Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Youth Guarantee on economic growth.

Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Chancellor recently announced that we will offer guaranteed paid work to eligible young people who are unemployed on Universal Credit for over 18 months.

This is because we must turn around one of the worst legacies of the last government: almost a million young people not in education, employment or training.

This forms a key part of the Government’s Youth Guarantee, and further details will be announced at the Budget.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help uphold health and safety standards in relation to worker exposure to hazardous substances.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) 10 year strategy Protecting People and Places, sets a clear objective to reduce work-related ill health and to deliver on this. There is also a focus on reducing workplace exposure to hazardous substances.

Hazardous substances are subject to The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended) (COSHH). These regulations require employers to undertake a risk assessment to decide the measures needed to prevent, or where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately control the exposure of their employees to hazardous substances. Once assessed, COSHH requires employers to implement the controls identified.

HSE publishes an Approved Code of Practice and guidance to COSHH and a suite of free web guidance Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) - HSE to help employers assess and control the risks from hazardous substances.

HSE engages widely with industry stakeholders to raise awareness of work-related ill health, commonly addressing exposure to hazardous substances. Inspectors from HSE also routinely tackle exposure to hazardous substances when inspecting workplaces and investigating concerns or incidents. They will take enforcement action where the standards are not met.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made with the the Chancellor of the Exchequer, of the potential merits of allowing unredeemed deposits within the Deposit Return Scheme to be retained by the Deposit Management Organisation to fund (a) infrastructure and (b) consumer engagement.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government is committed to ensuring that the deposit return schemes operate effectively and that VAT is not a barrier on industry or UK DMO. VAT is a decision for HMRC Ministers. Defra continue to work with HMRC and will set out more detail regarding VAT treatment within DRS in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support is available to help students in Knowsley access A-levels in other local authority areas.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The department remains committed to ensuring that young people have access to an inclusive and extensive educational offer that adds value and helps them to achieve their long-term career aspirations.

Students from Knowsley can, and do, study A level provision in surrounding local authority areas. For example, Carmel and Riverside Colleges, both graded Ofsted Outstanding, are based in the surrounding boroughs of St Helens and Halton, and both provide subsidised transport for Knowsley students that reside more than 1.5 miles away from the college campuses.

All schools, academies, further education colleges, sixth-form colleges and other institutions that deliver 16 to 19 education are provided with 16 to 19 bursary funding, to deliver financial support to help students who could not otherwise afford to take part in education to overcome specific barriers to participation, including cost travel costs.

Additionally, through devolution, the government has given Mayoral Strategic Authorities the powers to set local transport priorities and ensure services meet residents’ needs, including support for young people’s access to education.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of (a) paying Extended Producer Responsibility fees on packaging supplied indirectly to business end users and (b) producers being charged for commercial waste disposal of that packaging on those producers.

Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

In autumn last year my department published an updated assessment of the impact of introducing the Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR) scheme on packaging producers as a whole, when the regulations were laid in parliament.

We are aware of industry concerns around producers being charged pEPR disposal fees for the management of packaging that is disposed of in commercial streams. At a roundtable with industry chaired by Minister Creagh on 10 June it was agreed to establish an industry led group to develop approaches to remove dual use packaging that is unlikely to end up in household waste stream from obligation. This work is now well advanced, and my department is carefully reviewing proposed approaches and will seek to balance sectoral ambitions against the operational integrity of the scheme.  We will continue to engage with industry during this process as we seek to establish a final approach.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which schools in surrounding areas Knowsley A-level students are attending.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

The 2024/25 Individualised Learner Record and school census data shows that Knowsley students are undertaking A level learning aims at the following schools and colleges:

Found: Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Bayo Alaba; Vicky Foxcroft; Damian Hinds; Dr Rupa Huq; Natasha Irons; Anneliese Midgley

Found: : Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Vicky Foxcroft; Damian Hinds; Dr Rupa Huq; Anneliese Midgley

Found: present: Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Vicky Foxcroft; Damian Hinds; Dr Rupa Huq; Anneliese Midgley

Found: : Dame Caroline Dinenage (Chair); Mr Bayo Alaba; Vicky Foxcroft; Damian Hinds; Dr Rupa Huq; Anneliese Midgley