Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether statutory provisions are in place to prohibit legal deforestation where commodities have been produced legally in the country of origin but have caused significant damage to the environment; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The UK plays a leading role in supporting global efforts to protect and restore forest landscapes, driving international action to tackle deforestation and ensure forests are sustainably managed. This effort is underpinned by a commitment of £1.5 billion to international forests between 2021 and 2026.
This package of work includes new due diligence legislation through the Environment Act 2021 to tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains. Our law will make it illegal for larger businesses operating in the UK to use key forest risk commodities produced on land illegally occupied or used. Businesses in scope will also be required to undertake a due diligence exercise on their supply chains, and to report on this exercise annually.
We cannot shift to sustainable supply chains alone – it must be a collective effort between consumers and producers globally. This issue is central to the UK’s commitment to tackling the twin challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss. Our approach to due diligence is based on compliance with the relevant local laws of producer countries. Our aim is to work with producer countries and support their efforts to uphold their laws and strengthen environmental protection. We believe this approach – which supports the efforts of government in the countries where these products are grown - provides the best path to long-term sustainability.
We also continue to work with consumer and producer country partners in forums such as the Forest, Agriculture, and Commodity Trade (FACT) Dialogue, which the UK and Indonesia launched together as co-chairs in 2021. The FACT Dialogue convenes 28 major producers and consumers of internationally traded agricultural commodities to agree principles for collaboration and developed a Roadmap of actions which was launched at COP26, to protect forests and other ecosystems while promoting sustainable trade and development, in a way that respects all countries’ interests.
Asked by: Julie Elliott (Labour - Sunderland Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to encourage cryptocurrency companies to operate in the UK.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
In April 2022, the government set out ambitious plans for the UK to harness the benefits of crypto technologies. It is taking forward a number of measures to both foster innovation and implement a regulatory framework that encourages responsible participation in cryptoasset markets.
HM Treasury recently finished consulting on wide-ranging proposals for cryptoasset regulation, aimed at placing the UK at the forefront of crypto innovation and responding to risks in the market. These proposals seek to provide the regulatory clarity needed for long-term investment, innovation, consumer protection, and financial stability for cryptoassets firms to operate in the UK. The government will publish a response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of extending the electricity grant available to people using medical equipment at home.
Answered by Will Quince
My Rt hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, meets regularly with other Cabinet colleagues on a variety of matters pertaining to health and social care, including support for people using medical equipment at home.
As set out in the Autumn Statement, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero are exploring the best approach to consumer protection, as part of wider retail market reforms. The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England are supporting the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero in this.
An NHS England specialised commissioning team is working to support Department of Health and Social Care colleagues with identifying energy-reliant medical devices used in patients' homes, and identifying clinical expert nominees to advise more widely, as part of their operational response.
The Government continues to monitor the situation and will keep options under review, including with respect to the most vulnerable households.
Asked by: Sammy Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party - East Antrim)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to support disabled people with their energy costs.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is continually reviewing the financial support it provides for the differing energy needs within its communities and prioritising support for the most vulnerable.
The Help for Households campaign includes numerous cost-of-living support schemes in 2023/2024, such as the Winter Fuel Payment, Warm Home Discount, Disability Cost of Living Payment and the Cost-of-Living Payment for those on means tested benefits which has increased from £650 in 2022/2023 up to £900 in 2023/2024. From 1 October, the Ofgem energy price cap will be £1,923 for a typical household energy bill per year. A typical household will see their annual energy bills come down by around £580 since their peak.
As the Government explores possible approaches to consumer protection from 2024, it is working with disability organisations, considering the costs for disabled people and assessing the need for specific support for disabled people using medical equipment in the home.
Asked by: Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act 1996 in the United States; what plans they have, if any, to introduce similar legislation to reduce food waste and allow for “apparently wholesome food” to be donated to charities; and whether they have received any representations from charities about the case for such legislation.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There are no plans to introduce legislation in this area. The absence of such legislation has not been seen as a key barrier to redistributors when it comes to increasing the availability of surplus food. Legal protection for suppliers of food, including the charities and organisations distributing surplus food, already exists in the form of the Food Safety Act 1990’s ‘due diligence’ provision. This is designed to balance the protection of the consumer from defective food with the right of suppliers of food not to be convicted of an offence they have taken all reasonable care to avoid committing.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to correspondence from the Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business entitled Government response to CMA's report on secondary ticketing, published 10 May 2023, whether her Department sought advice from the (a) live music industry and (b) artists to inform its response to the secondary ticketing report.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The government has regular discussions with external stakeholders including the live music industry but other than with regulators, none of these were specific to the government’s response to the CMA’s report on secondary ticketing.
The CMA report was issued during a period when this department was consulting more broadly on consumer protection issues, but few of these respondents made any reference to secondary ticketing or the CMA recommendations.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure that people who experience problems with work completed under the Sustainable Warmth Scheme can have their issues put right.
Answered by Graham Stuart
All work completed under the Sustainable Warmth Scheme must be installed to PAS (Publicly Available Specification) 2035 and lodged with Trustmark, the Government-endorsed Quality scheme for home improvements. TrustMark registration ensures installers have been vetted for technical competence, customer service and trading practices, and operate in accordance with the TrustMark Customer Charter and Framework Operating Requirements. This includes a comprehensive level of financial protection to customers. Information on the consumer protection offered by TrustMark can be found online at https://www.trustmark.org.uk/homeowners.
People who experience problems with work completed under the Sustainable Warmth scheme should follow Trustmark’s dispute resolution process.
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of increases in the use of automated technology by secondary ticketing websites on consumer choice.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
We have strengthened the law in relation to ticketing information requirements and have introduced a specific criminal offence of using automated software to buy more tickets online than is allowed. We also support the work of enforcement agencies in this area, such as the Competition and Markets Authority, National Trading Standards, and the advertising industry's own regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority.
The Department for Business and Trade has responsibility for policy on consumer protection and its enforcement, in partnership with National Trading Standards and the Competition and Markets Authority, whilst the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) leads on the specific area of secondary ticketing for DCMS-related events (sport, live music, theatre, etc.).
Asked by: Barbara Keeley (Labour - Worsley and Eccles South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made a comparative assessment of the protection available to consumers buying tickets in the UK with those available to consumers in the Republic of Ireland.
Answered by John Whittingdale
His Majesty’s Government is committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.
We have strengthened the law in relation to ticketing information requirements and have introduced a criminal offence of using automated software to buy more tickets online than is allowed. We also support the work of enforcement agencies in this area, such as the Competition and Markets Authority, National Trading Standards, and the advertising industry's own regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority.
We are aware that other countries, including Ireland, have their own legislative measures relating to consumer protection, including for the sale and resale of tickets for live events. We carry out ongoing monitoring of the legislative landscape in the ticketing market and in the light of technological, enforcement and other market developments, but agree with the recommendation in the Competition and Markets Authority’s 2021 report on secondary ticketing that there should not be a ban on the uncapped secondary ticket market.
Asked by: Alison McGovern (Labour - Wirral South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what regulation is in place for the sale of cinema tickets within the UK.
Answered by John Whittingdale
The sale of cinema tickets in the UK is subject to the general consumer law with associated rights and protections. These are outlined on gov.uk here.
Furthermore, cinemas are required, under the Licensing Act 2003, to have secured a premises licence in order to screen films to the public. These licences include conditions requiring cinemas to restrict the admission of children to films in accordance with the film classification given by the Licensing Authority. In most circumstances, these are provided by the British Board of Film Classification (as the designated authority under the Video Recordings Act 1984), however the local Licensing Authority is ultimately responsible for issuing permission for a film to be shown in their locality. You can find out more about the requirements for showing films in public on gov.uk here.