Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Education on teaching the importance of early detection of breast cancer to young people.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
It is important to educate people about the causes and symptoms of cancer and the department is supportive of efforts to do this at an early age.
The revised relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance was published on 15 July. Cancer awareness and other specific cancer-related content is included. At secondary school, as part of the ‘Health protection and prevention, and understanding the healthcare system’ topic, pupils are taught the importance of taking responsibility for their own health and the benefits of regular self-examination and screening.
Schools may also teach about cancer awareness in other areas of the national curriculum. For example, the secondary science curriculum ensures pupils are taught about non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, and the impact of lifestyle factors on the incidence of these diseases. Furthermore, in design and food technology, schools highlight the importance of nutrition and a healthy diet.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Education on teaching the importance of early detection of testicular cancer to young people.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
It is important to educate people about the causes and symptoms of cancer and the department is supportive of efforts to do this at an early age.
The revised relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) statutory guidance was published on 15 July. Cancer awareness and other specific cancer-related content is included. At secondary school, as part of the ‘Health protection and prevention, and understanding the healthcare system’ topic, pupils are taught the importance of taking responsibility for their own health and the benefits of regular self-examination and screening.
Schools may also teach about cancer awareness in other areas of the national curriculum. For example, the secondary science curriculum ensures pupils are taught about non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, and the impact of lifestyle factors on the incidence of these diseases. Furthermore, in design and food technology, schools highlight the importance of nutrition and a healthy diet.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has had discussions with stakeholders in the banking sector on the use of a mother’s maiden name as an (a) online and (b) telephone security question.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) in the Payment Services Regulations 2017 sets out the requirements which firms must follow when customers are accessing their payment accounts online, including the use of two-factor authentication to verify a customer’s identity. However, the specific questions firms should use to authenticate a customer’s identity are not prescribed, which is a matter for individual firms.
Therefore, the Government has not had discussions with banking stakeholders on the specific uses of first school attended, mother’s maiden name, pet’s name or birthplace as online banking or telephone security questions.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has had with stakeholders in the banking sector on the use of a birthplace as an (a) online and (b) telephone security question.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) in the Payment Services Regulations 2017 sets out the requirements which firms must follow when customers are accessing their payment accounts online, including the use of two-factor authentication to verify a customer’s identity. However, the specific questions firms should use to authenticate a customer’s identity are not prescribed, which is a matter for individual firms.
Therefore, the Government has not had discussions with banking stakeholders on the specific uses of first school attended, mother’s maiden name, pet’s name or birthplace as online banking or telephone security questions.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has had with stakeholders in the banking sector on the use of a pet’s name as an (a) online and (b) telephone security question.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) in the Payment Services Regulations 2017 sets out the requirements which firms must follow when customers are accessing their payment accounts online, including the use of two-factor authentication to verify a customer’s identity. However, the specific questions firms should use to authenticate a customer’s identity are not prescribed, which is a matter for individual firms.
Therefore, the Government has not had discussions with banking stakeholders on the specific uses of first school attended, mother’s maiden name, pet’s name or birthplace as online banking or telephone security questions.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions her Department has had with stakeholders in the banking sector on the use of a first school as an (a) online and (b) telephone security question.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) in the Payment Services Regulations 2017 sets out the requirements which firms must follow when customers are accessing their payment accounts online, including the use of two-factor authentication to verify a customer’s identity. However, the specific questions firms should use to authenticate a customer’s identity are not prescribed, which is a matter for individual firms.
Therefore, the Government has not had discussions with banking stakeholders on the specific uses of first school attended, mother’s maiden name, pet’s name or birthplace as online banking or telephone security questions.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions she has had with the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs on the standardised 21-week wait for the Information Commissioner’s Office complaints department.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
No discussions have taken place between the former Secretary of State for Justice and the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs on the standardised 21-week wait for the Information Commissioner’s Office complaints department.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to alert householders of the potential dangers from spray foam insulation.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Under the conditions of government energy efficiency schemes the government does not specify which types of insulation are appropriate for a particular property. They require that each must be assessed individually by a qualified professional to establish what is best on a property-by-property basis.
Any measures fitted under government schemes must be fitted to the highest standards with issues promptly and properly rectified. Installations of any insulation under current Government schemes must be installed in accordance with the PAS 2030 and PAS 2035 standards.
In any instance where insulation is installed improperly under a government-backed scheme, consumers may be entitled to remediation by their installer or, failing that, the insurance-backed guarantee.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support people to remove spray foam insulation from their homes.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Any measures fitted under government schemes must be fitted to the highest standards with issues promptly and properly rectified. Consumers are entitled to repair work by the original installer or, failing that, they can use their guarantee provided on installation. TrustMark can support them through this process.
The Government recognises that the consumer protection system that we inherited needs reform, we will press ahead with a sweeping overhaul through the Warm Homes Plan.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the total value of community benefit payments from renewable energy infrastructure to communities in (a) the UK, (b) Scotland and (c) the Highland Council area in 2024.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not hold data on the value of community benefits payments made by onshore and offshore renewables across Great Britain. Community benefit schemes are administered by the projects themselves and provided voluntarily. We have however, recently publishing a Working Paper on mandatory community benefits and responses to this will help inform our evidence base.
The Scottish Government maintains a public register of projects that includes detailed information on community benefit schemes operating across Scotland.