Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made towards introducing a standard for chewed tobacco products used by the UK South Asian community since being proposed in the 2006 study cited in the publication Tobacco Control, <i>Levels of toxins in oral tobacco products in the UK</i>.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
The Government has not yet developed standards for these tobacco products, however, even with reduced levels of toxins they would not be completely safe. The focus of the Government’s tobacco control efforts has therefore been on preventing initiation of tobacco use and supporting existing users of tobacco products to quit.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what scientific research forms the basis of the legality of the chewed oral tobacco products which are predominantly used by the British South Asian community.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
A range of evidence has been considered showing that there is no safe way to consume tobacco.
The ban on snus was introduced by the European Union in 1992 and is currently subject to litigation. As long as the United Kingdom is subject to EU law, current arrangements remain in place. The Government is committed to reviewing the existing legislation by 2020.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what scientific research forms the basis of the ban on snus as a smoking substitute.
Answered by Lord O'Shaughnessy
A range of evidence has been considered showing that there is no safe way to consume tobacco.
The ban on snus was introduced by the European Union in 1992 and is currently subject to litigation. As long as the United Kingdom is subject to EU law, current arrangements remain in place. The Government is committed to reviewing the existing legislation by 2020.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, and if so when, the non-executive directors of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will be asked to review implementation of the Kelly report <i>Management of the Levy Control Framework: Lessons Learned Report (2015)</i>.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Levy Control Framework, including progress against the recommendations in the Kelly report, is considered as part of the normal course of business for the Department’s Audit and Risk Assurance Committee. This committee is chaired by a Non-Executive Member of the Department’s Board.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will resume publication of the estimated impacts of energy and climate policies on energy prices and bills, as part of its commitment to increased transparency, as recommended in the Kelly report <i>Management of the Levy Control Framework: Lessons Learned Report (2015)</i>.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Department is currently considering this issue, along with the other recommendations and actions arising from the Public Accounts Committee hearing on the Levy Control Framework that took place on 30 November. A response to the Committee will be submitted in due course.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they plan to take to implement the recommendations of the Kelly report <i>Management of the Levy Control Framework: Lessons Learned Report (2015)</i>.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
On 25 November, BEIS published a response to the Management of the Levy Control Framework Lessons Learned Report which set out the actions being taken against each of the recommendations raised in the report including progress to date.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to include scientific evidence about the potential of snus as a smoking substitute in their Tobacco Control Plan.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Statistics on daily smoking are not routinely gathered. In 2015, the Office of National Statistics Annual Population Survey 2015 showed that 17.6% of 18-19 year old men, 24% of 20-24 year old men, and 27% of 25-29 year old men were current smokers. No data is collected on snus use.
The Tobacco Control plan will provide a framework and call to action for wide ranging future work to further reduce the prevalence of tobacco use.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of men in the UK aged 16 to 29 who (1) smoke cigarettes, and (2) use snus, on a daily basis.
Answered by Lord Prior of Brampton
Statistics on daily smoking are not routinely gathered. In 2015, the Office of National Statistics Annual Population Survey 2015 showed that 17.6% of 18-19 year old men, 24% of 20-24 year old men, and 27% of 25-29 year old men were current smokers. No data is collected on snus use.
The Tobacco Control plan will provide a framework and call to action for wide ranging future work to further reduce the prevalence of tobacco use.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the finding of the report <i>An Unholy Mess</i>, published by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year, that a number of religiously selective schools have sought to require all parents to commit to supporting the particular religious ethos of the school as part of the admission process; and what assessment they have made of the impact of any such practice on the encouragement of applications from a diverse range of religious and non-religious backgrounds.
Answered by Lord Nash
I refer the Noble Lord to my response to questions HL5900 and HL5901, submitted to Parliament on 18 February 2016.
Asked by: Viscount Ridley (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what consideration they have given to the finding of the report <i>An Unholy Mess</i>, published by the Fair Admissions Campaign and the British Humanist Association last year, that a significant number of religiously selective schools have not conducted proper consultations on their admission arrangements, and in many cases have not published any information about their arrangements.
Answered by Lord Nash
Many of the findings of the report by the Fair Admissions Campaign and British Humanist Association echo those reported by the Chief Schools Adjudicator in her Annual Report for the 2013/14 school year.
Admission authorities for all state-funded schools, including schools with a religious designation, are required to comply with the mandatory provisions of the School Admissions Code and other admissions law.
Where an objection is made to the Schools Adjudicator, if the arrangements are found to be unfair or fail to comply with the Code, the admission authority must make changes to ensure their arrangements are compliant. Where an admission authority fails to implement decisions of the adjudicator, the Secretary of State may direct the admission authority to do so.
We continue to keep the Code under review, and, where we consider any changes are necessary to make the admissions system work more effectively for parents, these will be subject to a full public consultation.