Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009, how many times his Department has taken enforcement action in relation to vape (a) distributors, (b) importers, (c) manufacturers and (d) producers that have not registered with an appropriate authority in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024 to date.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

No enforcement action has been taken against vape producers or distributors under the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009 in either 2023 or 2024 to date.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009, what information his Department holds on the number of vape (a) distributors, (b) importers, (c) manufacturers and (d) producers registered with (i) the Environment Agency and (ii) a producer compliance scheme.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Environment Agency (EA) holds a public register of battery producers and approved battery (producer) compliance schemes. Only battery producers that qualify as large producers are required to join a battery compliance scheme. Large producers are those that place more than one tonne of batteries on the UK market during a year.

There are currently 25 vape producers that are also registered as battery producers, 21 of which have joined a battery producer compliance scheme.

There is no regulatory requirement for battery distributors to register with the EA or a producer compliance scheme.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of elderly people have received their (a) influenza, (b) RSV and (c) covid-19 vaccination in the last six months.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As of 17 November 2024, 68.7% of those aged 65 years old and over had been vaccinated for influenza, whist 54.2% had been vaccinated for COVID-19.

The respiratory syncytial virus adult vaccination programme in England began on 1 September 2024, however only data for the catch-up cohort, adults aged 75 to 79 years old before the programme start date, has been published. As of 30 September, 22.6% of the catch-up cohort had been vaccinated. Further data will be published in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure there is an adequate supply of (a) donated blood and (b) blood products.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is responsible for the collection, manufacture, and supply of blood and blood products to National Health Service hospitals.

The Department provided seed funding in 2023 to support NHSBT to increase its collection capacity. New donor centres will open in Brixton and Brighton in 2025 to increase and diversify the donor base.

Since July 2024, NHSBT has been responding to an Amber Alert for O group blood. NHSBT is now meeting the demand for blood and blood products, thanks to increased donations and better management of stock.

With respect to blood products, the Department, in conjunction with NHSBT and NHS England, has led a programme to increase self-sufficiency and resilience in life-saving plasma-based medicines, in response to the lifting of the ban on United Kingdom donor plasma in 2021. The first of these medicines will be given to NHS patients in early 2025.

NHSBT runs campaigns throughout the year, partners with trusted brands, and funds community groups to promote both donation of blood and blood products, stem cells, and organs.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of rates of tuberculosis in (a) adults and (b) children in each of the last ten years.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the total number and rate of tuberculosis (TB) notifications in England, each year from 2012 to 2024:

Notes:

1. for 2023, the provisional data rate is awaited; and
2. for 2024, data is only available up to September.

Data on rates of TB in adults alone is not published. In line with the reporting to the World Health Organisation, children are defined as those aged under 15 years old. The following table shows the number and rate of TB notifications in children in England from 2012 to 2022:

Provisional data is not subdivided by age, hence the data in the tables is presented up to 2022, where age specific rates are available. TB rates in children have been declining since 2012 and remained stable at 1.3 per 100,000 in 2021 and 2022.

TB data for England is published by the UK Health Security Agency, and is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tuberculosis-in-england-2023-report-data-up-to-end-of-2022

Provisional TB data for England is published quarterly, with the latest quarterly reports available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tuberculosis-in-england-national-quarterly-reports

Detailed data for 2023 will be published in the TB in England 2023 annual report.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations 2013, how many times the Office for Product Safety and Standards has taken enforcement action in relation to vape (a) distributors, (b) importers, (c) manufacturers and (d) producers that have not registered with an appropriate authority in (a) 2023 and (b) 2024 to date.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Distributors are not required to register under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Regulations 2013. There are takeback obligations on vape distributors which are enforced by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). OPSS regulates in a proportionate, evidenced and risk-based manner, that utilises a range of regulatory interventions to promote compliance. OPSS has taken no enforcement action, such as prosecutions, on vape distributors in either 2023 or 2024. OPSS has, however, been working closely checking compliance with distributors through 2024 to build the takeback network with some 10,500 points added so far this year.

Importers and manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment are required to register with their appropriate environment regulator, with companies based in England registering with the Environment Agency. OPSS does not have an enforcement role under the WEEE regulations in respect of importers and manufacturers, whether registered or not.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) people and (b) children are living with long covid.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The most recent data from the Winter Coronavirus (COVID-19) Infection Study, a joint study carried out by the Office for National Statistics and the UK Health Security Agency, shows that, for the period between 6 February 2024 and 7 March 2024, an estimated 1.8 million people across all ages, or 3.3% of the population, in private households in England, reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection.

The data shows that for the same period, an estimated 111,816 or 1% of those aged between three and 17 years old, in private households in England and Scotland, reported experiencing long COVID symptoms more than four weeks after a COVID-19 infection.

The data is available at the following link:

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/datasets/

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve the (a) quality and (b) quantity of medical research in the NHS.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is improving the quality and quantity of clinical research in the National Health Service, and health and care research more widely, through investing in the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The recent Budget provides record levels of Government research and development investment, with funding for research through the Department increasing to over £2 billion in 2025/26.

Found: the meeting Members present: Helen Hayes (Chair); Jess Asato; Mrs Sureena Brackenridge; Dr Caroline Johnson

Found: Jess Asato (Labour; Lowestoft) Mrs Sureena Brackenridge (Labour; Wolverhampton North East) Dr Caroline Johnson

Found: the meeting Members present: Helen Hayes (Chair); Jess Asato; Mrs Sureena Brackenridge; Dr Caroline Johnson

Found: Q8 Dr Caroline Johnson: Can I clarify one small point that you made?

Found: 2022 to 24/10/2022) - - - - 5,348 - 1,000 7,000 Minister of State Full year equivalent 31,680 Caroline Johnson

Found: 2022 to 24/10/2022) - - - - 5,348 - 1,000 7,000 Minister of State Full year equivalent 31,680 Caroline Johnson

Found: Letter dated 04/12/2024 from Andrew Gwynne MP to Caroline Johnson MP regarding questions raised in The

Submit Evidence (by 30 Jan 2025)

A number of recent reports have set out in detail the extent of the crisis in the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system, which is letting down children and their families, creating intense pressure on local authority funding and on schools.