Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent animal testing for cosmetic (a) products and (b) product ingredients.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Home Office is responsible for the operation of the regulatory framework underpinning the Animal (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.
The Home Office’s role is to protect the animals used in science by ensuring in so far as possible that relevant bodies and individuals comply with their duties under the ASPA.
The Home Office do this through considering and making decisions on applications for licences for testing, based on the underlying legal requirements, as well as carrying out enforcement activity and compliance assurance activities during the lifetime of a licence, for example through inspections. This includes ensuring that no animal testing is conducted in circumstances where there are practicable alternatives.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions has she had with large cosmetic firms in the UK on cosmetic testing on (a) mice, (b) rats and (c) other small animals.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The Secretary of State for the Home Department has not had recent conversations with cosmetic firms in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will maintain the existing ban on animal testing for cosmetics and the sale of newly tested cosmetics ingredients.
Answered by Paul Scully
Animal testing of cosmetics for the purposes of meeting the Cosmetics Regulation has been banned in the United Kingdom since 1998. No animal testing on finished cosmetic products, or ingredients or combinations of ingredients may take place in the United Kingdom. There are no plans to change this position.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment his Department has made of whether proposals for the Cambo oilfield are compatible with the (a) Government’s climate targets and (b) Paris Agreement on climate change.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Cambo is not a new oilfield, it was licensed in 2001. The development proposal from Cambo is being scrutinised in line with robust regulatory procedures and no decision has yet been taken.
Oil and natural gas are still required for heating, cooking and transport, and are vital to the production of many everyday essentials like medicines, plastics, cosmetics and household appliances. While we are working hard to drive down demand for fossil fuels, there will continue to be ongoing demand for oil and gas over the coming years, as recognised by the independent Climate Change Committee, with the UK as net importers of both oil and gas.
Looking forward, the Government will introduce a climate compatibility checkpoint which will be used to assess whether any future licensing rounds remain in keeping with our climate goals. We have committed to launching the checkpoint by the end of 2021.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the compatibility of the Cambo oilfield near Shetland with the UK's upcoming role as President of the COP 26 summit.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Cambo is not a new oilfield, it was licensed in 2001. The development proposal from Cambo is being scrutinised in line with robust regulatory procedures and no decision has yet been taken.
Oil and natural gas are still required for heating, cooking and transport, and are vital to the production of many everyday essentials like medicines, plastics, cosmetics and household appliances. While we are working hard to drive down demand for fossil fuels, there will continue to be ongoing demand for oil and gas over the coming years, as recognised by the independent Climate Change Committee, with the UK as net importers of both oil and gas.
Looking forward, the Government will introduce a climate compatibility checkpoint which will be used to assess whether any future licensing rounds remain in keeping with our climate goals. We have committed to launching the checkpoint by the end of 2021.
Asked by: Alex Norris (Labour (Co-op) - Nottingham North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the regulatory systems for (a) hand sanitiser and (b) disinfectant products in (i) Australia and (ii) the US; whether his Department plans to implement similar regimes; and what steps his Department is taking to protect consumers from (A) misleading and (B) inaccurate statements on the efficacy of those products.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We have made no such assessment.
Hand sanitisers and surface disinfectants are biocidal products. They are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive under the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR). The BPR establishes a process for the in-depth assessment of both the safety and efficacy of biocidal products, which mirrors the system used across the European Union. Some products for use as antibacterial or antiviral products for use on people’s hands may instead be regulated under the cosmetics or medicines legislation, depending on the products’ intended use, function, composition or how they are described. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 also apply across all sectors and prohibit misleading and deceptive commercial practices by traders who sell goods, including hand sanitisers and disinfectant, to consumers.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to prevent the selling by online marketplaces of teeth whiteners which exceed the legal amount of hydrogen peroxide permitted for home use.
Answered by Paul Scully
Cosmetic products such as teeth whitening kits sold in the UK must meet some of the strictest safety requirements in the world and may only be placed on the market if they meet strict safety requirements, including specific restrictions on the use of potentially harmful chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) works with colleagues in local Trading Standards to take effective enforcement action where products are identified online that do not meet the UK’s product safety requirements and expects online platforms to act quickly to remove them from sale.
Through its Call for Evidence, OPSS is reviewing the UK’s product safety framework to ensure it is fit for purpose, protects consumers, and enables businesses to safely innovate and grow. The implications of non-traditional models of supply, including e-commerce, and how it has changed the way products are distributed, forms of part of the review.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure online marketplaces are preventing unsafe cosmetic products from being listed and sold on their sites.
Answered by Paul Scully
Cosmetic products available on the UK market must meet strict safety requirements and the Government is committed to ensuring that only safe cosmetic products can be sold in the UK. Furthermore, there must be a Responsible Person established in the UK who is responsible for ensuring the cosmetic product is safe.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is engaged with online marketplaces to ensure that they are playing their part in protecting UK consumers from unsafe products. OPSS works with colleagues in local Trading Standards to take effective enforcement action where products are identified online that do not meet the UK’s product safety requirements and expects online platforms to act quickly to remove them from sale.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure home teeth-whitening kits sold online do not contain dangerous levels of hydrogen peroxide.
Answered by Paul Scully
Cosmetic products such as teeth whitening kits sold in the UK must meet some of the strictest safety requirements in the world and may only be placed on the market if they meet strict safety requirements, including specific restrictions on the use of potentially harmful chemicals such as hydrogen peroxide.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) works with colleagues in local Trading Standards to take effective enforcement action where products are identified online that do not meet the UK’s product safety requirements and expects online platforms to act quickly to remove them from sale.
Through its Call for Evidence, OPSS is reviewing the UK’s product safety framework to ensure it is fit for purpose, protects consumers, and enables businesses to safely innovate and grow. The implications of non-traditional models of supply, including e-commerce, and how it has changed the way products are distributed, forms of part of the review.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a list of UK manufacturers from which personal protective equipment (PPE) has been sourced; and the postcodes where that PPE has been produced.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As of May 2021, DHSC has contracted with 31 UK based personal protective equipment (PPE) Manufacturers as part of our UK Make programme. The UK Make programme was stood up by the Department to ramp up domestic production in response to the pandemic.
All PPE providers who have been awarded a contract to supply goods and services to the Department are published on Contracts Finder on GOV.UK, including those with UK manufacturers of PPE.
The information requested is shown in the following table:
Manufacturer name | Postcode |
I Love Cosmetics (Expac) | PR25 2DY |
Potter & Moore | PE4 6ND |
DTR MEDICAL LTD | SA6 8RF UK |
DURAWELD LTD | YO11 3UP |
KINGSBURY PRESS | DN11 0BF |
L J A MIERS AND COMPANY LTD | PE19 1QS |
NUMATIC INTERNATIONAL LTD | TA20 2GB |
PHOTOCENTRIC LTD | PE1 5YW |
RAMFOAM LIMITED | B69 2HF |
STAEGER CLEAR PACKAGING LTD | CV6 4BL |
THE ROYAL MINT LTD | CF72 8YT |
Elite Plastics | HR2 6JR |
Lincoln Polythene | LN5 8LG |
PFF Packaging | NE37 3HR |
Polystar Plastics | SO14 5BF |
Siva Plastics (CWB’s) CWOT0100 | SO19 7GB |
Burberry | WF10 1QX |
McDonald & Taylor | WA1 4RX |
Private White | M3 7LJ |
Redwood | WN8 9PL |
Survitec | CH41 1HQ |
Alpha Solway (Globus) | DG12 5BL |
Blue Tree Group | S63 5DR |
Burberry | WF10 1QX |
Don & Low | DD8 1FR |
Dräger | NE24 4RG |
Eumar Technology | HR1 3SE |
Honeywell | ML1 5SB |
Medicom | NN4 7EJ |
Private White | M3 7LJ |