Engineered Stone and Silicosis

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Baroness Watkins of Tavistock
Monday 15th January 2024

(2 months, 1 week ago)

Lords Chamber
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Viscount Younger of Leckie Portrait Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
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I can reassure the House that, as mentioned before, most engineered stone in the UK is imported. There could be an issue where engineered stone is used for fitting kitchen worktops, where the importance of PPE and masks is understandably difficult to monitor. However, the HSE and COSHH have been looking at this over many years.

Baroness Watkins of Tavistock Portrait Baroness Watkins of Tavistock (CB)
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My Lords, can the Minister explain what is behind the reluctance to make silicosis a recordable disease? If we did so, we would be able to monitor the size of the problem and put in place further preventative interventions and thus, in the long term, save the public purse in both the NHS and the benefits system.

Viscount Younger of Leckie Portrait Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
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The Health and Safety Executive recently carried out a post-implementation review, or PIR, of RIDDOR, which, as the noble Baroness will know, deal with the reporting of injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences, with a view to expanding that to include areas where HSE regulatory intervention can add value. HSE will start the process of reviewing the remaining recommendations—including the inclusion of pneumoconiosis, which is, in effect, silicosis—within the next business year.

Universal Credit

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Baroness Watkins of Tavistock
Tuesday 18th April 2023

(11 months, 2 weeks ago)

Lords Chamber
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Baroness Watkins of Tavistock Portrait Baroness Watkins of Tavistock (CB)
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My Lords, I will ask the Minister about the Healthy Start vouchers for the under-fours. They are really important and have moved from vouchers to a card system. Many people lost those benefits in the transfer system, because it was not simplified. Could the Minister look at how we ensure that benefits are simplified so that people can actually get what they are entitled to?

Viscount Younger of Leckie Portrait Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
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The very fact that we have been rolling out a universal credit system over the last few years since 2013 comes to the essence of what we have been trying to do, which is to simplify the system. The noble Baroness makes a very good point about putting children first, as I said previously. One example of that is what we have done with free school meals.

United Kingdom Government-Northern Ireland Executive Joint Board

Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Baroness Watkins of Tavistock
Monday 16th March 2020

(4 years ago)

Lords Chamber
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Viscount Younger of Leckie Portrait Viscount Younger of Leckie
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The noble Lord makes some very good points. It is critical that we do whatever we can to support the health service in Northern Ireland and that the Executive take the issues forward. There is some £245 million to support the transformation of public services, which includes health, and the rapid injection, which he will know about, of £550 million to resolve the nurses’ pay dispute. These are just two of the measures that are happening immediately.

Baroness Watkins of Tavistock Portrait Baroness Watkins of Tavistock (CB)
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My Lords, I would like to return to the issue of the nurses’ pay. I welcome the fact that the Government have made the money available, but we really and truly need to know when it is going to be paid to the nurses, particularly at this time when it is so vital that we keep up morale in the health service.

Viscount Younger of Leckie Portrait Viscount Younger of Leckie
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The noble Baroness is right. I do not have a precise date, but I know that the joint board, which is going to be meeting imminently, will be discussing this very important factor, along with other important issues. As I say, I do not have a date for that, but it will happen soon.