Asked by: Richard Baker (Labour - Glenrothes and Mid Fife)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what criteria his Department uses to determine site eligibility for participation in the TRANSFORM prostate cancer screening trial; and whether the availability of focal therapy is a requirement.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
In November 2023, the Government and Prostate Cancer UK (PCUK) announced the £42 million TRANSFORM screening trial to find the best way to screen men for prostate cancer to find it before it becomes advanced and harder to treat. PCUK is managing the award on behalf of the funders with the Government contributing £16 million through the NIHR.
Once received, the protocol will be published on the NIHR website on the funding and awards page. This is expected to contain details of the site selection criteria.
Asked by: Richard Baker (Labour - Glenrothes and Mid Fife)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the design of the TRANSFORM trial includes sites that do not currently offer focal therapy; and how treatment diversity is being considered in trial recruitment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year on research through its research delivery arm, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
In November 2023, the Government and Prostate Cancer UK (PCUK) announced the £42 million TRANSFORM screening trial to find the best way to screen men for prostate cancer to find it before it becomes advanced and harder to treat. PCUK is managing the award on behalf of the funders with the Government contributing £16 million through the NIHR.
Once received, the protocol will be published on the NIHR website on the funding and awards page. This is expected to contain details of the site selection criteria.
Asked by: Richard Baker (Labour - Glenrothes and Mid Fife)
Question
To ask the hon. Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, what support the Church of England is providing to Christians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Answered by Marsha De Cordova
The Church continues to support the Archbishops’ Appeal for the Diocese of Jerusalem, which helps more than thirty institutions, including hospitals, schools, clinics, rehabilitation centres, guesthouses, and retirement homes across the Diocese. Through charitable bodies like Friends of the Holy Land, the Church provides practical help directly to the most needy and vulnerable Christians, striking a balance between funding immediate relief of emergency needs and small, practical projects that help create a sustainable future in the Holy Land.
Asked by: Richard Baker (Labour - Glenrothes and Mid Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to raise extended producer responsibility base fees for plastic.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From year 2 of pEPR (2026/2027), base fees will be modulated to drive a shift to more environmentally sustainable packaging design, with recyclability as the indicator. Materials that are less recyclable, such as some plastics, will incur higher fees, with the additional funds raised being redistributed to lower the fees of more recyclable materials. PackUK intends to publish a modulation policy statement by the end of June, outlining this in more detail.
Asked by: Richard Baker (Labour - Glenrothes and Mid Fife)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) extended producer responsibility and (b) other waste reforms on the improvement of recycling services by local authorities.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
In October 2024, the Government published an updated impact assessment for the introduction of Extended Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR), which includes an assessment of the impact of introducing the pEPR scheme on Local Authorities at an aggregate level.
The Simpler Recycling reforms will reduce the negative environmental impacts of waste by increasing both (i) the quantity of materials collected for recycling, and (ii) the quality of recyclate produced due to improved material segregation. The latest impact assessment for Simpler Recycling was published in December 2024.
Asked by: Richard Baker (Labour - Glenrothes and Mid Fife)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what (a) training and (b) support has been introduced to help (i) GPs and (ii) other clinicians to (A) identify and (B) diagnose cancers associated with welding fume at an earlier stage since the categorisation of welding fume as carcinogenic by the Health and Safety Executive in 2019.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The training curriculum for postgraduate trainee general practitioners (GPs) is set by the Royal College of General Practitioners and has to meet the standards set by the General Medical Council. Additionally, GPs are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge, including on cancer, remains up-to-date, and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development.
NHS England funds delivery of GatewayC, the leading online early cancer diagnosis e-training resource for GPs and primary care staff. Where relevant, e-learning courses contain a risk factors section, and in the current update of the existing Lung Cancer course, GatewayC has added welding fumes to the risk factor card on 'chemicals and workplace risk'. From the Health and Safety Executive’s guidance, the increased risk is primarily for lung cancer, but there is also some evidence of an increased risk of kidney cancer. The upcoming Urological Cancers course doesn't directly refer to this but has a cover-all statement on workplace risk, stating: 'exposure to certain chemicals at work may increase the risk of bladder and kidney cancer'.
NHS England has also significantly expanded the Lung Cancer Screening Programme, formerly known as the Targeted Lung Health Check. The programme currently operates across more than a quarter of England, prioritising areas with the highest lung cancer mortality and levels of deprivation. Mobile scanning units in community settings, such as supermarket car parks, have helped to improve access and uptake. The programme is on track to offer screening nationally by 2029, with a target to invite at least 50% of the eligible population by March 2026.
Asked by: Richard Baker (Labour - Glenrothes and Mid Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to ensure employers provide the correct PPE for workers who work (a) directly and (b) indirectly with welding fume since the categorisation of welding fume as carcinogenic by the Health and Safety Executive in 2019.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not collect data on the numbers of people directly or indirectly exposed to welding fume.
Asked by: Richard Baker (Labour - Glenrothes and Mid Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will estimate the number of workers exposed (a) directly and (b) indirectly to welding fume since it was categorised as carcinogenic by the Health and Safety Executive in 2019.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not collect data on the numbers of people directly or indirectly exposed to welding fume.
Asked by: Richard Baker (Labour - Glenrothes and Mid Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she has taken to help ensure standardisation across all industrial sectors for protective equipment for workers who work (a) directly and (b) indirectly with welding fume since the categorisation of welding fume as carcinogenic by the Health and Safety Executive in 2019.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published guidance on Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) which specifies RPE types, filters and standards to be used at work, Respiratory protective equipment at work: A practical guide HSG53
The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH) require that businesses risk assess exposure to hazardous substances like welding fume and ensure that appropriate RPE is selected, where required.
Industry sectors and businesses may have different RPE requirements, depending on the type of welding and the work environment.
To assist them in their selection the COSHH Essentials Welding Sheet WL3 gives welders guidance on the appropriate types of mask and grade of filters, suitable for welding, Welding fume control (hse.gov.uk).
HSE conducts regular inspection campaigns targeting the industries where welding is prevalent. Part of the inspection is to check that welders have the appropriate RPE where required.
HSE works with industry stakeholders to promote the guidance and improve safety in welding.
Asked by: Richard Baker (Labour - Glenrothes and Mid Fife)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it his policy to collect data on the number of workers who work (a) directly and (b) indirectly with welding fume who have received diagnosis of (i) nasal, (ii) septum, (iii) throat, (iv) stomach, (v) bowel, (vi) kidney, (vii) liver, (viii) lung and (ix) bladder cancer.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for collection of data of workplace injury and illness. The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013 (RIDDOR) provides the national reporting framework for responsible persons (usually employers, the self-employed and people in control of work premises) to report certain cases of injury, diseases and specified dangerous occurrences to the relevant Enforcing Authority (HSE or Local Authority). Regulation 9 of RIDDOR requires the responsible person to report a diagnosis of any cancer attributed to an occupational exposure to a known human carcinogen in their current job.
When reporting, the responsible person must provide details on the affected person's occupation or job title and a description of the work that led to the disease. This would capture whether the person is a welder and/or carries out welding as part of their job. There is also the option to report the specific type of cancer being diagnosed.
HSE also collects data on occupational cancers through the Health and Occupational Reporting (THOR) network. This includes:
Where available, occupational information such as job title may be recorded, potentially identifying welders.
However, welders may also be exposed to other carcinogens, such as asbestos, during their work so it is difficult to directly link a diagnosis of cancer specifically to exposure to welding fumes.