Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much extra (1) plastic, (2) paper, and (3) other materials, they expect to be generated following the decision not to introduce a mandatory take-back scheme for single-use cups under the extended producer responsibility framework; and, as a result of that decision, how much extra plastic and other waste they expect to end up as environmental pollutants.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government does not expect there to be any significant change in the quantity of plastic, paper, or other materials generated, because of not introducing the mandatory take-back scheme for single-use cups. The scheme was expected to have a limited impact on environmental objectives, and in terms of environmental pollutants it was estimated to reduce littering of single-use cups by 2 percentage points in 10 years.
The UK Government has committed to reducing waste by moving to a circular economy. We will consider the evidence for action right across the economy and evaluate what further interventions may be needed as we develop the Circular Economy Strategy for England, working closely with the Devolved Governments.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to align the use of chlorhexidine in healthcare and consumer products with the recommendation in the Joint Royal College of Surgeons of England and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Statement on use of Topical Chlorhexidine for Skin Preparation Prior to Surgery, calling for the use of licensed medicinal products over unregulated biocidal forms to prevent antimicrobial resistance and safeguard patient safety.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, as the regulator for medicines and medical devices in the United Kingdom, continues to recommend the use of licensed medicines to prepare the skin prior to surgery. Use of an appropriately authorised product for its specific intended use, in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions for use, is the only way to ensure the benefit-risk balance remains favourable.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals from the Rohingya community have been granted refugee status each year over the past ten years; what consideration they have given to creating a special asylum route for Rohingya refugees; and what assessment they have made of the humanitarian impact of pushback policies conducted by nations in the region, including Malaysia.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold any data on specific asylum claims from the Rohingya community as data is only held and published at the nationality level.
However, the UK has been at the forefront of international efforts to support Rohingya refugees having contributed £406 million to the response in Bangladesh since 2017, as well as providing over £48 million to supporting the Rohingya and other Muslim minorities in Rakhine state, Myanmar.”
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the full range of assistance services, including housing and other provision, will be available to Syrian asylum seekers while their applications are on hold.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has a legal obligation, as set out in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, to support asylum seekers (including any dependants) who would otherwise be destitute. This includes Syrian claimants who have had their cases paused temporarily.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of "prostitute’s cautions", on opportunities for employment and other stigmatisation of those affected and what relationship this holds with the natural right to justice; and whether they plan to abolish such cautions.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
For too long, people have been trapped within commercial sexual exploitation under the guise of prostitution. This Government will use every lever available to stop this. As prostitution is an extremely complex issue and there are a wide range of potential legislative approaches, further work is required to understand the options. We are currently considering policy options on how we can best support those impacted by prostitution and sexual exploitation as part of work towards a new strategy on tackling Violence Against Women and Girls.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to co-ordinate the response to the threat of H5N1 and H5N5 transmission to companion animals, cattle, domestic poultry, wild birds and humans.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have stood up their well-established outbreak structures to control and eradicate disease, restore normal trade, and assist local communities’ recovery as set out in the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in England, Notifiable Avian Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain and the Mitigation Strategy for Avian Influenza in Wild Birds in England and Wales. This includes working closely to share information and manage incidents with the Department for Health and Social Care, the UK Health Security Agency and the Food Standards Agency.
In addition, international collaboration and knowledge exchange on the threat of avian influenza from across Government is coordinated by Defra and facilitated through discussions between the UK Chief Veterinary Officer and representatives from Defra policy teams and APHA’s avian influenza national and international reference laboratories, and their global counterparts through the World Organisation for Animal Health, the Quadripartite Organisations and allied projects. Including through the the joint World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Scientific Network on animal influenza OFFLU.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the letter of 22 October signed by the Covid Airborne Transmission Alliance addressed to the chief nursing officers of the four nations about expert evidence provided to the Covid-19 Inquiry, particularly about the airborne transmission of the virus and other respiratory viruses; and when they expect a response to the letter to be issued.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Chief Nursing Officer for England has stated that a range of evidence on the issue of routes of transmission of COVID-19 was presented to the COVID-19 Inquiry during their examination of the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems across the United Kingdom.
A response from the UK Chief Nursing Officers to the letter from the Covid Airborne Transmission Alliance will be sent shortly.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the NHS and other services are following the prescribing standards stating that, from 13 December 2024, healthcare professionals working in designated physician associate or anaesthesia associate roles should not prescribe medicines, even if they hold prescribing rights from a previous profession or have previously been authorised to prescribe by their employer.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The physician associate (PA) and anaesthesia associate (AA) professions do not have prescribing responsibilities. Prescribing responsibilities are conferred upon specific professions by the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 and are not transferable to another regulated role or profession.
NHS Employers has recently published guidance which sets out information for employers on the PA and AA roles and how they fit within the National Health Service. This includes setting out information about prescribing and the supply and administering of medicines.
Subject to locally determined governance arrangements, a PA or AA may administer medicines under a patient specific direction (PSD). A PSD is a written instruction, signed by an authorised prescriber, for medicine or medicines to be administered to a named person after the prescriber has assessed the patient.
As the regulator of PAs and AAs, the General Medical Council has also published information on its website confirming that the roles are not able to prescribe.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of their funding for agriculture goes to agroecological practices
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Agroecological practices promote sustainable and resilient approaches to farming. This aligns with the goals of the Government’s Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes, which will fund improvements to food security, biodiversity, carbon emissions, water quality, air quality and flood resilience. We consider much of the funding under our ELM schemes as supporting agroecological practices.
As announced in October 2024, Defra’s farming budget will be £2.4 billion in 2025/26. ELM schemes remain at the centre of our offer for farmers, which will be funded by the largest ever budget directed at sustainable food production and nature’s recovery in our country’s history of £1.8 billion.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many physician associates currently working in the NHS or in private healthcare have not passed the Physician Associate National Examination; and whether they plan to ensure that physician associates currently working have passed it before the deadline for registering with the General Medical Council in December 2026.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold data on how many Physician Associates (PAs) currently working in the National Health Service or in private healthcare have not passed the Physician Associate National Examination (PANE).
Statutory regulation of PAs and Anaesthesia Associates (AAs) by the General Medical Council (GMC) has begun. The GMC has made it a mandatory registration requirement for all PAs to have passed the PANE. Under the Anaesthesia Associate and Physician Associate Order, PAs and AAs must join the GMC register or cease practising by December 2026.