Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much funding will be allocated to each local authority trading standards for enforcing the (a) disposable vapes ban and (b) generational tobacco ban.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has committed to increasing investment for enforcement agencies by £30 million per year. The additional funding in England will boost agencies such as local trading standards, to enforce the new age of sale and vaping measures. It will also scale up HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force activity, to stamp out opportunities for criminals in the illicit tobacco trade.
Of this funding, over £100 million over five years will support HM Revenue and Custom’s and Border Force’s new illicit tobacco strategy, published on 29 January 2024. We are working closely with Trading Standards to consider how the new funding can best support their programmes of local-level enforcement.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the number of non-compliant vapes sold on the UK market.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Trading Standards, and other regulatory enforcement agencies to ensure that products sold in the United Kingdom comply with regulations for all e-cigarette products, and that non-compliant products are removed from the market.
In April 2023, the Government announced £3 million investment over two years to enhance work on illicit vape enforcement. Led by National Trading Standards, this builds on existing work by local trading standards officers across the country. Through this work, they identified that 2.1 million illicit vapes were seized across England by Trading Standards between 2022 to 2023.
To strengthen our enforcement activity, the Government will also provide an additional £30 million of funding per year for enforcement agencies, including Trading Standards. This increase in investment will help to stamp out criminal activity by boosting the enforcement of illicit tobacco and vapes.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has had discussions with the UK Vaping Industry Association on its proposals for a vape retail licence.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not had any discussions with the UK Vaping Industry Association on its proposals for a vape retail license, though we have received written representations on this issue. There are no current plans to introduce a licensing scheme. However, the Government recognises that strong enforcement is needed to tackle underage and illicit vape sales. The new Tobacco and Vapes Bill includes provisions to issue fixed penalty notices for underage tobacco and vape sales. This will complement existing powers that local authorities have to enforce age of sale legislation including fines of up to £2,500, and for the most serious offences, court orders to prevent the offending retailer from opening for a period.
In addition, we have committed to increasing investment for our enforcement agencies by £30 million per year, and at Spring Budget the Chancellor announced that the Government will introduce a new duty on vaping products, giving HM Revenue and Customs further powers to minimise fraud, introduce civil and criminal powers to seize illicit products and equipment, and issue penalties.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps (a) her Department and (b) NHS England have taken to incentivise the integration of digital technologies into cardiovascular disease care pathways.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s commitment to develop a national digital service to support the NHS Health Check was announced in the Health Reform speech on 8 March 2022, and forms a part of the Department’s plan for digital health and social care. The vision is to increase the flexibility and reach of the NHS Health Check through the creation of an innovative, accessible national digital service, delivered alongside local face-to-face offerings, that helps people understand and take action when engaging with their cardiovascular health. Whilst there isn't any specific policy development surrounding integrating digital technologies into care pathways, NHS England has developed an information guide that will help clarify the commissioning pathway. This will encourage the adoption of digital health technologies into the National Health Service, including those in cardiovascular diseases.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will take steps to expand the scope of the NHS Health Check to (a) include a wider range of clinical checks for identifying (i) cardiovascular disease (CVD) and (ii) CVD-risk conditions and (b) take place in (A) the community, (B) workplaces and (C) other new settings.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is taking forward a scheme of work to modernise the NHS Health Check programme, and to deliver on recommendations from the 2021 review of the programme. We are currently focused on the development and launch of a digital NHS Health Check, to be launched later this year, and rolled out nationally over the next four years. Following the launch of a digital check, the Department will consider the evidence for, and practicality of, expanding the scope of the NHS Health Check. This will include consideration of introducing a wider range of clinical checks, and considering a younger target age group.
Local authorities can design and deliver NHS Health Checks to suit the needs of their local population. This includes who provides the service, and in what settings it is delivered. In some areas, NHS Health Checks are already delivered in community and workplace settings. To build the evidence of the feasibility and impact of this approach, we are investing up to £10 million into a pilot, to deliver cardiovascular disease checks in workplace settings during 2024/25.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
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 support earlier identification of cardiovascular disease risk.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is taking forward a scheme of work to modernise the NHS Health Check programme, and to deliver on recommendations from the 2021 review of the programme. We are currently focused on the development and launch of a digital NHS Health Check, to be launched later this year, and rolled out nationally over the next four years. Following the launch of a digital check, the Department will consider the evidence for, and practicality of, expanding the scope of the NHS Health Check. This will include consideration of introducing a wider range of clinical checks, and considering a younger target age group.
Local authorities can design and deliver NHS Health Checks to suit the needs of their local population. This includes who provides the service, and in what settings it is delivered. In some areas, NHS Health Checks are already delivered in community and workplace settings. To build the evidence of the feasibility and impact of this approach, we are investing up to £10 million into a pilot, to deliver cardiovascular disease checks in workplace settings during 2024/25.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of AI on the functioning of the welfare system.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP is continually exploring the use of all types of Artificial Intelligence and its potential to support the provision of more digital services with a human touch in a safe, ethical, and considered way. Artificial Intelligence will never replace the role of our colleagues in supporting customers throughout their journey.
We are using Artificial Intelligence to undertake administrative or repetitive tasks, freeing up our colleagues to spend more time with claimants.
As part of our approach, and in-line with the Prime Minister’s Foundation Model Taskforce, DWP has created a Generative Artificial Intelligence Lighthouse Programme which will safely guide our innovation in emerging Artificial Intelligence technology. The role of this programme is to ‘test and learn’ in a safe and governed environment where all types of AI can be used to assist us in the delivery of our customer outcomes and department efficiencies. Following this test and learn approach will help us to build more certainty on the potential benefits that can be realised.
Where Artificial Intelligence is used to assist its activities in prevention and detection of fraud within UC applications, DWP always ensures appropriate safeguards are in place for the proportionate, ethical, and legal use of data with internal monitoring protocols adhered to. Through the work of departmental governance, we can always explain how the AI reaches conclusions using data.
DWP does not use AI to replace human judgement in determining or denying a payment to a claimant. Where appropriate, Equality and Data Protection Impact Assessments have been carried out.
DWP's Personal Information Charter explains how and why we use personal information and citizen’s rights and responsibilities.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been arrested for publicly endorsing Hamas since the attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
As of 1200hrs Monday 23rd October, as a result of Counter Terrorism Policing led investigations, there have been 6 arrests of individuals for publicly supporting Hamas.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January 2023 to Question 129765 on Electronic Cigarettes: Regulation, whether he has had discussions with Trading Standards Authorities on e-cigarette manufacturer Elf Bar overfilling e-cigarette devices.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Department was recently made aware of possible breaches of our vaping (e-cigarettes) regulations related to disposable vapes exceeding the restrictions on tank capacity. We are working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to investigate the matter further and we have discussed this with Trading Standards Authorities.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will bring forward changes to the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 to increase penalties on manufacturers found to be in breach of those regulations.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are no current plans to increase the penalties beyond those set out in regulation 51 of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.