy.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions officials in his Department have had with the Rail Delivery Group on the provision of public wifi across the rail network.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The department has regular discussions with the Rail Delivery Group on a range of issues including the passenger experience.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department plans to respond to correspondence of (a) 7 July 2023 and (b) 8 August 2023 from the hon. Member for Bolton South East, case reference YQ28262.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) received this correspondence on 20 July and 11 August 2023. They apologise for the delay in replying which has been due to a system error with their digital mail service.
HMRC telephoned the Honourable Member’s office on 08 September 2023 to discuss the correspondence and to provide an update on their investigations.
They aim to reply as quickly as possible and by 18 September 2023.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has taken recent steps to develop faux fur King's Guards ceremonial caps.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Our Guardsmen take immense pride in wearing the bearskin cap which is an iconic image of Britain, and the quality and sustainability of the caps is incredibly important. To date, and to the Department’s knowledge, no faux fur sample has been produced and tested which meets the standards set by the Department to provide an effective replacement for the bearskin ceremonial caps.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the accessibility of (a) physical and (b) mental healthcare for nitrous oxide users.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
No specific assessment has been made.
The Independent Review of Drugs led by Dame Carol Black highlighted the challenges people using drugs experience in accessing mental and physical health treatment and made a number of recommendations to improve this. The Government’s 10-year drug strategy is the formal, substantive response to the Independent Review of Drugs and accepts all its main recommendations, including the recommendations to improve the provision of high-quality mental and physical healthcare treatment for people with substance misuse conditions.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of installing more throw lines near waterways.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency encourages safe and responsible recreation on inland and coastal water and is responsible for safety on waterside assets it owns, operates or occupies (such as locks, weirs and bridges). The Environment Agency is required to assess and manage the risks to the public at these assets under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. It undertakes a comprehensive programme of public safety risk assessments of those assets and regularly inspects them to ensure that the provided risk control measures are well maintained. It has published advice on how to stay safe while visiting waterways: www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-safe-around-water(opens in a new tab) and is also a member of the National Water Safety Forum. In most cases joined-up education and messaging on water safety is necessary.
The process of regular public safety risk assessments identifies hazards associated with each asset, along with safety control measures to reduce the likelihood of anyone coming to harm. Typical control measures include barriers, signage, booms and rescue equipment, such as throwlines. The provision and decision-making process of throwlines versus other rescue equipment is also assessed in line with the location, effective deployment and recovery location. The Environment Agency’s representative on the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Water Safety group is contributing to the development of a decision tree for Public Rescue Equipment which will continually improve the process. A useful guide can be found here: https://www.rospa.com/leisure-water-safety/water/research/inland.
We would anticipate that any professional undertaking with riparian responsibilities would undertake a similar risk assessment programme. The Environment Agency does not have a responsibility for setting any water safety policy, except in as much as it applies to its management of its own assets.
Employers whose work activity takes place close to open water are required under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 to take steps to prevent employees and other people from coming to harm due to their work activities. For example, a perimeter wall or fence around an irrigation reservoir or slurry pit will help to control risks. Where open access to water is encouraged for leisure purposes controls might, depending on the circumstances, include the provision of throwlines or other rescue devices, as part of a range of measures. Much of the open water throughout Great Britain while often used for recreational purposes, is not associated with ongoing work activity, meaning the Health and Safety at work etc Act 1974 does not apply.