Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what guidance his Department provides to those participating in military exercises during episodes of high air pollution.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As set out in Joint Service Publication (JSP) 375, Management of health and safety in Defence, military exercises must be risk assessed to identify and manage potential risks. The accountable person, who may be the commander or manager, must identify hazards and whether reasonable steps are being taken to prevent harm. This process is conducted prior to conducting military exercises and may be further refined during the exercise as part of a dynamic risk assessment.
In incidences where there is a risk of poor air quality, specific information on its prevention and mitigation are provided to all service personnel through Force Health Protection Instructions. In certain situations, deployment restrictions may be implemented for those deemed at greatest risk of poor air quality.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities data on D01 - Fraction of mortality attributable to particulate air pollution (new method), if she will publish the annual number of deaths attributable to long term exposure to total concentrations of fine particulate matter for each year that data is available.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The estimates for the fraction of mortality attributable to particulate air pollution, measured as PM2.5, are published every year. Data for 2022 will be published later this year. The fraction of mortality attributable to particulate air pollution indicator represents the percentage of annual deaths from all causes in those aged 30 and older attributed to PM2.5.
Annual numbers of deaths attributable to particulate air pollution are not calculated each year. The published estimate for England for 2019 was 26,000 to 38,000 deaths for adults aged 30 and over. For the United Kingdom, the published estimate for 2019 was 29,000 to 43,000 deaths for adults aged 30 and over.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the (a) average and (b) longest time between application and a start date for recruiting a civil servant was in the last three years; and whether he is taking steps to reduce those times.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Civil Service recruitment must follow the rules set out in legislation within the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act (CRaGA) 2010 which outlines the requirements to ensure that Civil Servants are recruited on merit, via fair and open competition. The Civil Service must also ensure that detailed pre-employment checks (such as appropriate levels of security clearance) are carried out before employment can begin.
Information on the average time to hire across departments can be found in the recent National Audit Office report published on ‘Civil service workforce: Recruitment, pay and performance management', found here: https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/civil-service-workforce/
As set out in the Civil Service People Plan published on 10 January 2024, we are committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds, to create a brilliant Civil Service now, and for the future.
We must modernise the ways we recruit, speed up and simplify the process and improve the candidate experience without compromising on quality or fairness. We must also continue to expand the use of secondments and other direct entry routes (including the Fast Stream and apprenticeships), ensuring they are properly embedded in the skills and resourcing strategies of all departments and professions.
The Cabinet Office is introducing a set of consistent and comparable Civil Service recruitment measures and benchmarks which will be implemented across the Whitehall 17 departments. This will give greater transparency of metrics across the recruitment cycle.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether neighbourhood forums are required to publish design codes.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 introduces a requirement for local planning authorities to produce a design code for the whole of their area. While this requirement does not apply to neighbourhood planning forums, provisions in the Act do allow for neighbourhood development plans to include requirements with respect to the design of development, in the same way that new-style local plans can.
Furthermore, to support neighbourhood forums to prepare their own design codes, we are supporting Locality to develop bespoke guidance for these groups, drawing on the lessons learned as part of the Department’s design code pathfinder programme.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to conserve UK agrobiodiversity to prevent (a) genetic erosion and (b) species extinction.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are already implementing a set of targeted schemes to improve the environment and productivity. Investing in the natural environment will help us reduce future risks related to the loss of biodiversity. In 2024 in our combined Sustainable Farming Incentive and Countryside Stewardship Scheme offer we are introducing new and updated actions to further support species recovery and management.
We are addressing conserving agrobiodiversity through our commitments to conserve genetic resources on under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Activities to protect and conserve livestock genetic resources also include encouraging sustainable breeding programmes through Zootechnical legislation, monitoring populations of pedigree livestock including native breeds which are published in an annual UK National Breed inventory and protecting eligible native breeds at risk from culling during notifiable disease outbreaks.
The Government recognises the important role local abattoirs play in supporting native breed farmers and the wider rural economy. In December 2023 Defra launched the £4 million Smaller Abattoir Fund to boost the sustainability and efficiency of red meat and poultry smaller abattoirs across England.
To conserve plant genetic resources for food and agriculture Defra funds three plant gene banks, the national collections for fruit, vegetables and peas, which conserve and provide access to plant genetic material.
In situ conservation of forest genetic resources has started to be delivered by voluntary designation of 17 gene conservation units by the Woodland Trust. Ex situ conservation of forest genetic resources has been achieved through both seed banking and by clone banks. The UK National Tree Seed Project, led by Royal Botanic Gardens Kew has conserved seed collections of the UK native trees from populations across the UK. Forest Research and the Future Trees Trust have set up and mange clone banks for improved forestry material.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will work with higher education institutions to support (a) research and (b) development of new (i) technologies and (ii) practices to promote sustainable food systems.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra works extensively with UK higher education institutions in partnership with UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to support research and development. This includes collaborating on the development and adoption of technologies and practices through the £270M Farming Innovation Programme. Universities and research organisations are involved in most projects within this Programme, which develops real-world solutions to the challenges being faced, improving productivity and sustainability of farm businesses. Other examples include supporting the £47.5M UKRI-led Strategic Priorities Fund on Transforming Food Systems, which seeks to develop food systems that enhance both human and planetary health.
Defra’s Agri-Food Science Programme develops R&D to stimulate innovation to enable sustainable food systems. This includes through our crop Genetic Improvement Networks, which bring together key research institutes in crop genetics, including from higher education institutes, to identify genetic traits to improve the productivity, sustainability and resilience of crops.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies of UK Parliament's publication entitled POSTbrief54 Indoor Air Quality, published on 26 September 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No specific policy assessment has been made. However, as set out in the Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report 2022 on air pollution, there is good evidence on the health risks associated with poor air quality, including indoor air. The Department continues to work collaboratively across government on both outdoor and indoor air quality.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence published guidance on indoor air pollution in 2020. This was designed to raise awareness of the importance of good air quality in people's homes and advise on how to achieve this.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made on implementing the 15 recommendations in the Chief Medical Officer's annual report 2022: Air Pollution published on 8 December 2022.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government recognises that there is more to do to protect people and the environment from the effects of air pollution, including in some of the areas outlined in the Chief Medical Officer's Annual Report 2022. The Department of Health and Social Carecontinues to work collaboratively work across Government to address the impact of air pollution.
We are taking significant and wide-ranging action to drive improvements to air quality as set out in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ Environmental Improvement Plan. The UK Health Security Agency’s Cleaner Air Programme also aims to help reduce people’s exposure to air pollution, tackle disparities in exposure and improve outcomes for all.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 24 May 2023 to Question 185749, what progress she has made on (a) increasing the evidence base, (b) supporting stakeholders and (c) improving awareness and understanding of indoor air quality in 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Department of Health and Social Care collaborates across Government to help ensure a joined-up approach on Government actions concerning indoor air quality. It has worked with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to design new consolidated guidance on damp and mould aimed at private and social rented landlords, including quantification of the respiratory burden of disease in England from exposure to damp and mould in housing. The guidance is available at the following link:
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) published the Health Effects of Climate Change report which provides evidence on the impact of climate change mitigation and adaptation policies on indoor environmental quality and health. UKHSA supports research and are co-funding and supervising PhD projects to develop evidence on the factors that affect personal exposure. The report is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/climate-change-health-effects-in-the-uk
The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with stakeholders and organisations to provide scientific input, using expert knowledge and experience on indoor air quality in relation to public health and to approve awareness.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 6 December 2023 to Question 4770 on Diesel Vehicles: Cars, how many new diesel cars were registered for the first time to owners other than keepers in each region of England in (a) 2022 and (b) each month in 2023.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
This information is not held.