Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of funding the collection of modern exposure data on occupational carcinogens.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
HSE has participated in a European Commission funded pilot project exploring the development of a database to capture data on occupational exposures to hazardous substances in workplaces, see: http://www.hazchematwork.eu/. The pilot is expected to report later this year.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Health and Safety Executive on pro-active inspection of the management of work-related psychosocial risk.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I have regular meetings with senior HSE officials where key priorities are discussed, including tackling work related ill-health.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions he has had with (a) his EU counterparts and (b) other stakeholders on proposed changes to the Carcinogens and Mutagens Directive (2004/37/EC); and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DWP Ministers have not held such discussions. However there have been extensive discussions at official level with EU counterparts and with a wide range of stakeholders on the proposed changes.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Health and Safety Executive's effectiveness strategy on reducing deaths from work-related respiratory illnesses.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
HSE regularly reviews the implementation of its strategies - including the new strategy for the health and safety system - and reports the findings in its annual report. HSE’s latest annual report is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/ara-2014-15.pdf
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of implementation of the Health and Safety Executive's strategy, Helping Great Britain work well on the number of workplace accidents.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
HSE regularly reviews the implementation of its strategies - including the new strategy for the health and safety system - and reports the findings in its annual report. HSE’s latest annual report is available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/reports/ara-2014-15.pdf
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for workplace inspections by the Health and Safety Executive in the next four years.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
HSE’s Spending Review 15 funding is based upon achieving growth in commercial income and delivery of planned efficiency savings which will enable HSE to seek to maintain current levels of its core regulatory activities including workplace inspections over the next four years.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many safety inspections the Health and Safety Executive carried out in the last year for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the number of such inspections the Executive will be able to make with the planned budget for 2019-20.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Health and Safety Executive undertook approximately 18,000 targeted inspections in 2015/16, and will seek to maintain current levels of its core regulatory activities, including inspection, each year.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
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 effect of an ageing workforce on safety at work in the UK.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) commissioned a report into age and employment in 2011 http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr832.pdf. The report found little conclusive evidence that older workers have an increased risk of work related accidents than younger workers. However, if an older worker is involved in a work related accident, the individual is likely to suffer more serious injuries, permanent disabilities or death, than for a younger worker. This is supported by statistics published by HSE.
The report also found there is little evidence that chronological age is a strong determinant of health, cognitive or physical abilities, sickness absence or productivity.
HSE’s website includes specific guidance on how to tackle and address health and safety issues in relation to older workers http://www.hse.gov.uk/vulnerable-workers/older-workers.htm. Additionally, as part of the European Occupational Safety and Health Agency campaign – Healthy workplaces for all ages, HSE is currently working with external stakeholders to specifically target high risk industries with high ratios of older workers, such as agriculture.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2016 to Question 30986, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children who will be lifted out of poverty as a result of universal credit before any effect on employment.
Answered by Priti Patel
This Government is committed to eliminating child poverty and transforming the life chances of the most disadvantaged children and families.
We know that work is the best route out of poverty, and Universal Credit is designed to strengthen incentives for parents to move into and progress in work. Ignoring the impact that Universal Credit has on incentivising work and raising the incomes of families is inappropriate.
The impact of Universal Credit cannot be considered in isolation– it is a key component of a broader strategy to move Britain to a higher wage, lower welfare, lower tax society.
Asked by: Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour - Torfaen)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will conduct a revised impact assessment for universal credit on the effect of reforms to its design since 2012.
Answered by Priti Patel
Whilst there have been changes to Universal Credit since the impact assessment in 2012, these have not fundamentally altered the service, which remains on course to deliver stronger work incentives and simplicity in the welfare system.