Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department can take to communicate with businesses about rising operating costs in a clearer and more timely manner.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Ministers and their teams continue to work closely with SMEs and the trade associations that represent them, to ensure information on operating costs and Government’s support offer is clearly communicated through established business engagement channels. This includes providing key messages through our Backing your Business campaign.

We are committed to reducing operating costs for all UK businesses, including reducing the annual administrative burden of regulation by £5.6 billion by the end of the Parliament. The government has also introduced a support package worth £4.3 billion over the next three years to protect businesses seeing their business rates bills increase.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Government is committed to supporting small and medium sized businesses through the Small Business Plan - the most comprehensive package of support for SMEs in a generation.

This includes the new Business Growth Service, accessed through business.gov.uk and the most significant legislative reforms in 25 years to tackle late payments; unlocking billions of pounds in finance to support start-ups; removing unnecessary red tape; revitalising High Streets, and boosting Digital and AI Adoption among small businesses.

Business Wales provides free expert advice, including 1 to 1 support with a regional hub in Caerphilly supporting local entrepreneurship.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to limit the exposure of (a) children and (b) young people to alcohol advertising on popular (i) social media apps and (ii) streaming platforms.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) is the independent regulator responsible for regulating all advertising in the UK, including alcohol advertising, through codes set by the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP). The Government is not involved in these codes, nor in the investigations and enforcement delivered by the ASA.

The codes state that marketing communications for alcoholic drinks should not be targeted at people under 18. Specifically, alcohol advertising is prohibited in any medium where more than 25 percent of the audience is under 18, and where advertising is permitted, it should not be likely to appeal particularly to people under 18. If an advertisement is found to be in breach of the Codes, the ASA will instruct that it be withdrawn or amended, and in some cases may escalate to the appropriate statutory authority.

Building on this backdrop, the Online Advertising Taskforce brings government and industry together to improve trust, transparency and accountability in the online advertising supply chain. A key taskforce aim is to further reduce children being served advertising for products and services illegal to sell to them. An Age Assurance working group focussed on this topic is building a more detailed understanding of the current landscape of age assurance online, and considering how it can be improved.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that (a) alcohol advertising and (b) alcoholic products are not directed at (i) children and (ii) young people.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) is the independent regulator responsible for regulating all advertising in the UK, including alcohol advertising, through codes set by the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP). The Government is not involved in these codes, nor in the investigations and enforcement delivered by the ASA.

The codes state that marketing communications for alcoholic drinks should not be targeted at people under 18. Specifically, alcohol advertising is prohibited in any medium where more than 25 percent of the audience is under 18, and where advertising is permitted, it should not be likely to appeal particularly to people under 18. If an advertisement is found to be in breach of the Codes, the ASA will instruct that it be withdrawn or amended, and in some cases may escalate to the appropriate statutory authority.

Building on this backdrop, the Online Advertising Taskforce brings government and industry together to improve trust, transparency and accountability in the online advertising supply chain. A key taskforce aim is to further reduce children being served advertising for products and services illegal to sell to them. An Age Assurance working group focussed on this topic is building a more detailed understanding of the current landscape of age assurance online, and considering how it can be improved.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had on the need for an independent regulator of alcohol advertising.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) is the independent regulator responsible for regulating all advertising in the UK, including alcohol advertising, through codes set by the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP). The Government is not involved in these codes, nor in the investigations and enforcement delivered by the ASA.

The codes state that marketing communications for alcoholic drinks should not be targeted at people under 18. Specifically, alcohol advertising is prohibited in any medium where more than 25 percent of the audience is under 18, and where advertising is permitted, it should not be likely to appeal particularly to people under 18. If an advertisement is found to be in breach of the Codes, the ASA will instruct that it be withdrawn or amended, and in some cases may escalate to the appropriate statutory authority.

Building on this backdrop, the Online Advertising Taskforce brings government and industry together to improve trust, transparency and accountability in the online advertising supply chain. A key taskforce aim is to further reduce children being served advertising for products and services illegal to sell to them. An Age Assurance working group focussed on this topic is building a more detailed understanding of the current landscape of age assurance online, and considering how it can be improved.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent progress she has made on reducing exposure to alcohol advertising by (a) children and (b) young people.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) is the independent regulator responsible for regulating all advertising in the UK, including alcohol advertising, through codes set by the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP). The Government is not involved in these codes, nor in the investigations and enforcement delivered by the ASA.

The codes state that marketing communications for alcoholic drinks should not be targeted at people under 18. Specifically, alcohol advertising is prohibited in any medium where more than 25 percent of the audience is under 18, and where advertising is permitted, it should not be likely to appeal particularly to people under 18. If an advertisement is found to be in breach of the Codes, the ASA will instruct that it be withdrawn or amended, and in some cases may escalate to the appropriate statutory authority.

Building on this backdrop, the Online Advertising Taskforce brings government and industry together to improve trust, transparency and accountability in the online advertising supply chain. A key taskforce aim is to further reduce children being served advertising for products and services illegal to sell to them. An Age Assurance working group focussed on this topic is building a more detailed understanding of the current landscape of age assurance online, and considering how it can be improved.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of wealth inequality on levels of suicide.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

People living in the most deprived areas of England face a higher risk of suicide. Between 2020 and 2024, the age-standardised suicide rate for people aged 25 to 44 years old in the most deprived 10% of areas in England was 14.9 per 100,000 people, compared with 10.6 per 100,000 in the least deprived 10% of areas.

The Government is committed to delivering the five-year cross-Government Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, which sets out over 100 actions aimed at saving lives through early intervention, prevention initiatives, and better support for anyone who may reach crisis point.

The strategy recognises that nobody should be left out of suicide prevention efforts. This includes responding to the needs of marginalised communities and addressing inequalities in access to effective suicide prevention interventions, as well as listening to individuals and being responsive to their needs.

While the overall framework remains the same, the strategy was designed to be iterative, and we continue to consider where further action can be taken most effectively to reduce the number of lives lost to suicide.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support the routine use of digital consultations in community drug and alcohol treatment services.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

As part of our shift from analogue to digital, the Department has provided guidance for alcohol and drug treatment services on maintaining a balance between digital, or remote, and in-person interventions. This guidance is available to view at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/substance-misuse-providing-remote-and-in-person-interventions.

While the Department supports the use of digital consultations in community drug and alcohol treatment services, they should be considered alongside an assessment of risk and need, to determine whether they are suitable. There are circumstances in which there is no digital substitute for an in-person consultation.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to allow CQC-registered drug and alcohol treatment providers, including charities, to use the NHS Electronic Prescription Service in place of paper instalment prescriptions.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department is working with NHS England to extend the NHS Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) to include instalment dispensing for the FP10MDA, or controlled drugs, prescription type. This will allow eligible services, including drug and alcohol treatment providers and community pharmacies, to use EPS rather than paper prescriptions where this is appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) alcohol advertising and (b) websites selling alcoholic products provide reference to addiction support platforms.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In the United Kingdom, the Advertising Standards Authority is responsible for regulating advertising through enforcing the codes set by the Committees of Advertising Practice and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice. There are rules about ensuring alcohol and drinking are portrayed in a responsible way, for instance adverts generally should not imply, condone, or encourage immoderate, irresponsible, or anti-social drinking. The codes do not currently require alcohol advertisements to signpost to addiction support services.

Online sales of alcohol are regulated under the Licensing Act 2003. There is currently no statutory requirement for online retailers to signpost to addiction support platforms.

The Department of Health and Social Care will continue to work with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, as the lead Government department responsible for advertising, and the Home Office, as the department responsible for licensing, to understand the evidence base and explore policy responses for addressing alcohol harms.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to fund NHS early-intervention services for children exhibiting gambling-related harm.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS England currently funds a national service for children aged 13 years old and over who are experiencing gambling-related harms. This service is provided by the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, and is available to children across England. The core treatment offer of this service includes cognitive behavioural therapy, delivered either individually or in age-appropriate groups, and family therapy. NHS England plans to design and begin an evaluation of this service in 2026/27, which will ultimately inform the longer-term commissioning approach.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the number of people needing treatment for alcohol use disorders.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Government is committed to reducing the number of people in ill health, with the shift from treatment to prevention being a key priority.

Action to prevent harms from alcohol feature in multiple current strategies and plans. The recently published National Cancer Plan reiterated the commitment made in Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England, to strengthen and expand on existing voluntary guidelines for alcohol labelling by introducing a mandatory requirement for alcoholic drinks to display consistent nutritional information and health warning messages. The Men’s Health Strategy outlines the impact alcohol can have on men’s health, and several initiatives to address this, including piloting a new brief intervention to target the rise in cardiovascular disease deaths from combined alcohol and cocaine use among older men.

Validated alcohol risk screening tools are being built into our new digital resources. The healthy choices quiz, launched in November, includes making health choices around alcohol and users receive tailored advice about reducing health risk from alcohol based on their input about their drinking. The healthy choices quiz and further information on its introduction is available, respectively, at the following two links:

https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/healthy-choices-quiz/?WT.mc_ID=PaidSearch_Brand&wt.tsrc=paid_search&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22919087208&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpojBzKydkwMV4KRQBh2zgSZFEAAYASAAEgKe3PD_BwE

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/millions-to-benefit-from-new-health-and-wellbeing-quiz

In addition, the NHS Health Check, designed to assess the top risk factors for cardiovascular disease, includes an alcohol assessment, and can refer people to further support for their alcohol use where appropriate.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the effectiveness of licensing regulations to protect people from alcohol-related harms.

Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Licensing Act 2003, which is overseen by the Home Office, requires licensing authorities to promote objectives relating to the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the protection of children from harm, and the prevention of public nuisance, which together provide important safeguards against alcohol‑related harms.

The Government is considering how best to take forward recommendations to develop a modern, proportionate, and enabling licensing system. This work is being led by the Department for Business and Trade and the Home Office with support from other departments, including the Department of Health and Social Care, to ensure public health is fully considered.

We will continue to work across Government to consider what other measures might be needed to reduce the negative impact excessive alcohol consumption is having on health, crime, and the economy.

Found: matters arising Action Log F/24-26/81 3.50-4.05pm For information: Traffic Marshals Update Chris Evans

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Found: Waterston, Editor, The Mirror Routine media engagement ahead of Autumn Budget Rachel Reeves 04/11/2025 Chris Evans