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Written Question
Wood-burning Stoves: Ecolabelling
Thursday 28th December 2023

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, with reference to the Answers of 17 January 2022 to Questions 102528 on Wood-burning Stoves: Regulation and 102529 on Wood-burning Stoves: Ecolabelling, what steps his Department has taken to ensure high standards in (a) approval processes and (b) testing for individual wood burning appliances or ranges of appliances before they are certified as complying with the requirements of the Ecodesign Regulations.

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

Defra does not own Ecolabelling or Ecodesign but does have an interest. Since January 2022 emissions to air have become part of the testing regime.


Prior to placing a product on the market, manufacturers must demonstrate conformity with the implementing measures as set out in the product specific regulations. This includes a declaration of conformity and technical documentation and can include relevant standards used to demonstrate compliance. This technical documentation must be kept by the manufacturer for a period of 10 years after production and made available to the market surveillance authority, who can conduct independent testing after the product has launched on the market.


Written Question
Buildings: Health And Safety
Friday 22nd December 2023

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, with reference to the Answer of 23 May 2023 to Question 185728 on Buildings: Health and Safety, whether officials have concluded their review of British Standard BS 40102-1:2023 entitled Health and well-being and indoor environmental quality in buildings.

Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)

The Building Safety Regulator has a duty to keep the safety and standard of buildings under review. As part of this work the Regulator has considered the content of BS 40102-1:2023. The Regulator does not consider that any actions are needed at this time as a result of this assessment.


Written Question
Care Workers: Vacancies
Thursday 21st December 2023

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, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of pay for care sector roles on the number of vacancies within that sector.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have made no recent assessment.

Vacancy rates are likely not the best measure of capacity, or lack of capacity, in the sector. Independent providers make the decision on whether to advertise vacancies based on their aspirations to grow their businesses and the expected churn of workers within the sector.


Written Question
Biofuels: HETAS and Woodsure
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Answer of 26 April 2022 to Question 157261 on Biofuels: HETAS, whether any conflicts of interest have been declared by (a) Woodsure and (b) HETAS since 1 January 2022.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Neither Woodsure nor HETAS have declared any conflicts of interest since 1 January 2022.


Written Question
Financial Institutions
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is taking steps to help ensure that financial institutions (a) provide insurance for property owners using carbon-free cement in new buildings and (b) support the use of innovative low and zero carbon products and services.

Answered by Bim Afolami - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is fully committed to delivering on our net zero legal obligations by 2050 and has set out a comprehensive range of measures to support investment into the transition in Powering Up Britain and the Green Finance Strategy. These will help leverage around £100 billion of private investment as we develop new industries and innovative low carbon technologies and support up to 480,000 jobs by 2030.

The package of measures recently set out at Autumn Statement 2023 will further build the enabling environment for investment, which will be vital to delivering net zero. This included making Full Expensing permanent, speeding up grid connections, and reforming the planning system. It also included £4.5bn in advanced manufacturing support, with £960m for a new Green Industries Growth Accelerator focused on clean energy sectors.

Insurers make commercial decisions about the types of products they will cover, as well as the terms and conditions they set, when offering insurance. While the Government does not intervene in these commercial decisions by insurers, it recognises the important role insurance plays in supporting the transition to more sustainable products and will continue to monitor the availability and affordability of relevant insurance products.


Written Question
Schools: Air Pollution
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 24 May 2023 to Question 185868 on Air Pollution: Schools, whether she has made a recent assessment of the effectiveness of the minimum filter class from BS EN 13779.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The department’s guidance, ‘Building Bulletin 101: Ventilation, thermal comfort and indoor air quality’, refers to BS EN 13779 (Ventilation for non-residential buildings: performance requirements for ventilation and room-conditioning systems) as additional guidance specifically on filtration, which describes how minimum filtration classes can be applied to schools.

BS EN 13779 is owned by the British Standards Institute and the department has not made any specific tests in relation to this standard.


Written Question
Air Pollution
Wednesday 20th December 2023

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, whether her Department has taken recent steps with (a) Health Education England and (b) Royal Colleges to provide information to health professionals on treating people who are vulnerable to the health effects of air pollution.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Guidance issued by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence includes recommendations on advice health professionals can give to people who may be particularly affected by poor outdoor and indoor air quality. The guidance is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng70

Standards for education and training of healthcare professionals are the responsibility of the independent statutory regulatory bodies. The Department engages regularly with health professional bodies, but it would not be appropriate for the Government to intervene in the design of standards of proficiency or the design of curricula. This is to respect the independence and expertise of regulators and universities in designing standards and curricula that ensure public safety.

The Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2022 focused on air pollution and includes an assessment of the evidence on health risks associated with poor air quality. The report is available at the following link:

www.gov.uk/government/publications/chief-medical-officers-annual-report-2022-air-pollution


Written Question
Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill
Tuesday 19th December 2023

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, when he plans to respond to e-petition 639320 entitled Find time to take the Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill through the House of Commons.

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

A Government response is being prepared and will be published in due course.


Written Question
Shipping: Irish Sea
Tuesday 19th December 2023

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 8 February 2023 to Question 139130 on Shipping: Irish Sea, what progress he has made on launching a call for evidence on Emission Control Areas around the UK coast.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We plan to publish the call for evidence in due course.


Written Question
Social Rented Housing: Standards
Tuesday 19th December 2023

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, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of social housing stock to meet the standards set out in the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, known as Awaab's law; and what it will cost to achieve those standards.

Answered by Jacob Young - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Social landlords are responsible for remedying disrepair and ensuring homes are fit for human habitation. They must also ensure homes meet the Decent Homes Standard and are free of category 1 hazards. 10% of homes in the social rented sector do not meet these standards and continue to be non-decent. The tragic and avoidable death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak highlighted the need for government to take proactive action to make clear to social landlords the timescales in which they must respond to hazards. That’s why powers for Awaab's Law were introduced through the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023.

The details of the requirements to be introduced under Awaab's Law, including time limits for action, will be settled through the government's upcoming consultation. Alongside that consultation we will publish an impact assessment setting out the estimated costs of Awaab’s Law and we will seek further views and evidence on that assessment.