Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the impact of informal and disguised employment in the beauty sector on the number of apprenticeship places available in hairdressing and beauty.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Apprenticeships are jobs with training, and it is for employers in the hair and beauty sector to decide how they use apprenticeships to meet their skills needs.
The sector has developed several apprenticeship standards, including the level 2 hairdressing professional standard. To support smaller employers to access apprenticeships, the government pays the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care.
Employers can benefit from £1,000 payments when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care. Employers can choose how they spend these payments. Employers are also not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, where they earn less than £50,270 a year.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much of the £645 million allocated for Pharmacy First had been used as of 3 December 2024.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Verified data to the end of November 2024 shows that £82 million has been spent in the 2024/25 financial year on the seven common clinical pathways and the associated incentive payments on expanding blood pressure and contraception services. A comprehensive view of all spending against the Pharmacy First budget will be available after the end of the financial year.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to help improve local bus services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government is committed to delivering better, more frequent and more reliable bus services for passengers. We have already made significant progress, introducing the Bus Services Bill to help give local leaders the powers they need to take control of their local services if they choose to do so, and announcing investment of over £1 billion to support and improve bus services.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support artisans and sole traders in (a) Derbyshire and (b) the UK with (i) the requirement for an EU-based responsible person and (ii) the other requirements under the new General Product Safety Regulation.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is supporting small businesses across the UK to understand and comply with the new EU General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) and its application in Northern Ireland.
We have published information on GOV.UK regarding GPSR's application in Northern Ireland, which we regularly review, and continue engaging directly with businesses. Firms exporting to the EU should note that EU guidance is now available and may also wish to contact the Government's Export Support Service. Since October, the UK Export Academy has delivered five free online GPSR training sessions to over 2,600 attendees.
Asked by: John Whitby (Labour - Derbyshire Dales)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce air pollution levels in Ashbourne, in the context of the establishment of an air quality management area following elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide on Buxton Road in 2021.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
When an Air quality management area (AGMA) is declared, local authorities are required to produce an Air Quality Action Plan (AQAP) to bring air pollution down to within statutory limits. Defra has been engaging with Derbyshire Dales District Council to ensure they have an AQAP that will achieve this.
Air pollution has been reducing in Derbyshire Dales, but they have a localised area of exceedance in Buxton Road partly caused by HGV’s using this stretch of road. Improving air quality will require localised action by councils and national measures. The Government is supporting the transition to electric vehicles and is turbocharging the rollout of EV infrastructure which will help reduce NO2 emissions UK wide.