Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the report of the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment on the use of oral nicotine pouches, what his planned timeline is for the regulation of oral nicotine pouches; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
There are no current plans to make a statement on the timeline for the regulation of oral nicotine pouches. They remain regulated by the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to help increase the number of homes built in England.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
We have announced £10 billion of investment in housing supply since the start of this Parliament, with our interventions due to ultimately unlock over 1 million new homes.
We are also investing £11.5 billion in the latest Affordable Homes Programme to provide tens of thousands of new homes across the country.
Annual housing supply is up 10% compared to the previous year with over 232,000 net additional homes delivered in 2021/22. This is the third highest yearly rate for the last 30 years.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing sentences for (a) knife possession offences and (b) other offences involving a knife.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Sentencing is a matter for our independent courts. When deciding what sentence to impose, courts must consider the circumstances of the case in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council.
In recognition of the seriousness of offences related to knives, the law provides for minimum custodial sentences for repeat knife possession and offences that involve threatening with a weapon. Measures in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act which came into force in 2022 strengthened existing legislation to make sure that the courts always impose at least the minimum term unless there are exceptional circumstances.
On 18 April the Government launched a 7-week consultation on proposed legislation to tackle knife crime and particularly the use of certain types of large knives and machetes in crime. The proposals provide a multifaceted and focused approach, which we believe will target criminals whilst still allowing the general public to pursue their employment and pastimes with minimal disruption. The consultation may be viewed at: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/machetes-and-other-bladed-articles-proposed-legislation.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) help tackle (i) child labour, (ii) child marriage, (iii) malnutrition and (iv) other barriers to education and (b) improve (A) access to education and (B) learning outcomes in fragile and conflict-affected states.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Addressing barriers to education is an FCDO priority. When learning outcomes are poor, lower value is placed on education and girls are more likely to drop out of school. This can lead to child marriage or child labour. We have invested in research programmes to understand how best to tackle learning poverty, including links to nutrition. The UK is also a leading donor to Education Cannot Wait. ECW supports conflict or crises-affected children - the largest group of out-of-school children facing increased risk of exploitation. Through UK support since 2017 ECW has reached seven million children in over 30 countries.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that the psychosocial needs of children are being met in (i) fragile and conflict-affected states and (ii) other humanitarian contexts.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
As part of our role on the UN Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC), we call for access to non-discriminatory and comprehensive specialised services, including psychosocial support for children affected by conflict.
The FCDO has recently funded a project to provide protection services for children in Yemen; over 1300 children accessed high quality and safe psychosocial support.
Our UNICEF funding supports children in humanitarian situations who experience or are at risk of sexual violence including projects like the Blue Dot Shelters, which provide a safe space for families and children on the move in emergencies.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of community mental health nurses have had training on dementia.
Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he plans to take to support rural communities to switch from oil fuelled boilers once the 2026 ban comes into effect.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government consulted on phasing out the installation of high carbon fossil fuel heating systems in homes, businesses and public buildings in England off the gas grid during the 2020s. The Government will set out further detail on how it intends to move forward with this policy when it issues its response in due course.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to (a) ensure that the necessary clinical guidelines are in place to identify adverse reactions to the covid-19 vaccines and (b) ensure that NHS staff in contact with potential patients with adverse reactions receive adequate training.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
Every vaccine deployed in the United Kingdom is assessed by teams of scientists and clinicians and only authorised once it has met robust standards of safety, quality, and effectiveness set by Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Whilst severe adverse reactions are extremely rare, it is important that clinicians are fully trained in identifying and treating patients within their care. To ensure this, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has published various pieces of guidance for healthcare workers, which provides detailed information regarding adverse reactions following vaccination, available at the following link:
UKHSA and other professional groups have also developed a comprehensive training package to ensure vaccines are administered safely, including how to deal with possible adverse reactions to a vaccine. Safety is the utmost priority of any public health vaccination programme and all healthcare workers administering vaccines are trained to the highest standards and are expected to follow all required clinical considerations via the NHS and UKHSA approved training programme.
Guidance on COVID-19 vaccination training to support healthcare workers involved in delivering the programme is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccinator-training-recommendations
A competency assessment tool is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccinator-competency-assessment-tool
NHS England guides sites to use this training. Accountability for staff being trained sits with the organisation delivering the service alongside an individual’s professional responsibility.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of conducting a national awareness campaign on (a) the possible symptoms of adverse reactions to vaccines and (b) removing potential stigma towards adverse reactions to vaccines.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the National Health Service and Medicines Health Regulations Agency (MHRA) carry out work to ensure the public are aware of common and rare side effects from different vaccines. This information is on publicly available materials is available at the following link:
The Department of Health and Social Care is working closely with UKHSA, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, media, social media and technology companies on innovative ways to tackle the proliferation of anti-vaccine messaging, limit misinformation, promote positive messages about vaccination and ensure that reputable sources such as NHS.UK are the most prominent. The Government uses extensive and targeted multi-channel communications, using trusted voices, and sharing accurate information about vaccination, informed by clinical expertise and analysis from UKHSA.
Anyone can report suspected side effects of vaccines to the MHRA to ensure safe and effective use.
Asked by: Ben Everitt (Conservative - Milton Keynes North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to review the eligibility criteria for the Vaccine Damage Payment.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
There are currently no plans to review the eligibility criteria for the vaccine damage payment scheme.