Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will apply Magnitsky-style sanctions to Israel’s (a) Minister of National Security and (b) Finance Minister in the context of settler violence in the West Bank.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
Tensions in the West Bank must ease and we continue to urge Israel to address extremist settler violence. This includes preventing such acts of violence, and holding those responsible to account. The Foreign Secretary has announced that we will ban those responsible for settler violence from entering the UK. We keep our sanctions under review and reserve the right to introduce further measures.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the Office for Product Safety and Standards' timetable is for publishing the findings from the Product Safety review consultation which closed on 24 October 2023.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office for Product Safety & Standards (OPSS) is currently analysing responses to the Product Safety Review consultation. The Government intends to publish a response next year which will summarise the findings and set out future plans.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent fires caused by (a) e-bikes, (b) conversion kits and (c) e-scooters.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office is promoting fire safety messages, through its Fire Kills campaign, to educate consumers on safe charging and storage of e-bikes and e-scooters in the home and to recommend that only professionals carry out conversions.
The advice, also published on FireEngland.uk, supports that issued by London Fire Brigade’s #ChargeSafe campaign. The Home Office has made these materials available to fire and rescue services to use in their local fire prevention activity.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2023, published on 22 November 2023, whether the proposal to end access to legal aid for sanctioned Universal Credit claimants (a) relates to (i) criminal and (ii) civil legal aid and (b) would prevent those people from (A) passporting and (B) accessing all legal aid.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The DWP proposals on the Back to Work Plan will not remove access to legal aid for those Universal Credit (UC) claimants who may be sanctioned. Whilst anyone whose UC claim is closed would no longer be passported through the legal aid means test income assessment, the individual would remain eligible for civil or criminal legal aid, subject to the application of the full means assessment in the usual way. The additional provisions being built into DWP’s policy proposals will also mean that no vulnerable individual would face having their claim closed, thereby providing a further tier of protection for many legal aid user groups, such as the disabled and the homeless.
Over coming months, MoJ officials will be working closely with DWP officials as the policy develops.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Autumn Statement 2023, published on 22 November 2023, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of proposals to remove access to legal aid for Universal Credit claimants who have had an open-ended sanction for over six months on access to justice.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The DWP proposals on the Back to Work Plan will not remove access to legal aid for those Universal Credit (UC) claimants who may be sanctioned. Whilst anyone whose UC claim is closed would no longer be passported through the legal aid means test income assessment, the individual would remain eligible for civil or criminal legal aid, subject to the application of the full means assessment in the usual way. The additional provisions being built into DWP’s policy proposals will also mean that no vulnerable individual would face having their claim closed, thereby providing a further tier of protection for many legal aid user groups, such as the disabled and the homeless.
Over coming months, MoJ officials will be working closely with DWP officials as the policy develops.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress the Clinical Reference Group for allergies has made.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS England’s Clinical Reference Group (CRG) provides clinical advice and leadership for both Specialised Immunology and Specialised Allergy services.
The CRG advises NHS England on the optimal arrangements for the commissioning of specialised services. This includes developing national standards in the form of service specifications and policies. The CRG commenced a review of the current published Specialist Allergy Service Specification in May 2023, which is expected to be complete by summer 2024. The outcome of the service specification review will be an updated specification which references up to date guidance and takes into account the latest evidence base to clearly define the standards of care for commissioned specialised services.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help raise public awareness of the safe purchasing of lithium battery products.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My Department is working with the Home Office, London Fire Brigade and the National Fire Chiefs Council, to raise awareness on this issue. Through the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), we have been promoting Home Office guidance on safe battery charging practices in the home and we share safety messages via social media. OPSS also recently published a safety notice giving specific advice to consumers. I recently also wrote to major food delivery apps including Uber Eats and Deliveroo, urging them to share important government safety advice on e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries.
Existing legislation requires manufactures to provide relevant safety information with their products. OPSS is also seeking assurances from Online Marketplaces on how they ensure consumers have access to instructions on safe use.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many (a) e-bikes and (b) e-scooters were purchased in the UK between 2023 and 2020; and whether she has made an estimate of projected sales in 2024.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We do not monitor or hold records on the sale of e-bikes and e-scooters. However, UK product safety laws require all consumer products to be safe and products using lithium-ion batteries, such as e-bikes and e-scooters, must comply with essential safety requirements set out in law.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the Department for Business and Trade, has established a multi-disciplinary safety study to understand data and evidence of risks in this area and has commissioned Warwickshire Manufacturing Group, to conduct research examining the safety of lithium-ion batteries. This forms part of cross Government work involving the Home Office and the Department for Transport alongside London Fire Brigade and the National Fire Chiefs Council.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has taken steps to monitor the general (a) use and (b) safety of new lithium battery products.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We do not monitor or hold records on the sale of e-bikes and e-scooters. However, UK product safety laws require all consumer products to be safe and products using lithium-ion batteries, such as e-bikes and e-scooters, must comply with essential safety requirements set out in law.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), part of the Department for Business and Trade, has established a multi-disciplinary safety study to understand data and evidence of risks in this area and has commissioned Warwickshire Manufacturing Group, to conduct research examining the safety of lithium-ion batteries. This forms part of cross Government work involving the Home Office and the Department for Transport alongside London Fire Brigade and the National Fire Chiefs Council.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to develop guidance for the public on (a) the potential risks of and (b) how to safely purchase conversion kits for (i) e-bikes and (ii) e-scooters.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
My Department is developing safety guidance for users of e-cycles and e-scooters and will publish this in due course. This will include information on conversion kits, and will complement the guidance already published by the Home Office on the Fire England website: www.fireengland.uk/fire-safety/charging-your-e-bike-or-e-scooter