Asked by: Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on requiring landlords to install carbon monoxide alarms in all private rented sector properties with gas appliances.
Answered by Lord Barwell
The Government has taken steps to protect tenants in the private rented sector from death and injury arising from carbon monoxide poisoning in their homes.
Since October 2015, private rented sector landlords are required to have a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation where a solid fuel burning appliance is used, as these appliances have the highest risk of accidental poisoning. The landlord must make sure that these alarms are in working order at the start of each new tenancy.
In addition, the gas safety regulations require landlords to maintain gas systems in a safe condition and carry out annual gas safety checks.
Asked by: Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of reductions in beer duty on (a) the number of jobs and (b) the level of investment in the beer and pub industry.
Answered by Jane Ellison
HM Treasury engages with a wide variety of organisations to understand industry developments, including the beer and pub industry.
This includes considering external reports like that of the British Beer and Pub Association, which estimated that by 2016/17 there will be 21,000 more jobs in the pub industry, than if the duty escalator had continued until 2015.
Asked by: Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of devolution of the adult skills budget on reducing the skills shortage in the North of England.
Answered by Andrew Percy
The Government's strategy to better meet the needs of employers, learners and local areas is to establish a skills system that is responsive to local economic needs. For those combined authorities with signed devolution deals this means assuming responsibility for the Adult Education Budget (AEB) in 2018/19, enabling them to commission outcomes which deliver the skills needed locally. Devolution deals in the North of England all include full devolution of AEB from 2018/19, enabling areas of the North to tackle their local skills shortages.
Asked by: Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the efficacy of the Chief Medical Officer's alcohol consumption guidelines on public health.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
The United Kingdom Chief Medical Officers’ (CMO) low risk drinking guidelines were published in January this year.
It is too early to say what impact of the UK CMOs’ low risk drinking guidelines will have on alcohol consumption but we will be monitoring the public awareness of the guidelines through the Health Survey for England, commissioned by NHS Digital, which will be published in December 2016.
Asked by: Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will direct NHS England to develop a specialist referral clinic to support and treat people with persisting mild to moderate cognitive and neurobehavioral problems as a result of exposure to carbon monoxide.
Answered by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford
Commissioning of services to support and treat people with persisting mild to moderate cognitive and neurobehavioral problems would be the commissioning responsibility of clinical commissioning groups. Specialised cognitive and neurobehavioural services already exist for brain injury and are included in the NHS England specialised neurorehabilitation service specification. The Department’s activity focuses on raising awareness amongst the public and medical professionals to the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Asked by: Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative - Life peer)
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 (a) encourage graduates from North West universities to remain in the North West after graduation and (b) attract graduates from across the country to the North West.
Answered by Margot James
Integrating graduate skills into the local economy is key to expanding a region’s high skills economy.
Graduates are relatively well represented in the North West compared to most other English regions. The most recent data (2014/15) indicates that approximately 10% (20,500) of first class degree graduates in the UK were employed within the region in the first six months after leaving university. Nearly 75% (14,200) of those employed studied at a Higher Education provider within the region.
Addressing the skills gap is key to Government’s plans to building a powerhouse in the North and an economy that works for all. We will continue to work with stakeholders to make the North a great place to live and work.
Asked by: Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that all parts of the UK can access superfast broadband.
Answered by Matt Hancock
Over 4 million homes and businesses now have access to superfast broadband as a direct result of the government’s programme; and We are currently reinvesting project savings and take-up revenues to extend the reach of superfast broadband beyond 95%.
Asked by: Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps Health Education England plans to take to ensure that the strategic review of the cancer workforce addresses the complex needs of the growing number of people living with and beyond cancer.
Answered by David Mowat
Delivering high quality, effective, compassionate care: Developing the right people with the right skills and the right values - A mandate from the Government to Health Education England: April 2016 to March 2017 (October 2016) states that Health Education England (HEE) will continue to take forward relevant recommendations set out in the independent Cancer Task Force report, Achieving World Class Cancer Outcomes: a strategy for England 2015 - 2020, including working with partners to develop a vision for the future shape and skills mix of the workforce required to deliver a modern, holistic patient-centred cancer service and report by December 2016.
Supported by Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support, HEE has been leading on this recommendation and has completed an initial cancer workforce baseline review that has been shared and discussed with key stakeholders. The review is regularly updated with emerging intelligence from Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) areas on the workforce they require to deliver the cancer service challenge.
In addition, HEE is leading on a major piece of work to address the workforce challenges in transforming cancer services, which includes a skills mix review. It has agreed an approach with key stakeholders for the review and will be working through Local Workforce Action Boards, Vanguards and Cancer Alliances to understand the skills mix needed for emerging cancer service models. HEE will report back on this work in March 2017.
HEE will also be working with the National Cancer Transformation Board’s Living With and Beyond Cancer Oversight Group to understand the workforce requirements outlined in Implementing the Cancer Taskforce Recommendations: Commissioning Person Centred Care for People Affected By Cancer (April 2016), including reviewing good practice in approaches to reduce and managing long term consequences of treatment. HEE will work with STPs and clinical commissioning groups to support their service proposals by identifying and addressing the workforce challenges to develop the workforce to put this guidance into action.
Asked by: Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2016 to Question 41738, what steps his Department is taking to encourage part-time clinical staff to move into full-time roles.
Answered by Philip Dunne
When making decisions on flexible working including part time working, National Health Service employers need to take a long term whole career view. An increase in participation is best achieved by the offer of flexible working in an environment that encourages staff to increase their hours when it fits with their personal circumstances.
Flexible working practices, including part-time working, have been adopted with widespread success across most professions in the NHS and are backed up by employment legislation including: the Employment Relations Act (Amendment 2005), the Employment Act (Amendment 2005); the Employment Act 2002: Flexible working, and the Work and Families Act 2006.
The Department continues to support NHS Employers in their work on encouraging flexible working through tools, resources and the sharing of good practice available on their website:
Asked by: Lord Evans of Rainow (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure that public-facing staff at sports venues have disability equality awareness training.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
I refer my Honourable friend to the answer to PQ 44837, answered on 7th September.