Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to increase the uptake of the HPV vaccine by (a) girls and (b) boys.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with charities such as Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and the Teenage Cancer Trust to develop resources to raise awareness and educate young girls and boys about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and related cancers. The UKHSA has helped develop education resources for schools called EDUCATE, co-developed with teenagers and the Health Protection Research Unit on Behavioural Science and Evaluation.
School Aged Immunisation Service (SAIS) providers have continuously been focusing on HPV programme recovery since the pandemic and the school closures, and have robust catch-up plans in place for HPV vaccination based on population need, and utilising opportunities from the HPV programme change in September 2023 to deliver further catchup activities from the academic year 2023/24 using innovative models.
The UKHSA monitors uptake for immunisation programmes for teenagers. Annual published statistics help local NHS Screening and Immunisation teams develop plans to improve uptake and reduce inequalities in collaboration with key partners, including Directors of Public Health, and teams in local authorities.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 has taken to tackle levels of plastic waste; and whether he plans to take steps to help reduce the amount of waste that is shipped abroad for disposal.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is a leading voice in tackling plastic pollution and were proud to co-sponsor the proposal to prepare a new international, legally binding plastics treaty. Negotiations have not yet concluded; however, the UK are committed to securing an ambitious agreement by the end of 2024 and have called for the treaty to include measures that restrain and reduce the production and consumption of plastic to sustainable levels.
We have banned the use of microbeads in rinse-off personal care products. Our single-use plastic carrier bag charge, now 10p, has reduced the number of such bags given out by the main supermarkets by over 98%. We brought in measures to restrict the supply of single-use plastic straws and single-use plastic stemmed cotton buds and ban the supply of plastic drink stirrers in 2020. And in October 2023, we banned the supply of single-use plastic plates, bowls, and trays to the end-user and banned the supply of single-use plastic cutlery and single-use plastic balloon sticks and expanded and foamed extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers, including cups. In April 2022, we brought in the Plastic Packaging Tax, a tax of £200 per tonne on plastic packaging manufactured in, or imported into the UK, that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic. From April 2023, it has increased in line with inflation to £210.82/tonne.
Under the UK Plan for Shipments of Waste, it is generally prohibited to export waste for disposal, subject to some exceptions within that plan' UK plan for shipments of waste (publishing.service.gov.uk).
Businesses involved in the export of waste are required by law to take all necessary steps to ensure that the waste they ship is managed in an environmentally sound manner throughout its shipment and during its recycling. Individuals and businesses found to be exporting waste in contravention of these requirements can face a two-year jail term and an unlimited fine. In addition, the Government has committed to banning the export of plastic waste to countries which are not members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and we plan to consult this year on the date by which this should be achieved.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he has taken to contribute towards the target in the Global Plastics Treaty of a 75% reduction in virgin plastic production and single-use plastics by 2040.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK is a leading voice in tackling plastic pollution and were proud to co-sponsor the proposal to prepare a new international, legally binding plastics treaty. Negotiations have not yet concluded; however, the UK are committed to securing an ambitious agreement by the end of 2024 and have called for the treaty to include measures that restrain and reduce the production and consumption of plastic to sustainable levels.
We have banned the use of microbeads in rinse-off personal care products. Our single-use plastic carrier bag charge, now 10p, has reduced the number of such bags given out by the main supermarkets by over 98%. We brought in measures to restrict the supply of single-use plastic straws and single-use plastic stemmed cotton buds and ban the supply of plastic drink stirrers in 2020. And in October 2023, we banned the supply of single-use plastic plates, bowls, and trays to the end-user and banned the supply of single-use plastic cutlery and single-use plastic balloon sticks and expanded and foamed extruded polystyrene food and drinks containers, including cups. In April 2022, we brought in the Plastic Packaging Tax, a tax of £200 per tonne on plastic packaging manufactured in, or imported into the UK, that does not contain at least 30% recycled plastic. From April 2023, it has increased in line with inflation to £210.82/tonne.
Under the UK Plan for Shipments of Waste, it is generally prohibited to export waste for disposal, subject to some exceptions within that plan' UK plan for shipments of waste (publishing.service.gov.uk).
Businesses involved in the export of waste are required by law to take all necessary steps to ensure that the waste they ship is managed in an environmentally sound manner throughout its shipment and during its recycling. Individuals and businesses found to be exporting waste in contravention of these requirements can face a two-year jail term and an unlimited fine. In addition, the Government has committed to banning the export of plastic waste to countries which are not members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and we plan to consult this year on the date by which this should be achieved.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of how many single-use plastic products were disposed of in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire and (c) England in the last three years; and what support his Department plans to provide to businesses to encourage the production of more sustainable packaging products.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have made no assessment of single-use plastic product disposal in those areas in the last three years.
The Government is determined to transform the way we collect, recycle, and reuse our waste materials so we eliminate all avoidable waste by 2050. This is why we are introducing Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (pEPR) to make producers responsible for the costs of collecting and managing the packaging they produce. pEPR will encourage producers to reduce the use of unnecessary packaging and use more recyclable and reusable materials in packaging. Furthermore, through UK Research and Innovation, we have provided over £190 million to over 280 projects in the last 5 years, for research to help us reduce plastic waste and increase the sustainability of the plastic packaging we use.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reduce the incidence of circulatory and respiratory diseases as a result of poor insulation in (a) Preston and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Insulation is the most common and cost-effective means of improving energy efficiency in people’s homes.
Installers under current government schemes must be registered with TrustMark and comply with Publicly Available Specification 2035, which adopts a whole house approach to ensure appropriate ventilation when retrofit work is being carried out. This minimises the risks of unintended consequences such as mould and damp. Installers must also be PAS 2030 certified.
Should a consumer and a TrustMark registered business have a dispute about the installation which cannot be resolved through their own resolution mechanism then TrustMark provides a further dispute resolution process.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing home insulation to low-income households who have have poorly insulated homes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government considers energy efficiency as the best way to tackle fuel poverty, contributing to the long-term reduction of energy bills as well as reducing carbon emissions in line with Net Zero. There are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Great British Insulation Scheme and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to (a) increase availability of and (b) reduce waiting times for dental appointments.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 7 February, we published Our Plan to Recover and Reform National Health Service Dentistry. The Dentistry Recovery Plan will make dental services faster, simpler, and fairer for patients and will fund around 2.5 million additional appointments.
The Plan sets out a number of actions which will improve access for patients, by helping the sector to recover activity more quickly, including the introduction of a New Patient Payment Premium of up to £50 for each new patient. This is on top of the funding dental practices already receive for delivering that care.
We will further incentivise dentists to do more NHS work by raising the minimum Units of Dental Activity (UDA) rate to £28.
From 1 April 2023 responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. ICBs are responsible for having local processes in place to identify areas of need and determine the priorities for investment.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the oral contribution of the Prime Minister at Prime Minister's Questions on 24 January 2024, Official Report, column 296, what plans his Department has to improve Preston railway station; and what his planned timeline is for those improvements.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Following the Network North announcement, work is underway to consider potential upgrades to the West Coast Main Line, including improvements to Preston station, to support the introduction of High-Speed Services and improve journeys between London, the West Midlands, the North-West and Scotland. My officials are working with industry partners to review options.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of proposed rail fares for 2024-25; and if he will take steps to ensure fares do not rise further.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is continuing to support passengers with cost-of-living pressures with another significant intervention on rail fares, capping increases at 4.9 per cent, significantly below the July 2023 Retail Prices Index (RPI) figure of 9 per cent, which has historically been used to calculate fares changes.
The lower fare cap comes after the Government delivered its target to halve inflation by the end of the year.
This year’s increase builds on last year’s unprecedented intervention, which saw the Government cap the increase for 2023 at 6.4 percentage points lower than the 2022 July RPI figure. This means the Government will have helped keep ticket prices more than 9 per cent lower than what passengers would have paid if rises matched the RPI benchmark in the last two years.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether there is a cost implication to (a) his Department and (b) Serco of biometric residence permit cards being issued with errors.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
This information is not publicly available and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.