Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney)]

I am pleased to report that good progress has been made on reducing the number of cleaning products we use that are not certified as cruelty-free. My hon. Friend has rightly pushed us on this matter. In total, we use around 40 cleaning products. Since early 2025, we have reduced the number of products used that are not certified as cruelty-free from nine to three. For the remaining three products, the cleaning contractor is in the process of identifying suitable replacements that meet the required standard.

[Alex Mayer]

I very much welcome the progress that is being made; we are going in the right direction, from the figure of nine when I originally asked to three today. Would my hon. Friend be willing to meet with the body that runs the international approval programme for cruelty-free products, to see whether we can speed this up and make Parliament fully cruelty-free?

[Nick Smith]

The cleaning contractor will continue to work on identifying suitable alternatives from its suppliers, and I would be pleased to put it in touch with the body that my hon. Friend suggests can provide good advice.

The hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, was asked—

--- Later in debate ---

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent and Rhymney)]

It is good to give my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Marsha De Cordova) a break.

The Commission has considered the proposed changes to the education outreach model. The changes are designed to save money—over half a million pounds every year— and to ensure that we reach more students across the UK and increase the opportunities that Members have to meet children and young people. Although more than 30 Members have signed an early-day motion on the topic, in 2025-26 no events were held in nearly a third of our constituencies.

Under the proposals, the current model will be replaced by a digital model of outreach to increase opportunities for Members to speak to students. The proposed new service will help to reach schools in every constituency. A final decision on the proposals will be made following the consultation proposal.

[Tom Rutland]

The parliamentary education outreach service plays a vital role in delivering in-person democratic engagement workshops in schools across the country, especially those that are disadvantaged and harder to reach, by engaging them in the work of our political system. Does my hon. Friend agree that the closure of the in-person service risks making Parliament more removed from young people across the country?

[Nick Smith]

We understand my hon. Friend’s concerns about these proposals, but the new model is designed to increase engagement with schools across the UK. Given the high number of constituencies that receive no outreach visits at all, the key benefit here is that the proposals would remove geography as a barrier so that schools everywhere can access these sessions. Furthermore, the proposed model will sit alongside other UK-wide programmes that continue to provide in-person opportunities, including our UK Parliament Week; teacher training activity delivered around the country; the travel subsidy scheme, which supports visits to Parliament; and the “Learn with the Lords” programme. With those programmes taken together, Parliament will continue to have a strong and visible presence beyond Westminster.

[Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) (LD)]

I have to say, I am dismayed by the fact that there will not be humans in contact with young people. From my experience, I know that young people are really engaged when somebody turns up in their place, particularly in their school. At a time when we are trying to reduce the screen time of young people, I want to speak up in support of having people going into schools, especially when they are slightly more distant from London—it is something so very different. I shall certainly reply to the consultation when it comes along, if I have not missed the boat, and I will speak up for this particular scheme; it is fantastic.

[Nick Smith]

The scoping work focused on large-scale and ambitious digital education outreach work across the UK. Case studies included in the research were the Royal Ballet and the North East Museums’ “Hadrian’s Wall Live” focus day, which both attracted very high levels of interest.