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

To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to respond to the fairer food labelling consultation, which closed on 7 May, and what plans, if any, they have to implement the proposals therein to improve transparency in method-of-production welfare labelling for pork, chicken, and eggs.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

A public consultation on fairer food labelling was undertaken between March and May 2024 by the previous government. This sought views on proposals to improve and extend current mandatory method of production labelling. We are now carefully considering all responses before deciding on next steps and will publish a response to this consultation in due course.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that everyone who needs one is able to access a NHS dentist.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments, and to recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to introduce supervised teeth brushing and targeted fluoride applications in early years settings.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are working at pace to introduce a supervised toothbrushing scheme for three to five-year-olds, targeting the areas of highest need. We are currently reviewing the Dental Recovery Plan, including proposals to deliver fluoride varnish treatments to more than 165,000 children in under-served areas, and what elements of the plan can be taken forward effectively. Further information on the timing of implementation will follow the budget on 30 October 2024, as well as the ongoing Spending Review process.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in reforming the NHS dental contract, and what plans they have to roll out a new patient-centred system.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to National Health Service dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists. There are no perfect payment models and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system, so that we deliver genuine improvements for patients and the profession.

We are continuing to work with the British Dental Association and other representatives of the dental sector to deliver our shared ambition to improve access to treatments for NHS dental patients.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, regarding plans for the UK's first secure school for children aged 12 to 17, what further onward support will be available for these young people and their families as they leave the school.

Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Oasis Restore, the provider of the UK’s first secure school, has developed a comprehensive package of continuing support for children as they leave the school, and for their families. Its Family Strategy – a live document, which will be developed iteratively, with the voices of children and families – outlines how the school intends to support and engage families and carers.

Children returning to the community will be supported by the school and their Youth Offending Teams to ensure that key provisions, such as education and training, health provision, housing, and finance, are in place for release. Where appropriate, the school will use the temporary release scheme to prepare a child for return to the community.

When children transition to alternative youth detention accommodation, Oasis Restore will work closely with the receiving establishment to share information, for effective planning and support. Staff will support children and families with the transition, particularly to understand the new setting and what support is available.

Through Oasis Community Learning, the school will be able to access education and training opportunities, as well as housing and mentorship, for children returning to the community.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the use of 'units of dental activity' for the remuneration of dental work, in favour of patient-centred system which prioritises prevention.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to National Health Service dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.

There are no perfect payment systems, and careful consideration needs to be given to any potential changes to the complex dental system, so that we deliver a system that is better for patients and the profession.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote the development of green jobs; and what is their assessment of the consequences for delivery of a low-carbon built environment.

Answered by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Office for Clean Energy Jobs (OCEJ) has been created to ensure that clean energy jobs are abundant, high quality, paid fairly, and have favourable terms and good working conditions.

The OCEJ is engaging widely with industry, experts, and trade unions for a clear assessment of the skills opportunities and challenges. It is working closely with Skills England to ensure that skills systems reforms support the clean energy transition.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the role of Groceries Code Adjudicator and whether it should be a full-time appointment.

Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) is appointed by the Secretary of State and holds and vacates office as the Adjudicator in accordance with the terms of their appointment.

The government will undertake the fourth statutory review of the GCA in 2025. The review must consider how much the Adjudicator’s powers have been exercised and assess how effective the Adjudicator has been in enforcing the Groceries Supply Code of Practice over the review period. The government will give all interested parties the opportunity to contribute to this review.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of recent reforms to permitted development upon the relative distribution of (1) retrofit or reuse of buildings and (2) the development of new-build properties.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

We have not carried out such an assessment. However the Department publishes data on how many new homes have been delivered, including through which planning mechanism, across England. This is available at:

Housing supply: net additional dwellings - GOV.UK

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of apprentices who are studying for vocational qualifications.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

An apprenticeship is a job with training. Through a combination of on and off the job training, an apprenticeship will enable an apprentice to be competent in a specific occupation. Not all apprenticeships will include a mandatory qualification, but some will, such as a degree or a professional accreditation.

This government is reforming the apprenticeships offer into a new levy-funded growth and skills offer, which will offer greater flexibility to employers and learners and align with the industrial strategy. It will feature shorter duration apprenticeships and new foundation apprenticeships for young people in targeted, growing sectors. These will help more people learn high-quality skills at work and fuel innovation in businesses across the country. The department will take the time to work closely with employers and providers to design new training that offers young people a route into good, skilled work and meets the needs of the industrial strategy.

The department continues to pay additional funding to employers and training providers to support them to take on young apprentices, apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities, and care leavers.

The department is continuing outreach work in schools and colleges through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme and targeting young people through the Skills for Life campaign.

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

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the proportion of food grown in the UK which is never eaten; and what steps they are taking significantly to reduce this figure with a particular emphasis on full contracts.

Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

We acknowledge that more can be done to reduce food waste in the primary production stage.

Conversations with industry have suggested that a potentially significant cause of food waste on farm are unfair business practices at the point of first sale, where the specification requirements can lead to produce being left unharvested or rotting in the field.

We have taken powers to clamp down on these kinds of unfair contractual practices through the ‘fair dealings’ powers contained in the Agriculture Act 2020 and intend to work with stakeholders to explore how these powers could be exercised to address such concerns.

Total UK food waste arisings are 10.7 million tonnes with approximately 1.6 million tonnes (15%) occurring on farm.

The amount of food we waste is a stain on our country. This Government will work with business to drive down food waste and make sure food is put on the plates of those in greatest need.

We continue to support WRAP and their work to drive down food surplus and waste in homes and businesses. This includes work to ensure surplus food is redistributed to charities and other organisations who can use it and on programmes to help citizens reduce their food waste.

We thank food producers, charities and retailers in the sector for tackling the problem of food waste.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how long they estimate it will be before money for both existing and new youth projects is made available as part of the National Youth Strategy; and what are the timescales projected for new youth projects to be up and running.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Government will publish the National Youth Strategy in 2025. In the interim, in 2025/26 we are increasing the total funding for other DCMS youth programmes, excluding the National Citizen Service programmes which we will be winding down from March 2025. Funding allocations for specific programmes will be communicated in due course.

This will include allocating over £85m of capital funding to create fit-for-purpose, welcoming spaces for young people, with the new Better Youth Spaces fund allocating at least £26m for youth clubs to buy new equipment and do renovations. This capital funding also allows for the completion of the Youth Investment Fund programme.

We will also launch the Local Youth Transformation pilot, which will test a new way of working and supporting local authorities, providing a package of support to assess, improve and invest in impactful local youth offers to build back lost capacity and sow the seeds for a much-needed rejuvenation of local youth services.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the costs of ending the National Citizen Service.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

This Government is committed to delivering an orderly transition following the decision to wind down the NCS programme from March 2025 and close the NCS Trust when parliamentary time allows.

DCMS is currently working closely with the NCS Trust to agree the full costs of winding down the programme, and closing the NCS Trust.