Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had recent discussions with the Office for Product Safety and Standards on the enforcement of standards for e-bike (a) batteries and (b) conversion kits.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Under existing UK product safety law, all consumer products, including e-bike batteries and conversion kits, must meet legal requirements for safety when placed on the market. Tackling unsafe e-bikes is a priority for the Office for Product Safety and Standards, in my Department. They and Local Authority Trading Standards have powers to enforce the law including removing non-compliant products from sale. OPSS has prohibited the supply of certain models of unsafe e-bike batteries, and published 22 separate product recalls for non-compliant e-bikes and similar products since 2022.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
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 ensure that online marketplaces are held accountable for the sale of (a) unsafe and (b) non-compliant e-bike products.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK product safety law is clear: all products must be safe before being placed on the market, including e-bikes.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards leads a national Online Marketplaces Programme of regulatory action to reduce risks from unsafe and non-compliant goods sold online. This involves a range of activities, including regulatory engagement with online marketplaces on products such as e-bikes and enforcement action where necessary.
The Government has also introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill to allow updates to the product safety framework and ensure consumers are protected; recognising the increasingly important role of online supply chains.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has considered the potential merits of a certification scheme for e-bikes to be carried on public transport; and whether she has had discussions with Transport for London on such a scheme.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
It is for transport operators to decide on their conditions of carriage, as safe duty holders, including whether to allow people to bring e-bikes onboard.
While I have therefore not discussed any form of certification scheme with Transport for London, Ministers and officials have regular discussions with TfL on a variety of issues, including on e-bike safety.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling and Walking's report entitled Unregulated and unsafe: the threat of illegal e-Bikes, published in June 2025, whether her Department plans to support the introduction of scrappage schemes for unsafe (a) e-bikes and (b) conversion kits.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While there are no plans to introduce a scrappage scheme, the Government is bringing forward the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill. This will enable the UK product safety framework to keep up with innovative products and technological progress, giving Ministers the power to update relevant product safety laws accordingly to tackle products that pose greater risks.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to include measures to tackle the use of (a) illegal and (b) unregulated e-bikes in its Road Safety Strategy.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Only e-bikes that are fully compliant with the requirements of the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983 are legal to use on the roads, and we recognise the risk to road safety of those e-bikes that are not compliant with regulations.
The Government treats road safety very seriously, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department is developing our Road Safety Strategy and will set out more detail in due course.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to support local authorities to ensure Travellers are not able to access public green spaces.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
It is the responsibility of local authorities (LPAs) to assess the need for Gypsy and Traveller sites in their area and then plan to meet that need, in the same way that they plan for all forms of housing.
In doing so, LPAs should promote peaceful and integrated co-existence between the site and the local community, and aim to reduce the number of unauthorised developments and encampments.
In relation to local planning authority enforcement powers, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 46336 on 30 April 2025.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on whether the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence plans to publish guidelines for the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of chronic urinary tract infections.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has an established prioritisation process overseen by a prioritisation board, for the identification of priorities for guidance development. Anyone can suggest a topic through the NICE website at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/forms/topic-suggestion
NICE has no current plans to develop guidance on chronic urinary tract infections (UTIs) at this time and the topic has not been considered by its prioritisation board. However, NICE has produced a clinical guideline on antimicrobial prescribing for recurrent UTIs which provides recommendations on treatments and self-care for the prevention of recurrent UTIs. This guideline is available at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng112
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Restoring control over the immigration system, updated 6 June 2025, what steps she is taking to ensure that reforms will allow recognised refugees to become British citizens.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
We will be consulting on the earned settlement and citizenship scheme later this year, and further details on the proposed scheme will be provided at that time.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to to Amnesty International's report entitled No one guarantees my safety: the urgent need to strengthen Mexico’s federal policies for the protection of journalists, published in March 2024, what discussions he has had with his Mexican counterpart on (a) strengthening Mexico’s Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists and (b) the need for its effective implementation.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to Media Freedom, and to championing democracy and human rights around the world. Independent media is essential to a healthy democracy. The danger facing journalists in Mexico is highly concerning and Amnesty International's report rightly raises concerns about the effectiveness of the Federal Protection Mechanism for Human Rights Defenders and Journalists. Our Embassy in Mexico City works closely with the Mexican Government and civil society organisations on understanding and reducing the risks faced by journalists and human rights defenders due to their professions. Representatives from the UK Government and the Mexican Government held their second Multilateral and Human Rights Dialogue on 13-14 May 2025 where both Governments reaffirmed their commitment to human rights. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials met with representatives of Amnesty International on 17 June in London to understand their concerns around the mechanism.
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
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 increase the number of clinical oncologists in regions with the lowest consultant-to-population ratios.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We’re building our cancer workforce. As of February 2025, there are over 1,800 full time equivalent doctors working in the speciality of clinical oncology in National Health Service trusts and other core organisations in England. This is almost 150, or 8.9%, more than last year.
We will publish a new workforce plan to ensure the NHS has the right people in the right places to deliver the care patients need, transforming the health service and making it fit for the future.