Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation, published on 8 November 2023, whether it is her policy to include snuff tobacco products in these proposals.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Smoking is responsible for approximately 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom and causes approximately one in four cancer deaths. It also costs our country £17 billion a year and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service. That is why we will introduce the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in this parliamentary session to create the first smokefree generation and crack down on youth vaping
In October 2023, the Government and devolved administrations launched a public consultation on the smokefree generation and youth vaping. For the smokefree generation policy, where tobacco products would not be sold to those who turned 15 years old or younger this year, the consultation included a question on whether respondents agreed with the proposed approach to mirror the existing age of sale legislation in England and Wales. This included:
- cigarettes;
- cigarette papers;
- hand rolled tobacco;
- cigars;
- cigarillos;
- pipe tobacco;
- waterpipe tobacco products, for example, shisha;
- chewing tobacco;
- heated tobacco;
- nasal tobacco; and
- herbal smoking products.
The consultation response will be published shortly
As outlined in command paper published on 4 October 2023, our position is that all tobacco products are harmful, and the evidence is clear that there is no safe level of tobacco consumption. Tobacco smoke from shisha and cigars lead to the same types of diseases as cigarette smoke. Snus is banned in the UK and we have no plans to introduce additional tobacco products to the UK market.
Vapes are tobacco-free so outside the proposed scope of the smokefree generation policy. In our consultation, we asked questions about policies which have the potential to reduce the appeal, availability, and affordability of vaping to children. It is clear that vaping is totally unsuitable for children. However, we want to ensure that vapes remain available as a smoking cessation tool for adult smokers given the lesser harms posed to smokers from vaping.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2023 to Question 3251 on Smoking, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting cigar based products from the proposals.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Smoking is responsible for approximately 80,000 deaths a year in the United Kingdom and causes approximately one in four cancer deaths. It also costs our country £17 billion a year and puts a huge burden on the National Health Service. That is why we will introduce the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in this parliamentary session to create the first smokefree generation and crack down on youth vaping
In October 2023, the Government and devolved administrations launched a public consultation on the smokefree generation and youth vaping. For the smokefree generation policy, where tobacco products would not be sold to those who turned 15 years old or younger this year, the consultation included a question on whether respondents agreed with the proposed approach to mirror the existing age of sale legislation in England and Wales. This included:
- cigarettes;
- cigarette papers;
- hand rolled tobacco;
- cigars;
- cigarillos;
- pipe tobacco;
- waterpipe tobacco products, for example, shisha;
- chewing tobacco;
- heated tobacco;
- nasal tobacco; and
- herbal smoking products.
The consultation response will be published shortly
As outlined in command paper published on 4 October 2023, our position is that all tobacco products are harmful, and the evidence is clear that there is no safe level of tobacco consumption. Tobacco smoke from shisha and cigars lead to the same types of diseases as cigarette smoke. Snus is banned in the UK and we have no plans to introduce additional tobacco products to the UK market.
Vapes are tobacco-free so outside the proposed scope of the smokefree generation policy. In our consultation, we asked questions about policies which have the potential to reduce the appeal, availability, and affordability of vaping to children. It is clear that vaping is totally unsuitable for children. However, we want to ensure that vapes remain available as a smoking cessation tool for adult smokers given the lesser harms posed to smokers from vaping.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many chiropodists are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Health and Care Professions Council regulates podiatrists and chiropodists in the United Kingdom. The combined number of podiatrists and chiropodists registered with the Health and Care Professions Council is available at the following link:
https://www.hcpc-uk.org/about-us/insights-and-data/the-register/
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many podiatrists are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Health and Care Professions Council regulates podiatrists and chiropodists in the United Kingdom. The combined number of podiatrists and chiropodists registered with the Health and Care Professions Council is available at the following link:
https://www.hcpc-uk.org/about-us/insights-and-data/the-register/
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many licences were issued by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for the purpose of the (a) procurement, (b) testing, (c) processing, (d) preservation, (e) storage and (f) distribution of (i) gametes, (ii) embryos, (iii) vitro fertilisation and (iv) artificial insemination treatments in 2023.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has advised that there was a total of 118 centres licensed for treatment or storage of gametes or embryos in 2023, where 30 new licenses or renewed licenses were issued in 2023. The following table shows the number of licences issued for each purpose, noting that the HFEA does not issue licenses for preservation:
Purpose of license | Number of new or renewed licenses in 2023 |
Procurement | 30 |
Testing | 15 |
Processing | 30 |
Storage | 28 |
Distribution of:
| 30 23 19 26 |
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has taken steps to increase support for suicide prevention services in Solihull constituency.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
We introduced the new Suicide Prevention Strategy for England on 11 September 2023. The strategy sets an ambition to reduce the suicide rate within five years, with an initial reduction seen in half this time. The actions in the strategy are designed to impact across the country including in Solihull.
It sets out over 100 actions that will be delivered by different Government departments and organisations across different sectors to make progress towards this aim. The actions and priorities in the new strategy are informed by engagement with a wide range of stakeholders with lived experience, the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group and by the responses to the mental health and wellbeing call for evidence that ran to July 2022.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 7 November 2023 from the hon. Member for Solihull, reference JK39009.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has responded to the Honourable Member’s letter on the 18th December.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the policy paper entitled Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation, published on 8 November 2023, whether it is her policy to include cigar-based products in these proposals.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As the smoke from cigars is as harmful as that from cigarettes causing various smoking related diseases, including cancers, this is included under the current proposals, mirroring existing age of sale legislation.
A consultation on the Government’s new tobacco and vaping proposals is open until 6 December 2023 and is available at the following link:
The Government will respond in full to the consultation once it has closed.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the Care Quality Commission spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
In the 2022/23 financial year the Care Quality Commission spent £61,000 on the Inclusive Leadership Pathway programme, a talent selective development programme for underrepresented groups to support them reaching senior levels. It also spent £11,000 on a British Sign Language course for colleagues across the organisation.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much the UK Health Security Agency spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK Health Security Agency did not spend any funds on bespoke equality and diversity training in 2022/23. However, equality, diversity and inclusion themes and messages are reflected appropriately in all learning programmes designed, procured, and delivered by the agency.