Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an estimate of the number of NHS staff who have (a) no savings, (b) savings of less than £100 and (c) savings equivalent to less than (i) one and (ii) three month's salary.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has no plans to make a specific estimate.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish a list of products that will receive additional tariff rate quotas once the CPTPP accession has been ratified.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Tariff rate quotas for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership can be found at https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-in-force/cptpp/comprehensive-and-progressive-agreement-for-trans-pacific-partnership-text-and-resources/, as New Zealand acts as the depositary for all Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership documents.
These documents should be read in conjunction with Annex A of the UK Accession Protocol, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accession-protocol-of-the-uk-to-the-cptpp.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish a list of exports that will have tariff free access to CPTPP countries once the UK ratifies the agreement.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Tariff rate quotas for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership can be found at https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-in-force/cptpp/comprehensive-and-progressive-agreement-for-trans-pacific-partnership-text-and-resources/, as New Zealand acts as the depositary for all Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership documents.
These documents should be read in conjunction with Annex A of the UK Accession Protocol, which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accession-protocol-of-the-uk-to-the-cptpp.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish a list of domestic agencies that will be required to certify imports from CPTPP countries once the agreement has been ratified.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Imports from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Members to the UK must comply with UK import requirements, including any relevant product regulations, and any relevant tariffs. This is true of all imports and includes products from the EU and other longstanding trading partners, which includes many of the existing Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Members.
Food and feed imports from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership countries are already, and will remain subject, to the UK's official controls regime, including documentary, identification, and physical checks at the border. The UK assurance system for official controls in the agri-food chain is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/assuring-standards-in-uk-food-and-farming-after-eu-exit.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2023 to Question 22 on Schools: Asbestos, what information her Department holds on levels of asbestos in Harrow schools.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Buildings erected from 2000 have not used asbestos in their construction. Most older buildings will still have asbestos present in them, although some have undertaken asbestos removal programmes.
Asbestos ‘dutyholders’ for schools, who usually include local authorities and academy trusts, must comply with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. These require dutyholders to have a robust asbestos management plan, train staff, and maintain an asbestos register detailing location, type, and condition of asbestos in their buildings.
The department takes the safety of children and those who work with them incredibly seriously, which is why we expect all local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts to have robust plans in place to manage asbestos in school buildings effectively, in line with their legal duties.
The asbestos management assurance process (AMAP) was a survey launched by the department in March 2018 to understand the steps schools and those responsible for their estate were taking to manage asbestos.
Data published in 2019 reflecting returns from 88.4% of schools showed that 80% of schools had some asbestos present in their estate. The department can confirm that from responses captured, the position in Harrow schools suggests a slightly lower percentage than the national picture, though we continue to gather data in this area through the Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme. The 2019 AMAP report is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f28153ed3bf7f1b17facda7/AMAP_Report_2019.pdf.
The department expects current percentages to reduce over time as schools are rebuilt or refurbished, and asbestos is removed. Information on how schools are managing asbestos is now being collected via the department’s CDC2 programme, which started in 2021 and will complete in 2026, and is expected to cover all state-funded schools.
The department follows the Health and Safety Executive’s advice that, provided asbestos-containing materials are in good condition, and unlikely to be disturbed, it is generally safest to manage them in place. Where asbestos-containing materials are likely to be disturbed by maintenance works or daily use of the building, and cannot be easily protected, schools should have them removed.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of staff working for the armed forces who have (a) no savings, (b) savings of less than £100 and (c) savings equivalent to less than (i) one and (ii) three month’s salary.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The requested information is not collected by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). An individual’s level of savings and personal finances are an entirely private matter.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Harrow West of 20 October 2023 and 31 October 2023 on the the detention of his constituent overseas.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are grateful to the honourable Member for bringing this matter to our attention. Whilst we are unable to locate the correspondence of 20 October (it would be appreciated if this could be re-sent to fcdo.correspondence@fcdo.gov.uk), the Minister for the Middle East, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, will reply to the honourable Member's correspondence of 31 October in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines. We remind the honourable Member that we provide MPs with a dedicated hotline for enquiries of a more urgent nature.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools have asbestos on their estate; how many schools have an asbestos management plan in place; and what funding her Department has provided to the London Borough of Harrow for the (a) removal and (b) management of asbestos in each of the last 13 years.
Answered by David Johnston - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Department takes the safety of children and those who work with them very seriously and expects Local Authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts to have robust plans in place to manage asbestos in school buildings effectively, in line with their legal duties.
Asbestos duty holders, such as Local Authorities and academy trusts, are responsible for understanding the presence of asbestos in schools and putting appropriate measures in place for its management.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) regulates schools’ compliance with legislation to manage their asbestos safely. These require duty holders to have a robust asbestos management plan, train staff, and maintain an asbestos register detailing location, type, and condition of asbestos in their buildings.
Information on how schools are managing asbestos is now being collected via the Department’s Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme, which started in 2021 and will complete in 2026.
The Department has committed £1.8 billion of capital funding for the 2023/24 financial year to improve the condition of school buildings, as part of over £15 billion allocated since 2015. In addition, the Department will transform poor condition buildings at 500 schools and colleges through the School Rebuilding Programme.
The Department provides annual capital funding to Local Authorities to improve the condition of their schools and keep them safe and compliant with relevant regulations, including removing asbestos, when it cannot be managed safely in situ. Harrow local authority was allocated £2.7 million in School Condition Allocations for the 2023/24 financial year to provide funding to the schools for which it is responsible. This is part of £19 million allocated since 2015, when School Condition Allocations were introduced.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what her Department’s (a) budget and (b) staff headcount is for trade and investment hubs in (i) Scotland, (ii) Wales, (iii) Northern Ireland and (iv) Darlington.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The budgets and FTE for the trade and investment hubs, as at period end 30 September 2023, are:
Hub | Budget | Headcount |
Scotland | £1,775,602 | 12 |
Wales | £1,351,775 | 12 |
Northern Ireland | £1,251,975 | 10 |
This excludes the budget for the Northern Ireland Investment Summit.
There are Trade and Investment staff based in Darlington; however, they work across part of a larger team which focus on a range of activities across the UK.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will publish data on (a) the number of schools that have discovered asbestos on their estate and (b) the number of schools with an asbestos management plan in place; and what funding her Department has provided to the London Borough of Harrow specifically for the (i) removal and (ii) management of asbestos in the last 13 years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.