Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 30 May 2025 to Question 53071 on Youth Mobility Scheme: EU Countries, whether he plans to make further bilateral agreements.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We have existing bilateral agreements with Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Luxembourg, which were negotiated by the previous government. The UK is open to further, fully reciprocal bilateral voting agreements but these would be subject to the detail of future negotiations.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help strengthen the UK’s relationship with Andorra.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK and Andorra have a close bilateral relationship, and celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations in 2024 with an event where Andorran Prime Minister Espot spoke alongside our Ambassador to Andorra. We agreed a Youth Mobility agreement in 2024, and in February 2025 signed a Double Taxation Agreement which should come into force in 2026. We continue to explore further areas of cooperation.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the recent report published by Barnardo’s and the Co-op, Deeper Roots, Stronger Futures: Unlocking the Potential of Food Partnerships with Young People, what assessment have they made of the role of food partnerships in supporting young people; and whether this will be reflected in their upcoming youth strategy.
Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We will review this report as part of our work to develop a new National Youth Strategy. The Strategy is being co-produced with young people and stakeholders working with and for young people, and the breadth of issues it covers will be shaped by our engagement.
The strategy will aim to better coordinate youth services, as well as move away from one-size-fits all approaches from central government, bringing power back to young people and their communities and rebuilding a thriving and sustainable sector. We will be publishing the strategy in the autumn.
Alongside this, The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ food strategy will articulate the outcomes we want from the food system enabling government, civil society, and the food industry to work to shared goals and priorities. Local and place-based approaches will have a key role to play in delivery of these outcomes. The government will continue to work with partners across the food system as we develop our approach.
Asked by: Johanna Baxter (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for its policies of reports of the alleged use of Ukrainian children by Russian forces in attacks on Ukrainian military assets.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In Russia and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, Russian authorities have introduced "military-patriotic" training in schools and in youth groups and expose Ukrainian children to military propaganda, urging enlistment in the Russian armed forces. This is a despicable and systematic attempt to erase Ukrainian identity, and with it, Ukraine's future. We are also aware of reports that Russia is recruiting Ukrainian teenagers and young adults to carry out espionage and sabotage in Ukraine. We are determined to hold those responsible for the militarisation of Ukrainian children to account. In November 2024, we announced a third round of sanctions targeting those attempting to forcibly deport and indoctrinate Ukrainian children, including through the use of "military-patriotic" education.
Asked by: Katie White (Labour - Leeds North West)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to increase access to nature for young people.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to increasing access to nature for all, especially young people. In 2024, Defra invested £4.45 million in a second phase of the Generation Green programme, enabling over 25,000 disadvantaged children and young people to experience the natural environment. While Environmental Land Management schemes don’t specifically target youth, a new three-year capital item supports educational access to farmland and woodland for school groups and care farming initiatives.
Defra also leads a cross-Government Children and Nature Working Group to share best practices on improving outcomes for young people through nature. The £16 million Access for All programme has funded inclusive facilities like pedal and play areas for young people.
Most of the 254,000-hectare public forest estate managed by Forestry England is open to the public, welcoming 313 million visits annually. England’s 15 Community Forests, supported by the Nature for Climate Fund, engage schools and community groups in tree planting and outdoor learning—53% of England’s population lives within 10 miles of one.
Additionally, on 15 May 2025, DCMS announced £4.7 million to increase access to outdoor learning. The competition for the Adventures Away from Home delivery partner is live and closes on 15 July 2025.
Asked by: Marie Goldman (Liberal Democrat - Chelmsford)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take legislative steps to ensure vapes have a minimum number of refill options to be defined as reusable.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs introduced a ban on single use vapes on 1 June, which ensures that all products must be designed and intended to be reused. To be refillable, a product should have a replaceable pod or a tank that a user can add liquid to.
To compliment this and tackle youth vaping, the Department for Health and Social Care is also taking powers through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to enable regulation of many features of the design of a vape. This may include regulations on the size of a tank or refill container, the amount of liquid that can be included, as well as powers to standardise the size and shape of vapes, and to further restrict liquid availability.
The Government will consider this issue further as part of its secondary legislation programme following Royal Assent of the bill.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to consult young people in the development of (a) environmental policy and (b) climate-related decision-making.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government recognises that young people are at the heart of environmental and climate-related decision making and actively considers their views and needs.
This year, Defra collaborated with the Department for Education, Policy Lab and environmental NGOs to invite young people and representative groups to participate in an online ‘Collective Intelligence’ debate to inform our review of the government’s Environmental Improvement Plan.
Defra also works closely with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, who will publish a net zero Public Participation Strategy later this year which will set out how we will empower individuals and communities to take action, whilst ensuring that policies are designed in a way that is responsive to people’s needs, including young people.
As the lead Government department for climate adaptation, we are currently developing our approach to the next National Adaptation Programme. This includes how we will engage with wider society, including with young people, about building resilience to the climate change impacts we are already experiencing.
At the international level. Defra financed the participation of two UK members of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network at COP16 in Cali Colombia in October 2024. At COP29 in 2024, we were the first national government to endorse the Universal Youth Clause in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Asked by: Fabian Hamilton (Labour - Leeds North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to help tackle the impact of the recruitment of children by armed groups on (a) the humanitarian situation and (b) human rights in Colombia.
Answered by Catherine West
The UK Government is concerned by reports of a sharp rise in child recruitment by armed groups in Colombia. The UK is a key member of the UN's Group of Friends of Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) which plays a key role in promoting the protection of children affected by armed conflict, including through preventing recruitment. We align the activity of this multilateral group to the recommendations in the UN Secretary General's annual report on CAAC. We also regularly raise the issue of CAAC in our interventions at the UN Security Council (UNSC). We welcome the progress the Colombian government has made in the consultative phase of its Action Plan on Youth, Peace, and Security which if implemented effectively could help prevent youth and child recruitment. In November 2024, the Minister for Latin America and the Caribbean attended the Violence Against Children Conference in Colombia. At the conference, she discussed with Colombian counterparts how to strengthen the capacity of child protection systems to address significant threats to their wellbeing including in armed conflict.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will (a) uphold funding commitments for (i) the Women’s Integrated Health Services programme and (ii) other sexual and reproductive health and rights programmes and (b) ensure that funding reaches grassroots (A) women, (B) girls and (C) youth-led organisations.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations are being worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, following the decision to reduce UK ODA from 0.5 per cent or gross national income to 0.3 per cent in 2027. Decisions on individual programmes and thematic areas will be based on various factors including equality impact assessments.
Considerations will also take into account the vital role played by grassroots and women, girl and youth-led organisations to protect and advance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the lower price point of very high puff-count vapes on youth vaping.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has not made a direct assessment of the potential impact of the lower price point of high puff-count vapes on youth vaping. However, it is incredibly worrying that 25% of 11 to 15 year old had tried vaping, as of 2023. To address this, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill will ban the advertising of vaping and nicotine products, as well as sponsorship agreements which promote them. It also provides powers to limit flavours, packaging, and displays, and provides powers that allow the Government to regulate the tank sizes and refill containers, and the amount of liquid that can be included. The Government intends to consult on these issues soon after Royal Assent.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs is introducing a ban on single-use vapes, which is defined as a vape that is neither refillable nor rechargeable, and if it has a coil, the coil must be replaceable. This will capture most “big puff” vapes currently on the market.
Alongside this, and to discourage non-smokers and young people from taking up vaping, the Government will be introducing the Vaping Products Duty, which will come into force from 1 October 2026. The duty will be set at a single flat rate of £2.20 per 10 millilitre on all vaping liquid.