Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his planned timetable is for publishing the consultation on the proposed retail licensing scheme for tobacco, vape, and nicotine products under the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026.

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

The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 provides powers for ministers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland to introduce, within their respective nations, a licensing scheme for the retail sale of tobacco, vaping, and nicotine products. A future scheme will strengthen enforcement and support law‑abiding retailers, while tackling those who break the law and put illicit products on our high streets. In doing so, it will support public health.

We ran a call for evidence between October and December 2025 to support policy development and the development of regulations to be laid under the act. This included detailed questions about the design and implementation of the licensing scheme, among other topics. We are carefully considering the evidence gathered to inform our proposals for consultation.

We intend to consult on the new retail licensing scheme in 2027.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has sought advice from the Prime Minister’s new advisor, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, on the impact the Employment Rights Act 2025 upon (a) businesses and (b) the economy.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

No.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children have been the victim of a stabbing incident in educational settings in each of the last two academic years for which data is available by type of setting.

Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Every child deserves to feel safe. The department takes all reports of violent incidents in schools seriously and helps ensure settings have appropriate support in place. Our rapid response and regional teams work proactively with schools when the department is notified of an incident, and we have a dedicated serious violence team that works closely with the Home Office and other partners on improving prevention of serious violence in schools.

Local police forces are responsible for responding to and reporting on violent crime, including in education settings. The Home Office has responsibility for collating police recorded crime data from the police forces of England and Wales. This includes offences using knifes and sharp implements. Open data tables for police recorded crime, which underpin the data released by the Office for National Statistics, are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/police-recorded-crime-and-outcomes-open-data-tables.

The department receives Serious Incident Notifications for incidents that involve death or serious harm to a child where abuse or neglect is known or suspected, and any death of a looked after child. This includes death or serious harm due to knife crime incidents. The most recent data is here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/serious-incident-notifications/2026#headlines-section.

The department monitors a range of other data related to children’s risk of violence, including education, social care and police national computer data. Our published dashboard allows local areas to understand factors in their area which result in vulnerability to crime and comparisons with their nearest statistical neighbours. The dashboard is available here: Release home - Education, children’s social care and offending: local authority level dashboard - Explore education statistics - GOV.UK

Exiting the European Union

Houses in multiple occupation

Submit Evidence (by 31 Jul 2026)

Gaelic remains an important part of Scotland’s cultural identity and, despite a long-term decline in its use, the latest census indicates an increase in the number of people with Gaelic language skills.