Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of whether the Palestinian Authority's decision to end the martyr payment system, announced in February 2025, has been implemented.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 17 September to question 74029.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what research his Department has commissioned on (a) reproductive health outcomes and (b) long‑term health effects of the occupational exposure of nursing staff to hazardous medicinal products; and what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS of sickness absence related to such exposure.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has not commissioned any research on the reproductive health outcomes or long-term health effects of the occupational exposure of nursing staff to hazardous medicinal products. No assessment has been made of the cost to the National Health Service of sickness absence related to this.
Sickness absence is managed at an organisational level across the NHS. NHS organisations have their own policies and procedures in place to manage and reduce sickness absence, including any reasonable adjustments to allow people to return to work and/or prevent future absence. It is important that employers across the NHS take a preventative and proactive approach to supporting their staff and keeping them healthy.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, which (a) Department and (b) Minister will lead on the online guidance hub for parents and carers on children and young people’s online safety and the Media Literacy Vision Statement.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT is the policy lead for media literacy and is committed to improving media literacy through coordinated cross-government work and collaboration with Ofcom and civil society. Minister Narayan is responsible for media literacy strategy, ensuring clear leadership and co-operation across departments. The Media Literacy Vision Statement will set out a clear direction and a joined-up approach across government, including how to empower parents and carers to better support young people online.
DSIT is working in close collaboration with the Department for Education to develop a dedicated ‘parent hub’ providing guidance on media literacy and online safety for parents and carers.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department have made of the levels of furniture poverty in North Durham; and what assessment he has made of the potential role of furnished tenancies in tackling such poverty.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84054 on 3 November 2025.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to mandate that at least 10% of social homes be let as furnished; and if his Department will make an assessment of the feasibility of such a policy.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84054 on 3 November 2025.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department plans to make provision for a portion 1.5 million homes planned to be built over the course of the Parliament to be let as furnished.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 84054 on 3 November 2025.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the importance of furniture provision as an element of the Crisis and Resilience Fund.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
We will be working closely with local authorities and external stakeholders on the detailed design of the Crisis and Resilience Fund and we will issue further information on our planned approach in due course.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) nurses and (b) other healthcare professionals exposed to hazardous medicinal products.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made an estimate of the number of (a) nurses and (b) other healthcare professionals exposed to hazardous medicinal products.
Any incidents involving staff exposure to hazardous medical products are reported and handled through local National Health Service body reporting procedures. Risk assessments should be undertaken routinely and mitigations put in place to minimise any environmental exposure to health care professionals (and others) relating to “hazardous medicinal products”.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he will require NHS employers to provide ongoing (a) education, (b) training and (c) health surveillance for all staff who (i) handle and (ii) may be exposed to hazardous medicinal products.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where hazardous medicinal products (HMPs) are substances hazardous to health within the meaning of The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended) (COSHH), every employer is required to provide that employee with suitable and sufficient information, instruction and training.
COSHH sets out specific requirements for where health surveillance is appropriate for the protection of the health of employees who are, or are liable to be, exposed to a substance hazardous to health. This includes where the exposure of the employee to a substance hazardous to health is such that –
(i) an identifiable disease or adverse health effect may be related to the exposure;
(ii) there is a reasonable likelihood that the disease or effect may occur under the particular conditions of his work; and
(iii) (iii) there are valid techniques for detecting indications of the disease or effect and the technique of investigation is of low risk to the employee.
It is therefore for the employer to determine if health surveillance is appropriate as part of it’s duties under COSHH.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to promote the use of (a) engineering controls, (b) biological safety cabinets and (c) closed‑system drug‑transfer devices during the (i) preparation and (ii) administration of hazardous medicinal products; and whether he plans to allocate funding to implement these controls to NHS Trusts.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Where hazardous medicinal products (HMPs) are substances hazardous to health subject to The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (as amended) (COSHH) employers, including NHS Trusts, are required to comply with the requirements of these regulations.
The regulations require employers who prepare and administer substances hazardous to health to undertake a risk assessment, the purpose of which is to make valid decisions about the measures needed to prevent, or where this is not reasonably practicable, adequately control the exposure of their employees to substances hazardous to health.
If it is not reasonably practicable for an employer to prevent exposure, the regulations require that the exposure of employees is adequately controlled and through the risk assessment process that the employer considers and identifies the control measures that should be implemented. Priority should be given to those controls that contain or minimise the release of contaminants and the spread of hazardous substances into the workplace.
The Approved Code of Practice and guidance to the COSHH regulations provides employers with detailed information and guidance on the requirements of the regulations. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has also produced specific guidance on it’s website on the Safe handling of cytotoxic drugs in the workplace, which are one particular type of HMP.