Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department's press release, Government delays restrictions on multibuy deals and advertising on TV and online, published on 14 May 2022, when his Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals to delay the implementation of restrictions on the advertising of foods that are high in fat, sugar and salt.
Answered by Maggie Throup
We will provide further information on how the delay to the legislation will be implemented in due course.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
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 potential merits of introducing a traffic light system for the relative health impacts on tobacco and nicotine products.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The next Vaping in England report, commissioned by the Department, includes a chapter on heated tobacco products. It reviews data on use of these products, the evidence for use in smoking cessation and the exposure of users to major toxicants. The report will be published later this summer. In addition, a systematic review on heated tobacco was published by the Cochrane Collaboration earlier this year, which is available at the following link:
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013790.pub2/full
No assessment has been made for the introduction of a traffic light system for the relative health impacts on tobacco and nicotine products.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Advancing Our Health: Prevention in the 2020s Green Paper published on 22 July 2019, if he will recommit to undertaking a call for independent research on heated tobacco products.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The next Vaping in England report, commissioned by the Department, includes a chapter on heated tobacco products. It reviews data on use of these products, the evidence for use in smoking cessation and the exposure of users to major toxicants. The report will be published later this summer. In addition, a systematic review on heated tobacco was published by the Cochrane Collaboration earlier this year, which is available at the following link:
https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD013790.pub2/full
No assessment has been made for the introduction of a traffic light system for the relative health impacts on tobacco and nicotine products.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Office for National Statistics' bulletin entitled Adult Smoking Habits in the UK will be published this July.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the hon. Member’s Parliamentary Question of 14 June is attached.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many children are assessed using his Department’s Early Language Intervention Measure as a proportion of children undergoing the Healthy Child Programme 2 / 2½ year Review.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The information requested is not currently held centrally. The guidance supporting the Early Language Intervention Measure (ELIM) and Intervention recommends that local areas record the use of ELIM within a child’s electronic health record and this practice is being implemented locally.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding for concessionary fares, as provided to Nottingham's bus service, to the tram service in that city.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age to ensure that no older or disabled person in England need be prevented from bus travel by cost alone.
Funding for this is provided through the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Revenue Support Grant: a Grant that supports a wide range of activities to ensure that each local transport authority receives the funding that they need. This funding is not ringfenced to enable local authorities to make spending decisions that more closely align with local needs and circumstances.
This means that local authorities can use this funding to provide further discretionary concessions in addition to buses. Nottingham City Council has already chosen to extend this to their tram system.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding for concessionary fares, as provided to Nottingham's bus service, to the tram service in that city.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age to ensure that no older or disabled person in England need be prevented from bus travel by cost alone.
Funding for this is provided through the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Revenue Support Grant: a Grant that supports a wide range of activities to ensure that each local transport authority receives the funding that they need. This funding is not ringfenced to enable local authorities to make spending decisions that more closely align with local needs and circumstances.
This means that local authorities can use this funding to provide further discretionary concessions in addition to buses. Nottingham City Council has already chosen to extend this to their tram system.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to provide funding for tram concessions in Nottingham, similar to the funding provided to bus concessions in that city.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The English National Concessionary Travel Scheme (ENCTS) provides free off-peak bus travel to those with eligible disabilities and those of state pension age to ensure that no older or disabled person in England need be prevented from bus travel by cost alone.
Funding for this is provided through the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Revenue Support Grant: a Grant that supports a wide range of activities to ensure that each local transport authority receives the funding that they need. This funding is not ringfenced to enable local authorities to make spending decisions that more closely align with local needs and circumstances.
This means that local authorities can use this funding to provide further discretionary concessions in addition to buses. Nottingham City Council has already chosen to extend this to their tram system.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what parameters for success his Department will utilise when assessing the effectiveness of restrictions on promotions and placement of high fat, salt and sugar products; and whether a further assessment of the impact of the policy on businesses will be conducted.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The impact assessment for volume promotions such as ‘buy one get one free’ shows that spending increases by 20% by encouraging households to purchase more than they need or intended to buy. The impact assessment for location promotions shows the placement of products within stores also significantly affects household spending, with end of aisle displays increasing sales of soft drinks by over 50%.
The Government is committed to reviewing the Regulations within five years of coming into force. The National Institute for Health Research’s Policy Research Programme has commissioned the National Centre for Social Research to assess the extent and nature of location-based promotions of food and drink high in fat, salt or sugar in supermarkets in England. Officials are developing further plans to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of this policy.
Asked by: Ben Bradley (Conservative - Mansfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed restrictions on the promotion of foods high in fat, salt or sugar on the cost of living.
Answered by Maggie Throup
The impact assessment for volume promotions such as ‘buy one get one free’ shows that spending increases by 20% by encouraging households to purchase more than they need or intended to buy. The impact assessment for location promotions shows the placement of products within stores also significantly affects household spending, with end of aisle displays increasing sales of soft drinks by over 50%.
The Government is committed to reviewing the Regulations within five years of coming into force. The National Institute for Health Research’s Policy Research Programme has commissioned the National Centre for Social Research to assess the extent and nature of location-based promotions of food and drink high in fat, salt or sugar in supermarkets in England. Officials are developing further plans to evaluate the effectiveness and implementation of this policy.