Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the World Health Organization and UNICEF's 2025 Guidelines on Hand Hygiene in Community Settings; and whether he plans to take steps to promote their implementation in public places and workplaces.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recognise that effective infection prevention and control measures play an important role in reducing the transmission of infectious diseases in workplaces, public spaces, and other community settings. Current evidence continues to support targeted, risk-based hygiene measures as an effective means of reducing the spread of infectious diseases.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF's guidelines highlight the role of hand hygiene in community environments, including public and institutional settings, and in reducing diarrhoeal disease and acute respiratory infections. These objectives are consistent with existing Government policies to prevent and control infections and support public health.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department and the UK Health Security Agency have made of the potential merits of promoting targeted hygiene in workplaces and public spaces as a means of reducing the spread of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recognise that effective infection prevention and control measures play an important role in reducing the transmission of infectious diseases in workplaces, public spaces, and other community settings. Current evidence continues to support targeted, risk-based hygiene measures as an effective means of reducing the spread of infectious diseases.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF's guidelines highlight the role of hand hygiene in community environments, including public and institutional settings, and in reducing diarrhoeal disease and acute respiratory infections. These objectives are consistent with existing Government policies to prevent and control infections and support public health.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the total number of school days lost by teaching staff due to the incidence of infectious disease in (a) primary (b) secondary schools in England in the school years 2024/25 and 2025/26 and the proportion of all teacher school days this represents.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The information requested is not held centrally.

The department collects absence data for teachers and teaching assistants employed directly by state-funded schools via the school workforce census. This includes absences due to sickness but does not include the reason for the sickness absence. Each census collects data for absences from the previous academic year. The latest data available covers the 2024/25 academic year and is published in the ‘School workforce in England’ statistical publication, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.

Found: Resolved, Linsey Farnsworth to be discharged from the Justice Committee and Janet Daby to be nominated

Found: Rupa Huq, Christine Jardine Siân Berry (Green) Matt Bishop (Lab) Jess Brown-Fuller (LD) Linsey Farnsworth