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 his Department is investigating cases of manufacturers overfilling e-cigarette devices above the 2ml e-liquid volume limit; and what support his Department is offering to the (a) Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and (b) Trading Standards Authority to help remove those products from the market.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are no plans to investigate cases of manufacturers over filling vape (e-cigarette) devices beyond the two millilitres e-liquid volume limit because this is the responsibility of local enforcement agencies. The Department continues to work with the Trading Standards Authorities to provide advice in enforcing the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, including matters relating to the two millilitres e-liquid limit. We also work closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency regarding the vaping notification system and helping disseminate information about notified vapes to support local 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, with reference to the Answer of 6 December 2022 from the Minister for Primary Care and Public Health to Topical Question 4, Official Report, column 202, what steps he plans to take to help reduce the prevalence of smoking in England; and how those plans will affect the use of (a) e-cigarettes, (b) heat-not-burn, (c) snus, and (d) other reduced risk products.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Smoking rates are the lowest on record, currently at 13%. These reductions have been achieved through investment in multi-modal interventions, a strong regulatory framework, effective quit campaigns and funding to local authority stop smoking services.
The most effective way to quit smoking is through behavioural support from stop smoking services, alongside a nicotine substituting product, such as a vape (e-cigarette). We recently published the Nicotine Vaping in England Report which is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nicotine-vaping-in-england-2022-evidence-update
The Government encourages users to quit all forms of tobacco and therefore does not recommend the use of heated tobacco products. Snus is banned in the United Kingdom and we have no plans to introduce additional tobacco products to the market as we have safer nicotine delivery products currently available for smokers to switch to.
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 his Department plans to take to implement Tobacco harm reduction strategies.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The Government supports National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on smoking cessation and harm reduction. NICE recommend that smokers quit smoking in one go but have also published guidance for providers of stop smoking services to support smokers who wish to take a harm reduction approach. The guidance is available at the following link:
The Government has no current plans to implement further tobacco harm reduction strategies.
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 3 November to Question 64287 on Tobacco, when he plans to publish the Tobacco Control Plan.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
We are still considering the recommendations made in ‘The Khan review: making smoking obsolete’ and further information will be available in due course.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2022 to Question 11630 on Cryptocurrencies: Regulation, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy of existing skills and qualifications and (b) requirement to acquire further skills of brokers who (i) are already regulated and compliant with Money Laundering Regulations and (ii) do not intend to custody cryptoassets themselves but instead use a registered cryptoasset firm.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
It is the responsibility of the FCA to assess whether cryptoasset firms have appropriate anti-money laundering controls.
As part of this assessment, firms must demonstrate they have the necessary skills and qualifications. Firms must also demonstrate they have proper policies and procedures in place to deal with the specific nature of the cryptoasset ecosystem. Where either is assessed to be below the required standard, they may have their application rejected or refused.
The Money Laundering Regulations established a risk-based approach to the supervision of cryptoasset businesses. The assessment which each firm must undergo is therefore proportionate to the risks generated by the kind of activities firms engage in.
This means that whether the broker holds cryptoassets themselves or uses a registered cryptoasset firm, the skills & procedures required will likely be different from those that a large cryptoasset exchange is expected to demonstrate.
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 his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward further regulations on nicotine pouches to ensure that they do not reach unintended audiences in the context of their growing popularity.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Department is currently considering the recommendations made in the ‘The Khan review: making smoking obsolete’. This includes proposals related to e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches and proposals to assist smokers to quit, such as through the introduction of pack inserts.
Our response to the review will be included in the forthcoming white paper on health disparities, which we plan to publish in summer 2022 and the Tobacco Control Plan, due to be published later this year.
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 his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing targeted messages to smokers on (a) e-cigarettes, (b) heat-not-burn products and (c) other reduced risk products through inserts in cigarette packs.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The Department is currently considering the recommendations made in the ‘The Khan review: making smoking obsolete’. This includes proposals related to e-cigarettes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches and proposals to assist smokers to quit, such as through the introduction of pack inserts.
Our response to the review will be included in the forthcoming white paper on health disparities, which we plan to publish in summer 2022 and the Tobacco Control Plan, due to be published later this year.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to increase the level of support to British farmers to grow food crops in the context of the global food security situation.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
This Government will maintain the total investment in the farming sector throughout this parliament. In England, the budget of £2.4 billion per year is being re-purposed in a way that will support farmer’s resilience and food security for years to come.
By gradually phasing out the untargeted Basic Payments of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, and replacing them with a flexible range of targeted grants and ongoing payments for farmers, we are increasing the level of support available for delivering on the priorities of farm productivity, environment, climate and animal health and welfare. All the money coming out of Basic Payment Scheme will go back into the sector each year, there will be no gap in investment.
We are not fixing allocations of ring-fenced money for schemes, as happened under the EU, but will learn and respond to demand and developments from the sector – keeping the spread of investment under review over time.
We have already seen uptake and enthusiasm from farmers in certain areas and have been able to adapt flexibly to this demand. For example, the budget for the new Farming Equipment and Technology fund was increased to account for high demand. As a result, more than 4,000 farmers can invest in new equipment and technology, supporting and improving domestic food production.
Defra has recently released further information on the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) - designed to help farmers move to new alternative sustainable farming methods gradually, improving environmental conditions of the land, whilst building the long-term resilience of our food security and production.
The SFI is one of three new schemes under Environmental Land Management which will maintain productive land, delivering for both farmers and the environment.
Our schemes will ensure our long-term food security by investing in the foundations of food production: healthy soil; water; and biodiverse ecosystems.
The Government continues to monitor the wider context of global supplies that we know can impact farm income and productivity, as well as food security. The Secretary of State recently announced several other measures to support our farmers in the current uncertainty, notably regarding the use of urea fertiliser - helping farmers manage their costs better, as well as improving the statutory guidance for the use of slurry.
I recently launched and chaired the first session of a new industry fertiliser roundtable, aiming to work through issues regarding slurry to develop our understanding of current pressures on farmers and identify solutions. The Fertiliser Taskforce is just one example of where the Government is working with closely with industry to improve market confidence - providing farmers with the information needed to make business decisions, in these challenging times.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the wine and spirit industry.
Answered by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General
The Government is committed to ensuring our regulatory regime for wine and spirits supports innovation and growth in the market. This work sits alongside the Government's ambitious trade agenda that is opening up preferential market access and removing tariffs for our world-renowned products like Scotch whisky.
We have already rolled back unnecessary EU red tape by removing the requirement for VI-1 certification for wine imports, saving businesses money while ensuring high levels of consumer assurance. We are now working with the wine and spirits sectors to identify other legislative barriers to competitiveness and growth. We intend to continue the process of removing or reforming burdensome retained EU law over the coming months to further promote growth in the sector.
The Government also announced last year that we would boost the UK’s export capability by recruiting new agri-food and drink attachés. Their work will benefit the wine and spirit industry by maintaining and increasing lucrative access to high-potential overseas markets.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will allow UK FCA regulated firms, such as brokers, to be exempt from the FCA Cryptoasset Register as they already have equivalent approved processes in place.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Under the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs), any firm operating as a cryptoasset exchange provider or custodian wallet provider must be registered with the FCA for anti-money laundering supervision as a cryptoasset business. It is the responsibility of the FCA, as the independent supervisor for these firms, to assess whether firms have appropriate anti-money laundering controls in place for the kinds of activity they carry out, prior to admitting them to the register. There is no statutory exemption to this requirement for firms that are already registered with the FCA for another activity.
It is necessary for firms dealing with cryptoassets to demonstrate that their controls are adequate to deal with the specific nature of the cryptoasset ecosystem. Having adequate AML controls for one type of business activity does not guarantee that these controls are suitable for another.
The government is committed to supporting the safe and sustainable growth of the cryptoasset sector. The MLRs established a risk-based approach to the supervision of cryptoasset businesses, and the assessment which each firm must undergo should therefore be proportionate to the risks generated by the kind of activities it engages in. The processes that a broker is expected to put in place will therefore likely be different from those that a large cryptoasset exchange is expected to demonstrate.