Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will take steps to prevent the illegal (a) online sale and (b) importing of skin (i) whitening and (ii) lightening products which cause skin damage.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Cosmetics products must comply with some of the strongest safety standards in the world before they can be placed on the GB market. Government works with local enforcement authorities to take effective action when products are identified that do not meet these safety requirements, ensuring unsafe items are removed from sale.

Government has introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill, which explicitly recognises the role of online marketplaces to ensure consumers are protected from unsafe products. We intend to use the powers in the Bill to introduce requirements on e-commerce models to help prevent the sale of unsafe products online.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate his Department has made of trends in the level of employment in the car manufacturing sector between July and December 2024.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 21st March is attached.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will increase (a) criminal sanctions and (b) financial penalties for breaches of Trading Standards laws.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Local authority trading standards services oversee numerous pieces of legislation, including consumer protection, product safety, weights and measures, food standards, animal health and welfare, environmental protection, estates and lettings, and age-restricted products such as alcohol and tobacco, among other legislative responsibilities.

The Department of Business and Trade is responsible for the consumer protection function. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 updated and strengthened civil enforcement powers for public designated enforcers, including the ability for trading standards services to apply to the court for an enforcement order with a monetary penalty of up to 10% of turnover.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will commission research into (a) the types of (i) messages and (ii) videos promoted by TikTok to UK children and teenage users and (b) the role of promoting such content by malign state actors .

Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

Child online safety is of the utmost importance to the government. Under the Online Safety Act, user-to-user services likely to be accessed by children must protect them from harmful content. Ofcom’s draft codes of practice include recommendations for services to meet these duties, including ensuring that algorithms do not target children with harmful content.

Any attempt by malign state actors to interfere in the UK’s information environment is unacceptable. The Foreign Interference Offence is a priority offence in the Online Safety Act, it requires all in-scope companies to take action against a range of state-linked disinformation and interference online.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will commission research on (a) productivity, (b) sickness rates and (c) absenteeism in the (i) public and (ii) private sectors where employers offer mental health support (A) by phone, (B) online and (C) in-person through an employee assistance programme.

Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

In January 2025, the department launched “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and promoting healthy and inclusive workplaces. The review is being led by the former Chair of John Lewis, Sir Charlie Mayfield. The recently published discovery report sets out that interventions such as employee assistance programmes are an area of focus for the review over the next few months. The discovery report calls for organisations providing employee assistance programmes to get in touch to share information and evidence about these programmes during the review’s engagement phase, which is ongoing until the end of May. The discovery report can be accessed here: Keep Britain Working Review: Discovery - GOV.UK

The department has previously conducted research on self-reported employee sickness absence rates in 2021. The research can be accessed on gov.uk using the following link: Employee research Phase 1 and 2 - GOV.UK. The research did not explore whether respondents had access to mental health support through an employee assistance programme, or mode of access to this.

The department has also previously published results from a survey which explored how employers manage mental health conditions within their organisation, although it did not collect data on productivity, sickness rates or absenteeism: Department for Work and Pensions Employer Survey 2022: research report - GOV.UK. The department has since commissioned further surveys of employers and employees about their experiences of managing health and wellbeing in the workplace, and the findings will be published later this year.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing Business Rates relief to nurseries.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The early years system has a central role to play in driving economic growth and breaking down barriers to opportunity, which is why the Government wants to make childcare more affordable and accessible.

At the Budget in October, the Government committed to increasing spending on early years and family services to over £8 billion in 2025-26. This includes an additional £1.8 billion which will be paid to early years providers to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare and help more parents, particularly women, stay in and return to work.

Business rates are a broad-based tax on the value of non-domestic properties including nurseries. To protect small businesses, the government announced at the Autumn Budget that it would freeze the small business multiplier for 2025-26. Taken together with Small Business Rates Relief, this intervention ensures that over a million properties will be protected from inflationary increases.

In addition to this support, standalone nurseries are also eligible for charitable rate relief where they have a ‘charitable purpose’.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will have discussions with independent pharmacy owners on ensuring an equitable contract for community pharmacies.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government recognises that pharmacies are an integral part of the fabric of our communities. They provide an easily accessible ‘front door’ to the National Health Service, staffed by highly trained and skilled healthcare professionals.

We have now concluded the most recent consultation on funding for 2024/25 and 2025/26, and have agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion. Community Pharmacy England represent all pharmacy contractors, including independents. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the NHS, over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a first step in delivering stability for the future and a commitment to rebuilding the sector.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will consider linking pharmacy funding to (a) inflation and (b) the National Living Wage.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We have taken necessary decisions to fix the foundations in the public finances at the Autumn Budget, and this enabled the Spending Review settlement of a £22.6 billion increase in resource spending for the Department from 2023/24 outturn to 2025/26.

We have now agreed with Community Pharmacy England to increase the community pharmacy contractual framework to £3.073 billion from April 2025. This deal represents the largest uplift in funding of any part of the National Health Service, at over 19% across 2024/25 and 2025/26. This shows a first step in delivering stability for the future and a commitment to rebuilding the sector.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will increase the powers of local education authorities to take action against parents who threaten teaching staff over decisions taken under school disciplinary procedures.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

No teacher should feel unsafe or face violence or abuse in the workplace. The department will always support teachers to ensure they can work in safe and calm classrooms. All school employers, including trusts, have a duty to take reasonable steps to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their employees.

Schools should have their own clear processes in place for dealing with issues of bullying or harassment from parents. All incidences of bullying or harassment by a parent should be reported immediately to the designated lead and head teacher or governing body or proprietor.

Should the incident constitute a potential criminal offence, it would be for the school to consider involving the police, having followed the advice contained in the ‘When to call the police’ guidance for schools and colleges by the National Police Chief’s Council, written in partnership with the department and Home Office.

For staff who are experiencing bullying or harassment from any source, support is available from sources including Education Support, a charity supporting the mental health and wellbeing of teachers and education staff in schools, colleges and universities.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will have discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on (a) domestic extremist threats and (b) other terror related threats against primary and secondary schools; and what assessment she has made of the potential measures of putting new measures in place to strengthen (i) entrances and (ii) perimeter boundaries in schools.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The Prevent duty safeguards children and young people from extremist ideologies to prevent them from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. The department publishes over 150 resources to support schools, parents and pupils in protecting children from extremism. These resources can be found at: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/.

For any new school building the department recommends a security risk assessment is completed which will set out any necessary safeguarding and security requirements, where they are suitable.

The department publishes comprehensive and well-established ‘Protective Security and Preparedness’ guidance which helps staff prepare for and respond to terrorist and other significant threats. This guidance can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protective-security-and-preparedness-for-education-settings.

The government will further strengthen the national security response through measures included in the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Bill. The Bill will require all education settings to take forward public protection procedures. This will establish a legal requirement which specifically relates to the response to a terrorist attack.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with the BBC on ensuring that the programmes it commissions reflect the views of people from across the UK.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

As a public service broadcaster that matters hugely to public life, the BBC must be responsive to viewers and listeners and tell inclusive stories about the lives of all people, in all parts of the UK. Under the current Charter, the BBC has an obligation to ‘reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions’. The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the Government in determining how it meets that obligation, and it is for the independent regulator Ofcom to hold the BBC to account.

As part of the next Charter Review, the Government will engage with the BBC and others to consider how to ensure the BBC thrives well into the next decade and beyond. This will include discussions on a range of important issues and will start a national conversation to make sure the BBC truly represents and delivers for every person in this country

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with Ofcom on encouraging competition in broadcast news media.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Department regularly engages with Ofcom on a range of issues including the importance of a competitive and diverse broadcasting sector.

Ofcom has a statutory duty under the Communication Act 2003 to secure and maintain a sufficient plurality of providers of different TV and radio services. Ofcom also has a duty to review the operation of media ownership rules across TV, radio and press every three years. Ofcom published their latest review on 15 November 2024.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with media production companies on producing more content to promote positive male role models.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government recognises the important positive contribution made by our creative industries, including our public service broadcasters, in informing, educating, and entertaining audiences. However, editorial decisions are ultimately a matter for individual production companies.

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will establish a cross-Government expert group to help (a) innovate responses and (b) devise policy counter-measures to (i) non-traditional and (ii) hard-to-trace grey-zone activities of (A) malign state actors and (B) their proxies who are seeking to undermine UK national (1) economic and (2) security interests.

Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

As set out in the Plan For Change, this Government’s first duty is to make the UK safer, more secure, and resilient against the growing and interconnected threats from state, state-linked and non-state actors. We are committed to working across Government, as well as with partners internationally and in the private sector and academia, to prevent harm; deter and disrupt threats; respond effectively to incidents; and recover swiftly.

Work is already underway across Government to deliver this commitment, and requirements for any new structures or groupings will be kept under review, including in the context of the ongoing development of the National Security Strategy.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will ensure all schools have (a) lock down plans which all teaching staff are taught, (b) direct feed panic alarms to local police stations, (c) security bollards at the main entrances and exits and (d) two door interlocking systems.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

This government is committed to ensuring that children, young people and adult learners are safe from terrorist incidents and attacks. This is why the department publishes comprehensive guidance alongside a range of high-quality resources to support education settings in their protective security, and their preparedness and response to incidents and attacks.

The ‘Protective Security and Preparedness for education settings’ guidance, developed in collaboration with the National Counter-Terrorism Security Office, offers a comprehensive approach to enhancing safety and preparedness, ensuring that educational settings can provide a secure and supportive environment for learning. This includes planning for a number of different response options such as lockdown, evacuation and invacuation, communicating during an incident, having plans in place to respond effectively to different types of incidents and testing out those plans.

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Found: sittings of this bill committee Chairs: Dr Rosena Allin-Khan Sir Roger Gale Emma Lewell-Buck Mark Pritchard

Found: Chairs: Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Sir Roger Gale, Emma Lewell-Buck and Mark Pritchard Clerks: Rob Cope

Found: Chairs: Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Sir Roger Gale, Emma Lewell-Buck and Mark Pritchard Clerks: Rob Cope

Found: Councillor Mark Pritchard, Leader of Wrexham County Borough Council, while also welcoming the increased

Found: Council Welsh Local Government Association (Spokesperson for Finance and Resources) Councillor Mark Pritchard