Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on assessing the Motorcycle Industry Association’s proposal for assessors from approved training bodies to carry out licence upgrades for vehicles up to 22kw.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency is committed to reviewing all aspects of motorcycle training and testing, and is in the process of assessing the Motorcycle Industry Association’s proposals.
Officials met with key representatives of the motorcycle organisations on 4 December 2023 to discuss motorcycle safety. The next round table meeting, which is scheduled for 8 May 2024, will further consider the proposals and options including licence upgrades.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she is taking steps to equalize the price of electricity with gas to encourage people to install Heat Pumps in their homes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
In ‘Powering Up Britain’, the Government committed to outlining a clear approach to gas and electricity price rebalancing – and will do so in due course. We are working to develop our approach to rebalancing to meet these commitments. No decisions have yet been taken on our approach, and fairness and affordability for consumers and taxpayers will be at the heart of our decision-making.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposal to ban disposable vapes on the illicit vape market.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
On 29 January, a ban on the supply and sale of disposable vapes was announced as part of the Government’s response to its consultation on smoking and vaping that was launched in October last year. A ban on the supply and sale of these throwaway items will help to protect our environment, as well as future generations, from the harmful effects of disposable vapes. We will be working with the appropriate bodies to ensure that the ban, when introduced, is enforceable to minimise illicit vapes entering the market.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has considered the potential merits of introducing a retailer licensing scheme for the sale of vapes.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
The Government is concerned about the worrying rise in vaping among children. Youth vaping has tripled in the last three years, and one in five children now use a vape. To address this, we recently published our response to the smoking and vaping consultation, which sets out our plan to restrict vape flavours, point of sale display, and packaging. The response is available at the following link:
We also set out our plans to introduce an age of sale requirement for non-nicotine vapes and other consumer nicotine products, as well as a £100 fixed penalty notice for underage sales of tobacco and vaping products. In addition, the consultation response announced that disposable vapes will be banned, which will be taken forward by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs. The Government will introduce legislation as soon as possible.
Whilst there are no current plans to introduce a retail licensing scheme, we have announced £30 million of additional funding per year to tackle illicit and underage sales of tobacco and vape products. In April last year, we also provided funding for a new enforcement unit to tackle the illegal and underage sale of vapes, which has conducted targeted inspections in ports, upskilled trading standards officers, and piloted online underage test programmes.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the environmental impact of introducing paper inserts with quit information messages into (a) tobacco pouches and (b) cigarette boxes.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 yearly deaths in the United Kingdom and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. It costs our country £17 billion a year, £14 billion of which is through lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year.
Research suggests tobacco pack inserts can increase the likelihood of smokers making a quit attempt, by providing motivational messages and information on the benefits of quitting, in addition to the graphic health warnings already on tobacco products.
A UK wide consultation, Mandating quit information messages inside tobacco packs, was open for eight weeks from August 2023 to October 2023. As part of the consultation, respondents were asked to provide information on any environmental concerns about the use of inserts, and how these could be mitigated. We are considering feedback to the consultation and a consultation response will be published in due course.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the consultation entitled Creating a smokefree generation and tackling youth vaping, what steps her Department plans to take to enforce the proposals relating to (a) tobacco and (b) vape products bought from online retailers.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
A strong approach to enforcement is vital if the smokefree generation and youth vaping policy is to have real impact. Underage and illicit sale of tobacco, and more recently vapes, is undermining the work the Government is doing to regulate the industry and protect public health. The sale of illicit products frequently targets children and young people in disadvantaged communities, widening health disparities.
For this reason, HM Revenue and Customs and Border Force published the joint illicit tobacco strategy, Stubbing Out the Problem, in January 2024. This sets out our plans to be at the forefront of tackling illegal activity and opportunities that criminals might seek to exploit. One of the strategies key aims is to reduce the demand for illicit tobacco, which will include tackling online sales of illicit tobacco on social media platforms, gathering intelligence on social media sales, and working with social media platforms to ensure we are effective in limiting criminal groups’ ability to sell illicit tobacco through these channels.
Additionally, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is creating a framework of standards and governance, underpinned by legislation, to enable the widespread use of trusted digital identity services. This will make it possible for people to prove things about themselves in a secure way without using paper documents.
The Government wants to make sure that those under the legal age of sale cannot buy tobacco products and vapes online, so we have committed to further enhance online age verification. As set out in the command paper, Stopping the start: our new plan to create a smokefree generation, we will work with retailers that sell tobacco products and vapes to produce good practice guidance to help retailers adopt online age verification, to address underage sales.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether additional support will be provided for Trading Standards to enforce the proposed generational ban on tobacco sales.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom
Smoking is the number one entirely preventable cause of ill-health, disability and death in this country. It is responsible for 80,000 yearly deaths in the United Kingdom and one in four of all UK cancer deaths. It costs our country £17 billion a year, £14 billion of which is through lost productivity alone. It puts huge pressure on the National Health Service and social care, costing over £3 billion a year. That is why we are introducing legislation to create the first smokefree generation, making it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009.
To ensure the law is enforced, the Government is providing an additional £30 million per year for enforcement agencies, including Trading Standards, to support work to tackle illicit and underage sales. The Government will also introduce a £100 fixed penalty notice for the underage sale of tobacco and vaping products. This will support Trading Standards to take quicker and more proportionate enforcement action against the irresponsible retailers who allow underage sales. We will continue to work closely with local trading standards and businesses to provide guidance on implementing and enforcing the Smokefree Generation policy.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to page 70 of her Department's High Stakes: Gambling Reform for the Digital Age white paper published on April 2023, what progress her Department has made on undertaking a consultation into potential regulation for large prize draw competitions.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In recent weeks, I have met with the largest prize draw operators in the industry, in line with the gambling white paper's commitment to look at prize draws. The department has also commissioned independent researchers to gather evidence about the size and nature of the prize draw sector, including its role in charity funding, risks and player protection and understanding. The research consists of an AI-powered web scrape, together with industry surveys and operator engagement. The research will conclude in January and will inform a consultation on potential regulation in due course.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has considered making changes to the existing requirements for (a) full and (b) remote ancillary licences for society lotteries in the context of increases in the use of handheld electronic devices in recruiting subscribers.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
I am aware of this issue, which was raised with me when I met with representatives of the Lotteries Council on 23 May.
Section 4 of the Gambling Act 2005 states that where a telephone (or other forms of electronic communication) are used to participate in gambling, it will be treated as remote gambling.
Under the Gambling Act all operators that offer remote gambling are required to hold a remote operating licence. This means that if a lottery sells tickets face to face and remotely by telephone or online it will need two licences. The holder of a non-remote lottery operating (society) licence pays an annual fee of only £50 for an ancillary licence, if its remote proceeds in that year do not exceed £250,000. Annual fees for standalone remote licences range from £400 to £796 depending on proceeds.
I therefore have no current plans to amend the society lottery licensing arrangements in the Gambling Act.
Asked by: Craig Whittaker (Conservative - Calder Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the planned timetable is for the Valuation Office Agency reviewing the business rate valuation representations made by Boundary Outlet headquartered in Colne, Lancashire; and if he will hold discussions with the Valuation Office Agency on expediting the assessment process.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) carries out its valuations independently of Ministers and is currently meeting its statutory deadlines in relation to its Check, Challenge, Appeal (CCA) service.
It is not possible to disclose information about the specific CCA cases involved, as the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 restricts the VOA from providing this information to protect ratepayer confidentiality.
The VOA’s 2022-2023 annual report, which will contain the most recent performance statistics, is planned for publication in November.