Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has allocated funding to (a) initiatives and (b) organisations that promote the use of the term chestfeeding.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department funds infant feeding services and support through the National Health Service, local authorities, and the National Breastfeeding Helpline.

We want all families to be able to achieve their infant feeding goals, regardless of their circumstances, and infant feeding support and advice should be available to anyone who needs it.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department last reviewed NHS Blood and Transplant’s donor eligibility policy on the use of unlicensed injectable substances.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The safety of blood is of the upmost importance. The Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 mandate permanent deferral from blood donation for anyone with a history of non-prescribed intravenous or intramuscular drug use, with further information available in the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005, at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/50/schedule/part/3/paragraph/2n3

The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs, which provides expert advice to all the United Kingdom’s governments, conducted a full review of the donor selection criteria in 2017. This includes the use of unlicensed injectable substances.

The Joint United Kingdom (UK) Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services’ Professional Advisory Committee provides expert guidance to the UK blood services. Their Whole Blood and Component Donor Selection Guidelines, which includes the guidance relating to injectable tanning agents, were last updated on 18 July 2025.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that NHS Blood and Transplant donor exclusion policies (a) reflect up-to-date medical evidence and (b) do not unnecessarily restrict donor participation.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

NHS Blood and Transplant’s (NHSBT) donor selection criteria are based on advice provided by the Joint United Kingdom (UK) Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services’ Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC). JPAC regularly reviews its guidelines to reflect the latest evidence. Their Whole Blood and Component Donor Selection Guidelines were last updated on 18 July 2025.

Based on the recommendations of the For the Assessment of Individualised Risk Steering Group, the Government updated the blood donor selection criteria in 2021, thereby providing more opportunities for people to give blood.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of replacing the lifetime blood donation deferral for people who have used tanning injections with a fixed-term exclusion period similar to those in place for (a) tattoos and (b) piercings.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are no plans to update the deferral policy for tanning injections. Unlike tattooing and piercing, tanning injections are not well regulated. Given injectable tanning products work internally, they do not meet the definition of a cosmetic product and are therefore not regulated via the UK Cosmetic Regulation. Regulation ensures safety standards are maintained to reduce the risk of transmitting a blood-borne infection.

To protect the safety of the patient who receives the blood donation, the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 mandate permanent deferral from blood donation for anyone with a history of non-prescribed intravenous or intramuscular drug use, as per the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/50/schedule/part/3/paragraph/2n3

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed international students levy on economic growth in (a) Leicester, (b) the East Midlands and (c) the United Kingdom; and if she will ensure the policy is reviewed prior to implementation.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The international student levy will fund the reintroduction of targeted maintenance grants for disadvantaged students to break down barriers to opportunity through our Plan for Change.

This will help support more students from the lowest income households progress into and excel in higher education. This will also support our national Opportunity Mission, through which the government is breaking the damaging link between background and success.

The government will set out further details on the levy at Autumn Budget.

We expect the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. Our world-class higher education sector can offer a fulfilling and enjoyable experience to international students from around the world.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed international students levy on the competitiveness of UK universities.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The international student levy will fund the reintroduction of targeted maintenance grants for disadvantaged students to break down barriers to opportunity through our Plan for Change.

This will help support more students from the lowest income households progress into and excel in higher education. This will also support our national Opportunity Mission, through which the government is breaking the damaging link between background and success.

The government will set out further details on the levy at Autumn Budget.

We expect the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. Our world-class higher education sector can offer a fulfilling and enjoyable experience to international students from around the world.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that local authority taxi and private hire licensing enforcement policies are brought into line with the Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

We are currently reviewing licensing authorities’ compliance with existing guidance issued by the Department on actions they should take on licensing matters including safety. Where key safety recommendations from the guidance are not being followed, licensing authorities will be held to account.