Asked by: Linsey Farnsworth (Labour - Amber Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the total number of school days lost by pupils due to the incidence of infectious disease in (a) primary (b) secondary schools in England in the school years 2024/25 and 2025/26 and what proportion of all pupil school days this represents.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not collect data on absence due specifically to infectious disease.
The closest available measure is absence due to illness. In 2024/25, illness accounted for 2.83% of all possible sessions in state-funded primary schools and 3.61% in state-funded secondary schools. These figures are based on school census data, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/71a4148c-f739-4adc-9a80-08dee27f7d76.
For 2025/26 to date, illness absence has accounted for 2.81% of possible sessions in primary schools and 3.63% in secondary schools. Data for 2025/26 is based on daily attendance data and may be subject to change as registers update. Details are available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/cfdaf89b-050d-4c76-179f-08dee28a6f1d.
Asked by: Linsey Farnsworth (Labour - Amber Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment the Health and Safety Executive has made of the need for formal guidance for employers and workplace operators on workplace cleanliness and hygiene standards to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) (Equalities)
Employers have duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 to assess and control risks to workers and others arising from their activities. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) already provides guidance on infections and biological hazards at work, including risk assessment, infection control measures, and preventing exposure to biological agents.
HSE's guidance makes it clear that employers should identify biological hazards, assess who may be harmed and implement proportionate control measures. These may include the use of disinfectants, appropriate hygiene arrangements and surfaces that can be easily cleaned where necessary to reduce the likelihood and spread of infection. Where no specific biological hazards are identified, employers should nevertheless ensure suitable workplace hygiene arrangements are in place.
For settings with specific infection prevention requirements, such as health and adult social care, additional sector-specific guidance is available from the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England.
HSE keeps its guidance under review and has not identified a need for additional formal guidance specifically on workplace cleanliness and hygiene standards to prevent the spread of infectious diseases or antimicrobial resistance.
Asked by: Linsey Farnsworth (Labour - Amber Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the inclusion of fruit and nut bars in the location restrictions for high fat, sugar and salt products since October 2022 on businesses; and what steps he is taking to support investment by affected manufacturers of fruit and nut bars.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis to ease the strain on our National Health Service and create the healthiest generation of children ever.
Restrictions on the promotion by location of ‘less healthy’ food and drink products in stores and their equivalent places online have been in place since 2022. These restrictions apply to categories of products that impact most on childhood obesity, which were chosen following public consultation.
Only fruit and nut bars that are high in saturated fat, salt, or sugar are in scope of the restrictions. The products that are in and out of scope of the restrictions are set out in the Schedule to the Food (Promotion and Placement) (England) Regulations 2021 and we have published guidance to support industry on complying with the restrictions.
We published a detailed impact assessment on the costs to industry and the benefits of this policy on the GOV.UK website. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the restrictions and will publish a Post Implementation Review within five years of the restrictions taking legal effect.
Asked by: Linsey Farnsworth (Labour - Amber Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he will publish an economic impact assessment on the potential impact of the 2018 Nutrient Profiling Model within the advertising and promotion regulations, specifically in relation to business investment, reformulation, and product innovation.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Secretary of State for Wales
As set out in our 10-Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. As part of this, the Government committed to updating the standards behind the restrictions on advertising ‘less healthy’ food or drink products on television before 9:00pm and online at any time, as well as the restrictions on the promotion of ‘less healthy’ food and drink products by location and volume price by applying the new Nutrient Profiling Model (NPM).
The advertising and promotions restrictions currently rely on the outdated NPM 2004/05. The new NPM has been updated in line with the latest dietary advice from the United Kingdom’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, particularly in relation to free sugar and fibre. Applying it to the restrictions will strengthen these policies by bringing more products of concern for children’s health into scope.
The Government published the new NPM on 27 January. Application of the new NPM to the advertising and promotions restrictions would be subject to a full public consultation. A consultation-stage impact assessment of the direct costs to businesses and intended health outcomes would be published alongside. A final impact assessment would be published prior to amending the advertising and promotions restrictions legislation.
Asked by: Linsey Farnsworth (Labour - Amber 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 she has made of the potential impact of UK–EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary trade negotiations on the cut flower and plant sector; and when small flower‑selling businesses will be impacted by changes.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government is currently negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and removing trade barriers for British producers and retailers. While those negotiations are ongoing, we cannot comment further on the SPS agreement.
The Government is aiming to conclude negotiations and have legislative arrangements in place no later than 2027, subject to discussion with the EU.
Asked by: Linsey Farnsworth (Labour - Amber Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she has taken to appoint a Retail and Hospitality Envoy.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The Government will make an announcement on the appointment of the Retail and Hospitality Envoy in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Linsey Farnsworth (Labour - Amber Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve the rights of property buyers in the context of consultations on home buying and selling reform and the provision of material information in property listings.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, property listings must already not omit information that the average consumer needs to make an informed transactional decision.
I otherwise refer the hon. Member to the proposals set out in the home buying and selling consultations published on 6 October 2025. They can be found on gov.uk here and here.
Asked by: Linsey Farnsworth (Labour - Amber Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will take legislative steps to create new commodity codes under Section 64 of the UK Global Tariff to include the use of sustainable materials in safety footwear.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
UK customs commodity codes are matched to the EU’s, to enable the Windsor Framework in NI and facilitate trade with the EU. However, other mechanisms can be used to provide different tariff treatment for goods. If businesses would like to propose a lower rate of duty on a product, they can make a duty suspension application to the Department for Business and Trade.
Asked by: Linsey Farnsworth (Labour - Amber Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of aligning the duty rates applied to textile footwear with other textile-based safety equipment.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The UK’s Tariff schedule, known as the UK Global Tariff (UKGT), adheres to global classification standards. We continue to monitor the UKGT to ensure our Most Favoured Nation tariff schedule functions as effectively as possible, supports domestic priorities, and provides a stable operating environment for businesses.
Businesses are welcome to request partial or full liberalisation of the import duty applied to the products under this commodity code, including textile footwear and textile-based safety equipment, either through the online feedback form or the next business suspensions window.
There will be further opportunities to apply for tariff suspensions in due course. Further information, including dates of the application window, guidance, and methods to apply, will be announced on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Linsey Farnsworth (Labour - Amber Valley)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his priorities are for the UN Climate Change Conference 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State and Minister for Climate are in Brazil to fight for our national interest. By working to protect the global ecosystem and speed up the clean energy revolution globally we can unlock investment in energy security, lower bills, and create good jobs for the British people.