Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to take legislative steps to allow pubs to designate outdoor smoking and vaping areas.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill was introduced to Parliament on 5 November 2024, and passed its second reading in the House of Commons on 25 November 2024. The bill will put us on track to a smoke-free United Kingdom, helping to reduce approximately 80,000 preventable deaths and reduce the burden on the National Health Service and on the taxpayer.
The bill contains powers to extend the ban on smoking indoors to certain outdoor settings, to reduce the harms of second-hand smoking, particularly around children and vulnerable people. In England, we are considering extending smoke-free outdoor places to outside schools, children’s playgrounds, and hospitals, but not to outdoor hospitality settings such as pub gardens. The bill also has powers to make most public places and workplaces that are smoke-free, vape-free.
Exactly which settings should become smoke-free and vape-free will be a matter for secondary legislation, with all proposed reforms subject to a full consultation.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to introduce incentives for (a) manufacturers and (b) motorists to encourage take-up of electric cars.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the Autumn Budget the Government announced over £2bn of capital and R&D funding to 2030 that will support the latest research and development, accelerate commercial scale up, and unlock capital investment in zero emission vehicles, batteries and the wider supply chain. In addition, in 2025-26 Government is investing £200m to expand electric vehicle (EV) chargepoints, providing £120m for new electric van grants, and strengthening consumer incentives by widening the differentials in Vehicle Excise Duty First Year Rates between EVs and hybrids vs. internal combustion engine cars. EVs continue to get the best rates available for salary sacrifice schemes, which strongly incentivises the uptake of EVs.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the British Council has to repay its pandemic loan on commercial terms.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The previous Government made available up to £200 million in loans during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure the British Council remained solvent, to support restructuring, and to help the British Council return to surplus. The loan was made on commercial terms to ensure compliance with the UK subsidy control regime.
The Government remains committed to recovering the loan as soon as the British Council's finances allow.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were prosecuted for (a) killing and (b) taking certain species of wild birds (i) in (A) 2021, (B) 2022 and (C) 2023 and (ii) since general license 42 was updated on 1 January 2024.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions at criminal courts in England and Wales between January 2021 and June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. The offence ‘Prohibition of certain methods of killing or taking wild birds (Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981)' can be found using the following HO code; 19006. This can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and using the HO Offence Code filter to select the above offence in the Outcomes by Offence data tool.
Between January 2021 and June 2024 there have been 6 prosecutions for the offence 'Prohibition of certain methods of killing or taking wild birds (Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981)'. However, it is not possible to separately identify killing or taking wild birds from the offence within the court proceedings database held centrally by the Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she plans to take to help increase the number of students entering the civil nuclear sector.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Nuclear power production is making a crucial contribution to the UK’s Clean Energy Superpower Mission. This contribution relies on a highly skilled workforce. The government and industry are working together to increase the number of students across academic and technical education that enter the nuclear sector. The government’s reforms of England’s skills system, including through the Growth and Skills Levy, the work of Skills England and the Post-16 Strategy, will support the sector’s access to the talent that it needs.
The National Nuclear Strategic Plan for Skills, which the government developed in partnership with industry, will also help address the workforce needs of the civil and defence nuclear sectors. The Plan, published by the Nuclear Skills Delivery Group, is available here: https://nuclearskillsdeliverygroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/NSDG-National-Nuclear-Strategic-Plan-For-Skills.pdf.
The government’s current skills offer in England is already helping meet the needs of the nuclear sector. There are seven nuclear-specific occupational standards which underpin apprenticeships. Other apprenticeships are also crucial to the construction and operation of nuclear power plants, including project manager (level 6), and maintenance and operations engineering technician (level 3).
The ‘Free Courses for Jobs’ offer includes two nuclear sector-specific qualifications: the ECITB level 3 Certificate and Diploma in Nuclear Engineering and Science.
A range of Skills Bootcamps are available in nuclear specific and nuclear supportive courses.
Higher education plays a key role in supplying the civil nuclear sector with the skills it needs. Sector specific provision is important, particularly at postgraduate level, but more general courses are also vital to a healthy skills supply for the sector.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of his Department's spending relates to medical negligence and claims (a) nationally and (b) in Warrington North constituency.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
NHS Resolution (NHSR) manages clinical negligence and other claims against the National Health Service in England.
In NHSR’s annual report and accounts, published on 23 July 2024, reports that the total of payments made by NHSR for clinical negligence claims in 2023/24 was £2,821,200,000. This is approximately 1.6% of the NHS resource budget.
Regarding the specific cost of clinical negligence claims in the Warrington North Constituency, NHSR has advised that it does not record the cost claims in the format requested.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make it her policy to make public a full register of beneficial ownership of land.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
On 27 December 2023, the previous government launched a consultation on how to make land ownership more transparent where trusts are involved. The consultation closed on 21 February 2024 and officials in my department are considering the responses received.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate she has made of the number of children of British National (Overseas) (BNO) passport holders who are unable to access the BNO visa scheme because they (a) were born before 1 July 1997 and (b) do not hold a BNO passport of their own.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office publishes data on the BN(O) route as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics’ quarterly release, in the entry clearance visas and extensions detailed datasets. The Home Office does not currently hold data on the number of children of BN(O) passport holders who were born before 1 July 1997 and who do not hold a BN(O) passport.
The British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route reflects the UK’s historic commitment to those people of Hong Kong who chose to retain their ties to the UK by taking up BN(O) status and, has enabled thousands of eligible Hong Kongers and their family members to come to the UK to live, study and work in virtually any capacity, on a pathway to citizenship. We remain committed to this work while we decide on the future of departmental policies.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take urgent steps to allow children of British National (Overseas) (BNO) visa holders who (a) were born before 1 July 1997 and (b) do not hold a BNO passport of their own to access the BNO visa scheme.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The Home Office publishes data on the BN(O) route as part of the ‘Immigration System Statistics’ quarterly release, in the entry clearance visas and extensions detailed datasets. The Home Office does not currently hold data on the number of children of BN(O) passport holders who were born before 1 July 1997 and who do not hold a BN(O) passport.
The British National (Overseas) (BN(O)) route reflects the UK’s historic commitment to those people of Hong Kong who chose to retain their ties to the UK by taking up BN(O) status and, has enabled thousands of eligible Hong Kongers and their family members to come to the UK to live, study and work in virtually any capacity, on a pathway to citizenship. We remain committed to this work while we decide on the future of departmental policies.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what treatments are (a) available and (b) due to become available in the next 12 months on the NHS for people who have experienced adverse side effects to Covid-19 vaccines.
Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In the very rare event where an individual may have suffered a severe adverse reaction to a COVID-19 vaccine, care and treatment will be best met and managed by National Health Service local specialist services, augmented as appropriate by national specialist advice. Individuals will be treated and managed through existing healthcare services, with any treatment dependent on the individuals’ clinical needs.