Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that the chemical flame-retardant sector is represented in discussions on furniture and furnishings fire safety regulations.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to maintaining a high level of fire safety for domestic upholstered furniture. The Policy paper The fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture published on 22 January sets out the Government’s intention for wider reforms to furniture fire safety regulation and some immediate actions the Government has taken. The Department for Business and Trade is carrying out extensive, targeted stakeholder engagement across industry to inform decision making, including discussions with chemical producers and trade associations. As part of this ongoing work the Government will assess the impact of any proposals.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed changes to furniture and furnishings fire safety regulations on fire safety.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is committed to maintaining a high level of fire safety for domestic upholstered furniture. The Policy paper The fire safety of domestic upholstered furniture published on 22 January sets out the Government’s intention for wider reforms to furniture fire safety regulation and some immediate actions the Government has taken. The Department for Business and Trade is carrying out extensive, targeted stakeholder engagement across industry to inform decision making, including discussions with chemical producers and trade associations. As part of this ongoing work the Government will assess the impact of any proposals.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to tackle the skills shortage in the (a) electrical and (b) plumbing sectors in (i) Erewash constituency and (ii) England.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government continues to make available education and training opportunities in electrical and plumbing sectors across the country, including in Erewash.
A range of apprenticeships are available, including the level 3 plumbing and domestic heating technician standard and the level 3 domestic electrician standard.
Higher Technical Qualifications across a range of occupational routes are also available, including qualifications such as HNC Electrical Systems Engineering, and HND Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Additionally, T Levels in Building Services Engineering for Construction provide students with the core knowledge and skills needed for entry to a range of occupations in the electrical and plumbing sectors.
The government has announced an additional £625 million to support construction skills training. This is expected to deliver up to 60,000 additional skilled construction workers, including in electrical and plumbing, this Parliament.
Skills England will provide an authoritative assessment of national and regional skills needs in all sectors, now and in the future, which will include identifying skills gaps and ensuring a comprehensive suite of apprenticeships, training and technical qualifications which are aligned with skills gaps and the needs of employers.
The Construction Industry Training Board states that plumbing and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are some of the occupations that will have the highest average growth (1.5%) to 2028. Electricians and electrical fitters also currently have one of the highest skill-shortage vacancy densities, with 46.5% of vacancies being linked to skills shortages.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of future workforce demand in the electrical sector in the next five to ten years.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government continues to make available education and training opportunities in electrical and plumbing sectors across the country, including in Erewash.
A range of apprenticeships are available, including the level 3 plumbing and domestic heating technician standard and the level 3 domestic electrician standard.
Higher Technical Qualifications across a range of occupational routes are also available, including qualifications such as HNC Electrical Systems Engineering, and HND Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Additionally, T Levels in Building Services Engineering for Construction provide students with the core knowledge and skills needed for entry to a range of occupations in the electrical and plumbing sectors.
The government has announced an additional £625 million to support construction skills training. This is expected to deliver up to 60,000 additional skilled construction workers, including in electrical and plumbing, this Parliament.
Skills England will provide an authoritative assessment of national and regional skills needs in all sectors, now and in the future, which will include identifying skills gaps and ensuring a comprehensive suite of apprenticeships, training and technical qualifications which are aligned with skills gaps and the needs of employers.
The Construction Industry Training Board states that plumbing and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are some of the occupations that will have the highest average growth (1.5%) to 2028. Electricians and electrical fitters also currently have one of the highest skill-shortage vacancy densities, with 46.5% of vacancies being linked to skills shortages.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of electrotechnical apprenticeships in equipping the workforce with skills in renewable technologies.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Upskilling the country’s workforce is vital to meet the government’s clean energy 2030 target, with apprenticeships playing an important role in supporting employers in clean energy industries to develop the skills they need.
Employers and learners can benefit from a range of apprenticeship standards to develop electrotechnical skills, such as the level 6 electrical and electronic engineer standard and the level 6 electro-mechanical engineer standard.
The first Skills England report, ‘Driving Growth and Widening Opportunities’, published in September 2024, included an overview of the skills needs in the green workforce. Skills England will build on this initial skills needs assessment to ensure the renewables sector has access to high quality training which meets their needs.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of funding for apprenticeships.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is widening the apprenticeships offer into a levy-funded growth and skills offer. This will create opportunities for learners of all ages and give employers greater flexibility to address critical skills shortages in their workforce, while driving economic growth.
As a first step, this will include shorter duration apprenticeships and new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted sectors. This will fuel innovation and help more people learn new high quality skills at work.
Future funding for the growth and skills offer, including apprenticeships, will be determined following the spending review.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that wrongdoing within public services is (a) identified and (b) sanctioned in the context of the infected blood inquiry.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The actions of Civil Servants and Ministers which were uncovered within the Infected Blood Inquiry’s final report are extremely concerning and do not reflect the values we expect those who serve the public to uphold. The Prime Minister has committed to legislation on a Duty of Candour being delivered by this Government. The duty will apply to public authorities and public servants and will include criminal sanctions. Whether individuals are prosecuted as a result of the Inquiry’s findings is rightly a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service and is independent of Government. Last year I wrote to the National Police Chiefs’ Council to reaffirm the Government’s commitment to make any and all relevant information around the Infected Blood Inquiry available to the prosecuting authorities where requested.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to make e-cigarettes available on prescription for smoking cessation.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is committed to delivering on its ambition for a smoke-free United Kingdom, and is supporting smokers to quit through a range of services. This includes an additional £70 million investment in 2025/26 for local Stop Smoking Services in England. We are also working to ensure all National Health Service hospitals offer ‘opt-out’ smoking cessation services.
Vapes, also known as e-cigarettes, can be an effective quit tool for adult smokers, particularly when combined with behavioural support. Currently, all vapes supplied to the UK are done so through the consumer market, as there is no medicinally licensed vaping product. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is ready to support a future medicinally licensed vaping product if the industry comes forward with a successful candidate. The MHRA continues to provide technical and scientific advice to companies interested in developing medicinal vapes.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
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 introducing coronary artery calcium scoring in routine NHS cardiovascular health checks.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has made no assessment of the inclusion of coronary artery calcium scoring in National Health Service cardiovascular health checks.
The NHS Health Check, a core component of England’s cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention programme, assesses the top seven risk factors for CVD in people aged 40 to 74 years old and refers them for behavioural support services, such as smoking cessation and weight management, and clinical assessment for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and high CVD risk, where appropriate.
Asked by: Adam Thompson (Labour - Erewash)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a national healthcare worker register including training records to protect vulnerable clients.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans to establish a national healthcare worker register. All health and care professional regulators have a statutory duty to maintain a register of the professionals they regulate. The health and care professional regulators’ registers are publicly available on their websites.
Health professionals that are not subject to statutory regulation can join voluntary registers accredited by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care (PSA). The Accredited Registers Programme provides assurance to the public when choosing and using health and care services by independently assessing organisations who register practitioners who are not regulated by law.
The Government would encourage anyone accessing health and care services to use a practitioner who is subject to statutory regulation or voluntary registration accredited by the PSA. Members of the public can check online to establish whether a practitioner is registered with a voluntary accredited register.