Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent progress her Department has made on introducing T Levels in (a) hair, beauty and aesthetics, (b) craft and design, (c) media broadcast and production and (d) catering.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department, working closely with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), has been making progress on the four T Levels deferred in 2023.
T Levels in ‘Craft and Design’, and ‘Media, Broadcast and Production’ will be available from this September and providers will receive final specifications in order to prepare for their delivery in due course.
On ‘Hair, Barbering and Beauty Therapy’ and ‘Catering’, the department has continued to engage closely with employers. Next steps for the ‘Hair, Barbering and Beauty Therapy’ route will be announced shortly. For ‘Catering’, IfATE have completed a wider route review of Catering and will be engaging with employers and providers over the coming weeks. The department we will finalise arrangements for this T Level before the summer.
The department has also been ensuring progress is made with regard to T Levels in ‘Animal Care and Management’ and ‘Marketing’, with both proceeding on schedule for delivery in 2024 and 2025 respectively.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to his Department's consultation on Permitted development rights, which closed on 25 September 2023, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of extending permitted development rights in (a) national parks and (b) other protected landscapes to allow the conversion of (i) barns and (ii) other rural buildings for residential use on the ability of national park authorities to support the statutory purpose of national parks to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the area.
Answered by Lee Rowley
We are currently considering the responses received to the consultation, including from stakeholders representing National Parks and other protected areas, and will make further announcements in due course.
Asked by: Charles Walker (Conservative - Broxbourne)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will take steps in his Department's forthcoming national deer management strategy to help ensure the adequacy of (a) capacity to process deer carcasses if culling levels increase and (b) the supply of venison to the (i) private and (ii) public sector in the next five years.
Answered by Rebecca Pow
Defra is working with stakeholders including Grown in Britain, game dealers and shooting and conservation associations to support development of the wild venison supply chain.
This includes facilitating an industry GB Wild Venison Working Group to improve sector resilience, develop branding, traceability and promote the British Quality Wild Venison Standard and exploring opportunities for more public procurement of wild venison, with the aim of increasing overall demand for wild venison. We are also providing funding towards wild venison related projects in a number of our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, through the Farming in Protected Landscapes scheme.
The forthcoming deer management strategy will set out actions that will go further in supporting domestic wild venison.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether, when considering whether an area should be designated or retained as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, they take into account whether they wish more housing to be built there, or whether it is designated purely on environmental, nature and beauty considerations.
Answered by Lord Benyon
To designate an Area of Natural Beauty, Natural England must issue an order under section 82 of the CROW Act for the purpose of conserving and enhancing the natural beauty of that area. The area must meet a set of natural beauty criterion. Based upon the legislation, the designation process includes technical assessment against designation criteria and assessment of the desirability of designating the area. The desirability tests recognise that a designation may have an impact beyond the immediate statutory purpose. As such, consideration is also given to government policy which will influence how AONBs operate in relation to wider policy areas, such as housing, the economy and planning.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the potential impact of telecommunications masts erected under the Shared Rural Network programme on wild land in remote areas of the Scottish Highlands.
Answered by Viscount Camrose
This Government has a responsibility to ensure all parts of the country are able to benefit from the opportunities provided by digital connectivity. The Shared Rural Network (SRN) intentionally has geographic targets in order to tackle this challenge, and ensure the programme remains focused on the most rural parts of the country.
The exact site deployment plans for new masts under the SRN will be managed by the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage targets for the programme.
The MNOs continue to work closely with local communities and planning authorities to ensure new masts go through the proper planning process and are considerate to areas of natural beauty. Planning authorities are responsible for approving applications which form part of the SRN programme and publicly funded masts will be shared by all four MNOs to minimise the impact on the environment.
Asked by: Lord Smith of Finsbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what criteria they have established for the siting of telecommunications masts across the Highlands of Scotland under the Shared Rural Network programme.
Answered by Viscount Camrose
This Government has a responsibility to ensure all parts of the country are able to benefit from the opportunities provided by digital connectivity. The Shared Rural Network (SRN) intentionally has geographic targets in order to tackle this challenge, and ensure the programme remains focused on the most rural parts of the country.
The exact site deployment plans for new masts under the SRN will be managed by the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) themselves in order for them to best deliver the agreed coverage targets for the programme.
The MNOs continue to work closely with local communities and planning authorities to ensure new masts go through the proper planning process and are considerate to areas of natural beauty. Planning authorities are responsible for approving applications which form part of the SRN programme and publicly funded masts will be shared by all four MNOs to minimise the impact on the environment.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Surrey Hills has lost its Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty status.
Answered by Lord Benyon
Natural England, the responsible body for designating Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in England, confirms that the Surrey Hills remain an AONB. There are no plans for it to be de-designated and, in fact, Natural England are currently considering potential extensions to the Surrey Hills AONB boundary. As part of a national rebranding of AONBs to ‘National Landscapes’, the Surrey Hills AONB is now referred to as the Surrey Hills National Landscape but, legally, it remains an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government which body designates areas with Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty status.
Answered by Lord Benyon
Natural England is responsible for the designation of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Asked by: Alexander Stafford (Conservative - Rother Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure patient safety in beauty establishments.
Answered by Maria Caulfield
The Government is using the powers in the Health and Care Act 2022 to introduce a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England. The licensing scheme will help to uphold patient safety by ensuring that those who offer specified procedures are suitably knowledgeable, trained, qualified, hold appropriate indemnity cover and operate from premises which meet the necessary standards of hygiene, infection control and cleanliness.
We recently ran the first public consultation on the scope of the licensing scheme and are currently analysing the responses. We will publish our response in the new year.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will publish a list of global trade shows which her Department has encouraged businesses to attend in each of the last two years.
Answered by Greg Hands
Over the last two financial years (including 2023-24), the Department for Business and Trade has organised international activations for UK export-ready small and medium sized enterprises at over 90 international trade shows listed below.
2022-23 | |
Trade show | Country |
Cannes Lion | France |
Aero India | India |
Arab Health | UAE |
BETT Asia | Malaysia |
Bio Convention - San Diego | USA |
Chemspec Europe | Germany |
DSEI Japan | Japan |
ExpoNaval | Chile |
Fruit Attraction | Spain |
Gulfood (February 2023) | UAE |
IACP | USA |
IDEX | UAE |
Indo Defence | Indonesia |
Indo Pacific | Australia |
Innotrans | Germany |
International Atomic Energy Agency General Conf | Austria |
Intersec | UAE |
Investing in Africa Mining, Indaba | South Africa |
JP Morgan Healthcare conf | USA |
Kidscreen | USA |
Medica | Germany |
Middle East Beauty | France |
Mobile World Congress (MWC) | Spain |
Money 2020 | USA |
International Defence Industry Exhibition MSPO | Poland |
Pitti Uomo | Italy |
Posidonia 2022 | Greece |
Sial | France |
Singapore Fintech Week | Singapore |
SMM Hamburg | Germany |
SOFIC | USA |
South By South West (SXSW) | USA |
Web Summit 2022 | Portugal |
2023-24 | |
Trade show | Country |
AAHAR | India |
Agritechnica | Germany |
Anuga | Germany |
Arab Health | UAE |
Asia Pacific Maritime | Singapore |
Australia Space Policy Forum | Australia |
Bengalaru Tech Summit | India |
BETT Asia | Malaysia |
Big 5 Construction | UAE |
BIO International | USA |
Cannes Lions | France |
Chemspec | Germany |
CPHI | Spain |
Defense & Security | Thailand |
DIMDEX | Qatar |
Dubai Airshow | UAE |
DUPHAT | UAE |
FoodEx | Japan |
GCC Beauty World ME | Dubai |
Global Health Expo | Saudi Arabia |
Global Space & Technology Convention | Singapore |
GULFOOD 2024 | UAE |
IACP | USA |
Indo Pacific | Australia |
InFlavour | Saudi Arabia |
Intersec | UAE |
Investing in Africa Mining Indaba | South Africa |
International Defence Industry Exhibition (MSPO) | Poland |
International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) | Turkey |
Intersec | UAE |
Intersec KSA | Saudi Arabia |
JP Morgan Health Tech | USA |
Kidscreen 2024 | USA |
Kormarine | ROK |
Medica | Germany |
METSTRADE | Netherlands |
Middle East Rail | UAE |
Mobile World Congress | Spain |
Money 2020 | USA |
NorShipping | Norway |
Paris Air Show | France |
PCHI (Personal Care and Homecare Ingredients) | China |
Photonics West | USA |
Pitti Uomo | Italy |
Prowein | Germany |
ReBuild Ukraine | Poland |
Seafood Expo | USA |
Singapore Fintech Week | Singapore |
Singapore Maritime Week | Singapore |
SOF Week | USA |
Space Tech Expo | Germany |
SXSW | USA |
Web Summit | Portugal |
Wind Europe | Denmark |
Wind Europe 2024 | Spain |
World Defense Show | Saudi Arabia |
World New Energy Vehicle Congress | China |
World Nuclear Exhibition | Paris |