Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the future of the steelmaking industry in Wales?
Answered by David T C Davies - Secretary of State for Wales
I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of subjects, including steelmaking in Wales.
This Government is investing £500 million into steelmaking at Port Talbot. This will protect 5,000 steel jobs and thousands more in the supply chain whilst increasing our economic security.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of changing the provision of the Nursery Milk Scheme to finish at the end of the reception academic year rather than when individual children reach the age of five.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Nursery Milk Scheme allows early years childcare settings, such as childminders and nurseries, to reclaim the cost of providing one-third of a pint of milk to children under five years old, who attend their childcare setting for at least two hours per day. Schools are also allowed to claim under this scheme, in respect of pupils under the age of five years old. There are no current plans to extend the scheme to cover other school pupils.
The School Food Standards require lower-fat or lactose free milk to be available in all schools. From the age of five years old onwards, pupils eligible for benefits-based free school meals are also eligible for free school milk. In addition, the school milk subsidy scheme subsidises the cost of milk and certain milk products for children in primary and secondary schools, including over five-year-olds. This means that participating schools can sell the products in schools at a lower price. More information on this scheme is available at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/school-milk-subsidy-scheme
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance her Department has issued to local authority smoking cessation services on whether they can offer disposable vapes through the Swap to Stop scheme; and whether her Department has received representations on the distribution of disposable vapes by local authorities from Yorkshire Cancer Research.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We launched the national Swap to Stop scheme in November 2023 to provide local authorities up to one million free vape starter kits, alongside the provision of behavioural support, to help smokers quit smoking. Disposable vapes are not available under the national Swap to Stop scheme. The Department has not received representations from Yorkshire Cancer Research on the distribution of disposable vapes to local authorities.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the research from University College London entitled Who would be affected by a ban on disposable vapes? A population study in Great Britain, published on 24 January 2024.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The health advice on vaping is clear: vaping can play a role in helping adult smokers to quit, but if you don’t smoke, don’t vape, and children should never vape. However, youth vaping has tripled in the last three years and one in five children have now used a vape. We know that disposable vapes have played a significant role in this rise, with 69% of children aged between 11 and 17 years old who vape now using disposables, compared to just 7% in 2021.
Adults will still have access to non-disposable vapes to help them to quit smoking. We have also announced significant new funding to support current smokers in quitting by doubling the funding of local stop smoking services to nearly £140 million per year, and through our national Swap to Stop scheme we’re helping adult smokers to quit by providing one million vapes to local authorities.
A full impact assessment is being undertaken by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs on the proposed ban on the sale and supply of disposable vapes.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
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 5 December to Question 4083 on Tobacco, whether he plans to publish the Office for Budget Responsibility’s assessment of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill before its presentation.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 deaths in the United Kingdom a year and one in four of all cancer deaths in the UK. It costs our country £17 billion a year, of which £14 billion is through lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year.
We are not aware of any plans by the Office for Budget Responsibility to publish an assessment of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. However, we do plan to publish an impact assessment of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill in due course.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is to respond to the consultation entitled Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 deaths in the United Kingdom a year, and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. It costs our country £17 billion a year, of which £14 billion is through lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year.
We plan to publish the Government response to the consultation shortly, ahead of the introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to publish a response to the consultation on Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 deaths in the United Kingdom a year, and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. It costs our country £17 billion a year, of which £14 billion is through lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year.
We plan to publish the Government response to the consultation shortly, ahead of the introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress her Department has made on drafting the Tobacco and Vapes Bill; and what steps she is taking to ensure that the Bill takes into account the responses to the consultation on Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 deaths in the United Kingdom yearly, and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. It costs our country £17 billion a year, including £14 billion of lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is currently being finalised and will be introduced in this parliamentary session. The Bill will create the first smokefree generation, crack down on youth vaping, and will enable the Government to enforce the new rules. The Bill will be informed by the recent consultation ‘Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping’ the response of which will be published shortly.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 23 November 2023 to Question 3412 on the Household Support Fund, when he expects a further decision on the future of the fund to be taken.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The current Household Support Fund runs until the end of March 2024, and the government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
We have regular conversations with the Treasury about a range of issues relevant to the work of the Department.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the future of the Household Support Fund after March 2024.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The current Household Support Fund runs until the end of March 2024, and the government continues to keep all its existing programmes under review in the usual way.
We have regular conversations with the Treasury about a range of issues relevant to the work of the Department.