Asked by: Lord McKenzie of Luton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what support and funding they are providing for research into respiratory diseases.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Shadow Minister (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Over the last 5 years (2016/17 to 2020/21), UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)’s Medical Research Council (MRC) has spent over £155.6 million on research relevant to respiratory health and disease.
This figure includes just under £142 million spent on research specifically relevant to respiratory disease (including areas such as Asthma, Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Pneumonia and other respiratory Infections, Cancer, and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Figures do not include spend on research relating to Covid-19.
Asked by: Lord McKenzie of Luton (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to improve health and safety risk management skills in the construction sector.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Shadow Minister (Treasury)
Government’s role in Health and Safety is to set the framework in which companies have to operate. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 sets out general duties that employers owe to their employees. This is supplemented by more tailored regulations embodying the requirement to assess risks and identify measures required to deal with them. These include the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015, which integrate health and safety into the management of construction projects throughout the entire supply chain.
In addition to the general framework for health and safety law, the Health and Safety Executive regulates health and safety in hazardous industries, including construction, through the use of permissioning regimes. These regimes include those set out in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.
Safety requirements for the sector are established by construction employers and representative bodies. Many of the requirements are embedded in qualifications, training courses and basic health and safety tests required by the sector to obtain skills cards, such as the Construction Skills Certification Scheme. Courses such as the Site Supervisors’ Safety Training Scheme are endorsed by Build UK as the standard training for all supervisors working on member sites.