Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what information her Department holds on the number of (a) hairdressing and (b) barber salons there are.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
ONS data[1] shows that the number of business premises in the hairdressing and beauty sector totalled 50,485 in 2023. This is an increase of 1.8% compared with 2022 and 17.4% above 2017 levels.
Additional data from the Local Data Company[2] shows that the number of hairdressers fell by 425 in September 2023 compared with a year earlier, while the number of barbers increased by 815.
[1] ONS – UK business activity, size and location – 2023. Data relates to SIC 9602.
[2] https://britishbeautycouncil.com/british-beauty-council-ldc-new-report/
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to make unmarried long-term childless couples eligible for Bereavement Support Payment.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Bereavement Support Payment is currently only available to those who are married, in a cohabiting relationship with dependent children, or in a civil partnership. We currently have no plans to change the eligibility criteria for Bereavement Support Payment.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an estimate of the number of women on spousal visas that have been a victim of (a) domestic abuse and (b) modern slavery.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The number of women on spousal visas that have been a victim of domestic abuse and modern slavery does not form part of any current transparency data or migration statistics and is not published.
The transparency data does, however, include a range of processing data and the latest data can be found at: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the prevalence of arranged marriages in the UK.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Government has not made a recent assessment on the prevalence of arranged marriages in the UK.
In an arranged marriage the families take a leading role in choosing the marriage partner, but the marriage is entered into freely by both parties.
This is in contrast to a forced marriage, where one or both people do not or cannot consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used to force them into the marriage.
It is also a forced marriage when anything is done to make someone marry before they turn 18, even if there is no pressure or abuse.
More information on forced marriage can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/forced-marriage
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to ban plastic materials in (a) boilers and (b) water tanks.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 – which, in part, are designed to prevent contamination of drinking water supplies from water fittings – do not cover the design of boilers or hot water tanks, including the materials they are constructed from. If a consumer suspects that their drinking water is contaminated, they should contact their local water company who will investigate. If the cause of contamination is identified as occurring from plumbing inside the property, water companies will provide instructions to the consumer on remedial action to consider such as replacement or repair of the defective component. All plumbing inside a property is the responsibility of the property owner.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to establish an independent body to (a) identify and (b) monitor public health threats from (i) plastic and (ii) microplastic contamination.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals. Public health threats are the responsibility of the Department of Health and Social Care.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to establish an independent body to (a) identify and (b) monitor public health threats from defective household (i) boilers, (ii) water tanks and (iii) other products.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State does not currently plan to bring forward legislative proposals in this area.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has received recent representations on the disintegrating of plastic within internal baffles of household water tanks.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has not received recent representations on the disintegrating of plastic within internal baffles of household water tanks.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to create a centralised certification body for water tanks.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State does not currently plan to bring forward legislative proposals in this area.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 23 October 2023 to Question 200957 on Turkey: British Nationals Abroad, what points HM Ambassador raised with the Turkish Health Minister; whether his Department plans to discuss with the Turkish authorities measures to tackle the issue of of medical tourism and the need for comprehensive advice for Britons seeking such treatment in Turkey; and what issues will be discussed during the visit by the delegation from the Department for Health and Social Care.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
On 4 October, HM Ambassador met with the Turkish Minister of Health and discussed the importance of mutual cooperation and clear advice to ensure the safety of increasing numbers of British Nationals seeking elective medical treatments in Turkey. HMA continues high level engagement with the Turkish Minister of Health and Minister of Culture and Tourism on the issue. On their visit, Department of Health and Social Care officials engaged with the Turkish Ministry of Health on patient safety measures for UK patients undertaking planned medical treatment in Turkey, as well as exploring the support to UK tourists to Turkey who may need emergency healthcare. Our Embassy in Ankara will continue to engage regularly with the Turkish authorities on these issues. We keep our central online guidance up to date, as well as the FCDO Travel Advice for Turkey.