To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


View sample alert

Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Electronic Cigarettes: Sales
Monday 26th February 2024

Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has considered the potential merits of introducing a retailer licensing scheme for the sale of vapes.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is concerned about the worrying rise in vaping among children. Youth vaping has tripled in the last three years, and one in five children now use a vape. To address this, we recently published our response to the smoking and vaping consultation, which sets out our plan to restrict vape flavours, point of sale display, and packaging. The response is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping/outcome/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping-consultation-government-response

We also set out our plans to introduce an age of sale requirement for non-nicotine vapes and other consumer nicotine products, as well as a £100 fixed penalty notice for underage sales of tobacco and vaping products. In addition, the consultation response announced that disposable vapes will be banned, which will be taken forward by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The Government will introduce legislation as soon as possible.

Whilst there are no current plans to introduce a retail licensing scheme, we have announced £30 million of additional funding per year to tackle illicit and underage sales of tobacco and vape products. In April last year, we also provided funding for a new enforcement unit to tackle the illegal and underage sale of vapes, which has conducted targeted inspections in ports, upskilled trading standards officers, and piloted online underage test programmes.


Written Question
Electronic Cigarettes
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Theresa Villiers (Conservative - Chipping Barnet)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the devolved Administrations on ensuring a consistent approach across the UK to the Government's proposed ban on disposable vapes.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Following the consultation on creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping, the recently published government response confirmed that the UK Government intends to bring forward legislation as soon as possible to ban the supply and ban of disposable vapes in England. Scotland and Wales also confirmed they intend to bring forward similar legislation and Northern Ireland is considering next steps following the consultation. We are in regular discussions with the devolved administrations on these proposals.


Written Question
Electronic Cigarettes
Monday 19th February 2024

Asked by: Steven Bonnar (Scottish National Party - Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions he has had with the (a) Scottish and (b) Welsh governments on ensuring the interoperability of a ban on disposable vapes.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Following the consultation on creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping, the recently published government response confirmed that the UK Government intends to bring forward legislation as soon as possible to ban the supply and ban of disposable vapes in England. Scotland and Wales also confirmed they intend to bring forward similar legislation and Northern Ireland is considering next steps following the consultation. We are in regular discussions with the devolved administrations on these proposals.


Written Question
Electronic Cigarettes: Children
Wednesday 14th February 2024

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, what steps she is taking to help tackle underage vaping.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is concerned about the worrying rise in vaping among children. Youth vaping has tripled in the last three years, and one in five children now use a vape. The health advice is clear: if you don’t smoke, don’t vape, and children should never vape.

The Government’s response to the recent smoking and vaping consultation sets out our plan to introduce powers to crack down on youth vaping by restricting flavours, point of sale and packaging for vaping products. We will introduce legislation as soon as possible. The consultation is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping/outcome/creating-a-smokefree-generation-and-tackling-youth-vaping-consultation-government-response

In the consultation response, we also announced that disposable vapes will be banned, due to their appeal to young people and environmental concerns. The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs will be taking forward the ban and are looking to legislate as soon as possible.

We have also developed new training resources and support available for teachers and schools, working with the Department for Education to update the curriculum to include the health risks of vaping, and publish new online content on the potential risks of vaping for young people.

Finally, we will also introduce a £100 fixed penalty notice for underage sales of tobacco and vaping products. This will enable trading standards officers to take quicker and more proportionate enforcement action against the irresponsible retailers who allow underage sales.


Written Question
Electronic Cigarettes
Wednesday 7th February 2024

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.


Written Question
Electronic Cigarettes: Waste Disposal
Wednesday 24th January 2024

Asked by: Kirsten Oswald (Scottish National Party - East Renfrewshire)

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 is taking to reduce the environmental impact of disposable vaping products.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

On 12 October 2023 the Government launched a consultation on smoking and youth vaping. As part of this consultation, the UK government and devolved administrations considering restrictions on the sale and supply of disposable vape products (including non-nicotine vapes) – including prohibiting the sale of these products – due to the environmental impacts of disposable vapes. The consultation has now closed and we are currently analysing the feedback we received. We will be publishing our response in due course.


Written Question
Electronic Cigarettes: Recycling
Wednesday 20th December 2023

Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he is taking steps to encourage the use of refillable rather than disposable vapes.

Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

On 12 October 2023 the Government launched a consultation on smoking and youth vaping, which has now closed. As part of this consultation, we are considering restrictions on the sale and supply of disposable vape products (including non-nicotine vapes) due to the environmental impacts of disposable vapes. We are currently analysing responses to this consultation and are working with the Department of Health and Social Care to publish a Government response in due course.


Written Question
Sudan: Peace Negotiations
Monday 16th October 2023

Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he plans to take to encourage the African Union’s Expanded Mechanism for the Resolution of the Sudan Conflict to take into account the views of (a) Sudanese civil society and (b) the Sudanese diaspora in the UK.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK is working with regional and international partners to end the hostilities in Sudan. We continue to push for urgently needed humanitarian access, particularly in Khartoum and Darfur, and to secure a viable peace process. This includes support for the emergence of an all-inclusive civilian and political platform. We support the African Union's role in pushing for a resolution of the conflict in Sudan, including the establishment of an 'Expanded Mechanism' aimed at coordinating the process. It is essential that Sudan's civilians, civil society, women, youth, and Resistance Committees, are all represented in negotiations about their country's future. This is a message that we have highlighted with our Sudanese and international partners. We will continue to stress the need for the people of Sudan, rather than its soldiers, to play the leading role in their country's future, including at any upcoming meetings of the AU-convened 'Core Group' of which the UK is a member.


Written Question
Sudan: Armed Conflict
Monday 16th October 2023

Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) his Department and (b) the Commonwealth of Nations mediating in the conflict in Sudan.

Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)

The UK is playing a significant role in diplomatic efforts for peace in Sudan. We are working with a range of partners, including counterparts from Quad (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK, US), African and European countries, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union (AU) and the UN, to get the warring parties back to the negotiating table and end hostilities in Sudan. The UK continues to advocate for a return to a civilian-led government and the need for a coordinated and urgent response to resolve the crisis in Sudan, which the international community can get behind. It is essential that Sudan's civilians - civil society, women, youth, Resistance Committees - are represented in negotiations about their country's future, and their voices listened to.


Written Question
Young People: Employment
Friday 15th September 2023

Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to respond to the report of the APPG on Youth Affairs entitled Empowering Youth for the Future of Work, published July 2023.

Answered by Robert Halfon

The department is aware of the APPG on Youth Affairs Report, Empowering Youth for the Future of Work. Much of the report covers important matters that match our aims and policies, such as ensuring education and training meet future skills needs, giving young people the opportunities to thrive, the value of work experience and careers advice, and the importance of apprenticeships.

The government is committed to creating a world-leading skills system that is employer-focused, high-quality and fit for the future. Departmental reforms are strengthening higher and further education to help more people get good jobs and upskill and retrain throughout their lives, and to improve national productivity and economic growth. The reforms are backed with an additional investment of £3.8 billion over the course of this Parliament to strengthen higher and further education.

The department has invested over £7 billion during the 2022/23 academic year, to ensure there was a place in education or training for every 16- to 18-year-old who wanted one.

The 2021 Spending Review made available an extra £1.6 billion in 2024/25 for 16-19 education compared with the 2021/22 financial year, which is the biggest increase in a decade.

In January 2023 the department announced a further £125 million funding available in 2023/24. In July further announcements were made of investments of £185 million in 2023/24 and £285 million in 2024/25 to help 16-19 providers address key priorities.

The department is investing over £90 million in the financial year 2023/24 to help young people and adults to get high-quality careers provision. The department is supporting schools and colleges, through the Careers & Enterprise Company, to make sustained progress in developing their careers programmes, in line with the Gatsby Benchmarks, which set out what good careers advice looks like. The department has strengthened legislation to ensure all secondary pupils have access to independent careers guidance and at least six encounters with providers of technical education or apprenticeships. Currently about two thirds (65%) of year 13 students have experiences of the workplace.

The department wants to support more young people to start and achieve apprenticeships that offer good earnings potential and career progression and funding for apprenticeships will be £2.7 billion by 2024/25. The department is also paying employers and providers £1,000 when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18 and covering 100 per cent of the training cost for smaller employers when they take on these younger apprentices.

T Levels will also equip more young people with the skills, knowledge and experience to access skilled employment or further study. They represent a real shift in the quality of technical education and the department has invested significantly to support providers in their implementation. From September 2023 18 T Levels will be available, being delivered through nearly 300 providers across all regions of the country.

In 2021/2022 the department engaged closely with the Education Select Committee on Youth Unemployment which covered similar matters to the APPG report, providing evidence and a government response, which can be found at https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/506/youth-unemployment-committee/publications/.