Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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 adequacy of guidance provided to patients on their (a) rights and (b) options for the (i) storage and (ii) future research use of their tissue samples.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the importance of ensuring that patients are fully informed about their rights, options, and choices regarding the storage and future research use of their tissue samples. The Human Tissue Authority (HTA) Code of Practice and Standards on Research aims to provide anyone undertaking activities relevant to this sector with a reference source which gives practical advice on the minimum steps necessary to comply with the relevant legislation and HTA policy. The code was updated in February 2025.
The HTA licenses and inspects organisations that collect human tissue. Their role is to make sure that organisations remove, store, and use brains, bodies, and tissues in an appropriate, respectful, and well-managed way, and that the wishes of individual patients and their families are respected. The HTA licensing standards establish consent as the fundamental legal and ethical requirements for the removal, storage, and use of human tissue.
The HTA’s regulatory framework helps ensure that tissue is stored to high standards, to be of most use to healthcare training and research.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has considered an education campaign to raise public awareness of the potential merits of low-noise fireworks.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to engage with the British Fireworks Association, businesses, consumer groups, and charities to understand the issues with and impacts of fireworks.
The insights from these discussions helped to inform the campaign that I launched for this year’s fireworks season which encourages the use of lower noise fireworks. The campaign materials have been shared widely to increase their impact. The Government will continue to gather evidence, including on the impact of fireworks on animals and vulnerable people to inform any future action.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to meet with fireworks industry stakeholders.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to engage with the British Fireworks Association, businesses, consumer groups, and charities to understand the issues with and impacts of fireworks.
The insights from these discussions helped to inform the campaign that I launched for this year’s fireworks season which encourages the use of lower noise fireworks. The campaign materials have been shared widely to increase their impact. The Government will continue to gather evidence, including on the impact of fireworks on animals and vulnerable people to inform any future action.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department plans to review whether fireworks legislation adequately protects (a) animals and (b) vulnerable people.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government continues to engage with the British Fireworks Association, businesses, consumer groups, and charities to understand the issues with and impacts of fireworks.
The insights from these discussions helped to inform the campaign that I launched for this year’s fireworks season which encourages the use of lower noise fireworks. The campaign materials have been shared widely to increase their impact. The Government will continue to gather evidence, including on the impact of fireworks on animals and vulnerable people to inform any future action.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
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 deliver (a) workforce and (b) training requirements to support an expansion of fresh-freezing facilities for brain cancer tissue in the NHS.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are currently no plans by the Department to expand fresh-freezing facilities for brain cancer tissue. Pathology services in England are delivered through 27 regional pathology networks, and offer a comprehensive range of tests, including the analysis of brain tissues.
Individual pathology services maintain their own standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fresh tissue samples and for the snap-freezing of tissue samples. These SOPs outline local capabilities and practices.
In the new year the Department will publish the National Cancer Plan. The plan will have patients at its heart and will cover the entirety of the cancer pathway, from referral and diagnosis to treatment and ongoing care, as well as research and innovation. The plan will seek to improve every aspect of cancer care to better the experiences and outcomes for all patient groups, including those with brain cancer.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will honour Red Wednesday on 19 November with reference to the intensification of religious persecution in Sudan.
Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the oral statement on Sudan given by the Foreign Secretary on 18 November.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she made of the trends in the numbers of imported mice used for animal testing in 2024.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The number of mice born outside the UK and used for the first time in experimental procedures in 2024 was 21,287. While this is an increase of 4.6 per cent from 2023, the overall total number of procedures involving mice fell by 2.3 per cent from 2023 to 2024.
The Home Office regulates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) to assure compliance with the robust protections afforded to animals used in science and to administrate the licensing framework. Licences to test on animals are only granted where applicants comply with the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement. Animals can only be used where there is no non-animal alternative, numbers are minimised, and where the most refined methods of testing are used to minimise harms.
The Government has published the strategy, "Replacing animals in science, A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods" which will accelerate the roll out of safe and effective alternatives to phase out animal testing in all but exceptional circumstances. Available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of giving local authorities the power to set up firework free zones; and what discussions he has had with his Scottish counterpart on the provisions on this matter in the Fireworks and Pyrotechnics Act (Scotland) 2022.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No recent assessment has been made of the potential merits of giving local authorities the power to set up firework free zones or on the impact of restricting the sale and use of fireworks in respect of illegal trade.
The Government regularly engages with its counterparts in Scotland and will continue to discuss the impacts of their Firework Control Zones. The Government is keen to understand the outcomes the changes have made, before considering if similar changes are needed for England and Wales.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of restricting the (a) sale and (b) use of fireworks on trends in the level of the illegal trade in fireworks.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No recent assessment has been made of the potential merits of giving local authorities the power to set up firework free zones or on the impact of restricting the sale and use of fireworks in respect of illegal trade.
The Government regularly engages with its counterparts in Scotland and will continue to discuss the impacts of their Firework Control Zones. The Government is keen to understand the outcomes the changes have made, before considering if similar changes are needed for England and Wales.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Caerphilly)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department is taking steps to provide improved guidance to (a) employers and (b) employees on lone working.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the Honourable Member to the answer I gave on 9 September 2025 to Question UIN 75301.