Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 improve NHS support for children and families with severe food allergies.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on schools to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions. Schools should ensure they are aware of any pupils with medical conditions, and have policies and processes in place to ensure these can be well managed. This includes allergies. The policy should also set out how staff will be supported in carrying out their role to support pupils, including how training needs are assessed and how training is commissioned and provided. Any member of school staff providing support to a pupil with medical needs should have received suitable training.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) encourages food businesses to complete the FSA’s allergen e-learning course and recommends that it is retaken annually to refresh knowledge and ensure that businesses are up to date on any changes which may have occurred. The FSA online training is free and offers practical advice to anyone wanting to learn more about food allergy.
NHS England has also produced the Healthy School Child e-learning programme, which available at the following link:
https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/healthy-school-child/
This programme is designed for healthcare professionals, including school nurses, working with children aged five to 12 years old. Module 5 of the e-learning programme includes sessions on asthma, eczema, and other allergies.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of making more emergency adrenaline auto-injectors available in community settings.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In November 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Commission on Human Medicine’s Adrenaline Auto-injector Expert Working Group, with wide-ranging input from patient groups, leading allergy experts, and healthcare professionals, published a report which outlined recommendations for the safe and effective use of adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs), including quicker treatment, to help save lives. The MHRA has worked alongside the Department and the wider health system to take forward these recommendations, some of which are already in place.
In June 2023, the MHRA, with the support of allergy awareness advocates, launched a safety campaign to raise awareness of anaphylaxis and to provide advice on the use of AAIs. The MHRA produced a toolkit of resources for health and social care professionals to support the safe and effective use of AAIs. Alongside this, the MHRA produced guidance, which states that prescribers should prescribe two AAIs to make sure patients always have the second dose, and that those who are prescribed AAIs should always carry two AAIs at all times.
The majority of community pharmacies offer vaccinations. As part of offering this service, pharmacy contractors are expected to recognise and treat anaphylaxis. They must have immediate access to an anaphylaxis pack, including adrenaline. They are required to undertake training to administer adrenaline from an ampoule using a needle and AAIs in case of anaphylactic reactions.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has considered increasing the size of the Steel Fund, in the context of funding allocated to the running of British Steel under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are committed to providing up to £2.5bn for steel which is being delivered in part through the National Wealth Fund.
At the Spending Review, the Chancellor confirmed that we will invest in the long-term future of Scunthorpe. We have been clear that private investment to modernise British Steel will also be required and work continues at pace to develop the optimal approach. Over £100m of funding has been provided to British Steel to ensure continued operation of the blast furnaces.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of the information on gov.uk on the support available to asylum seekers.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office keeps all its information pages under regular review.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to replace the import safeguard quotas for steel when they expire in June 2026.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Steel is a top priority for this Government and we recognise the continuing challenges facing the UK steel industry – driven by persistent overcapacity and unfair trading practices.
We will ensure there is a plan in place for the UK steel industry following the expiry of the global safeguard measure on certain steel imports next year. That is why we launched a Call for Evidence on Steel Trade Measures on the 26th of June to inform the design of any potential trade measures, including appropriate tariff rates and quota levels.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has set a cap on the amount of funding he will allocate to the running of British Steel in the next three financial years.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Funding is provided to British Steel under the provisions of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act. This funding is intended to ensure the safe and continued operation of the blast furnaces. The intervention is a temporary measure and work is continuing to determine the best long-term sustainable future for the site.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when he next plans to conduct a national security assessment of (a) British Steel and (b) the wider UK steel industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government is conducting a range of assessments and analysis to inform future options for British Steel and our strategy for the steel industry. Matters relating to national security are under constant review. We do not comment on the timing or content of any assessments.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
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 support Integrated Care Boards to increase the availability of Fracture Liaison Services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Fracture Liaison Services are commissioned by integrated care boards, which are well-placed to make decisions according to local need.
Our 10-Year Health Plan committed to rolling out Fracture Liaison Services across every part of the country by 2030.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to include measures to help protect steelmakers from subsidised steel imports from (a) China and (b) the wider Far East in the forthcoming trade strategy.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Steel is a top priority for this government. The UK applies 10 anti-dumping measures and two anti-subsidy measures on steel imports from China, and a safeguard measure on global imports for 14 steel categories. This measure was adjusted on 30 June to provide more effective protection for domestic producers.
On 26 June the government published its Trade Strategy, announcing we will sharpen our trade defence toolkit to better protect critical sectors, such as steel, from harm. Alongside this we launched the Steel Trade Measures Call for Evidence to prepare us for the expiry of the steel safeguard in June 2026.
Asked by: Gregory Stafford (Conservative - Farnham and Bordon)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment she has made of the cumulative impact of changes to (a) business rates and (b) employer National Insurance contributions on the financial viability of (i) pubs and (ii) breweries.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
From 2026-27, we intend to introduce permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure (RHL) properties with rateable values below £500,000. This permanent tax cut will ensure that eligible RHL businesses benefit from much-needed certainty and support.
Eligibility for the new RHL multipliers is intended to broadly reflect the scope of the existing RHL relief scheme, and will be set out in legislation later this year.
Until these new tax rates are introduced, in 2025-26, RHL businesses will receive a 40 per cent relief on their eligible properties up to a cash cap of £110,000 per business. Under the previous Government, RHL relief was due to end entirely in April 2025. By extending the relief, the Government has saved the average pub, with a ratable value of £16,800, over £3,300.
Tax policy and legislation is not subject to the Better Regulation Framework Guidance, which requires an Impact Assessment to accompany policy decisions. Nevertheless, when the new multipliers are set at Budget 2025, HM Treasury intends to publish analysis of the effects of the new multiplier arrangements.
Regarding National Insurance contributions, a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) was published alongside the introduction of the Bill containing the changes to employer NICs. The TIIN sets out the impact of the policy on the Exchequer, the economic impacts of the policy, and the impacts on individuals, businesses, and civil society organisations, as well as an overview of the equality impacts.