Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will hold discussions with relevant stakeholders in the beauty and aesthetics sector on developing a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The Government intends to publish a public consultation on proposals for the scope of the treatments to be included within the licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures later this summer. The Department continues to meet regularly with stakeholders to discuss the scope and development of the licensing scheme. As part of this work, I held a roundtable discussion with a broad range of stakeholders on 14 June. The Department will also work with stakeholders to determine the education and training requirements that practitioners will have to meet, alongside hygiene, cleanliness and indemnity requirements, to demonstrate that they can practise safely.
Asked by: Vicky Foxcroft (Labour - Lewisham, Deptford)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the National Disability Strategy published on 28 July 2021, which of her Department’s commitments in that strategy that have not been paused as a result of legal action have (a) been fully, (b) been partially and (c) not been implemented.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In January 2022, the High Court declared the National Disability Strategy (NDS) was unlawful because the UK Disability Survey, which informed it, was held to be a voluntary consultation that failed to comply with the legal requirements on public consultations.
The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs had the following commitments included in the National Disability Strategy:
Work on the King Charles III England Coast Path is progressing with over 850 miles now open to the public. At 2,700 miles, when complete it will be the longest waymarked and maintained coastal walking route in the world. We are making the King Charles III England Coast Path as accessible as possible and have recently approved proposals that have included a brand-new wheelchair-friendly ramp to a popular seawall walkway in Essex, a 600m accessible boardwalk on the Wirral and significant improvements to a well-used stretch of the South West Coast Path which will improve the width, surface quality and gradient of the existing trail.
We are continuing work designating Wainwright’s existing coast to coast path across the North of England as a new National Trail by 2025.
Our Access for All programme has committed £14.5m of funding to make targeted access improvements in our protected landscapes, national trails, forests and the wider countryside, to help bring the benefits of spending time in nature to everyone. More than £3.5m has already been spent on making our protected landscapes more accessible, including on: resurfacing paths; replacement of stiles with accessible gates; new benches and resting stops; accessible viewing platforms and the provision of new all-terrain trampers to support disabled people to access the countryside. The Government has extended its Farming in Protected Landscapes programme to improve accessibility in our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including installing interpretation panels, replacing gates and stiles to improve access for people who use wheelchairs.
The Green Social Prescribing programme which closed in March 2023 achieved over 7,000 referrals to nature-based activities over the course of the programme, and the evidence suggests that the programme has had a very strong service take-up compared with traditional mental health support services. We are committed to supporting the scale-up of green social prescribing across England, as confirmed in our Environmental Improvement Plan.
We remain fully committed to supporting disabled people in the UK through creating more opportunities, protecting their rights and ensuring they fully benefit from, and can contribute to, every aspect of our society. To support this, the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs will be providing further details of our recent achievements to improve disabled people’s lives in the forthcoming Disability Action Plan consultation due for publication in the summer.
Ahead of this, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work will write providing a list of these achievements and will place a copy in the House Library.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the National Disability Strategy published on 28 July 2021, which of her Department’s commitments in that strategy that have not been paused as a result of legal action have (a) been fully, (b) been partially and (c) not been implemented.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
In January 2022, the High Court declared the National Disability Strategy (NDS) was unlawful because the UK Disability Survey, which informed it, was held to be a voluntary consultation that failed to comply with the legal requirements on public consultations.
The Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs had the following commitments included in the National Disability Strategy:
Work on the King Charles III England Coast Path is progressing with over 850 miles now open to the public. At 2,700 miles, when complete it will be the longest waymarked and maintained coastal walking route in the world. We are making the King Charles III England Coast Path as accessible as possible and have recently approved proposals that have included a brand-new wheelchair-friendly ramp to a popular seawall walkway in Essex, a 600m accessible boardwalk on the Wirral and significant improvements to a well-used stretch of the South West Coast Path which will improve the width, surface quality and gradient of the existing trail.
We are continuing work designating Wainwright’s existing coast to coast path across the North of England as a new National Trail by 2025.
Our Access for All programme has committed £14.5m of funding to make targeted access improvements in our protected landscapes, national trails, forests and the wider countryside, to help bring the benefits of spending time in nature to everyone. More than £3.5m has already been spent on making our protected landscapes more accessible, including on: resurfacing paths; replacement of stiles with accessible gates; new benches and resting stops; accessible viewing platforms and the provision of new all-terrain trampers to support disabled people to access the countryside. The Government has extended its Farming in Protected Landscapes programme to improve accessibility in our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including installing interpretation panels, replacing gates and stiles to improve access for people who use wheelchairs.
The Green Social Prescribing programme which closed in March 2023 achieved over 7,000 referrals to nature-based activities over the course of the programme, and the evidence suggests that the programme has had a very strong service take-up compared with traditional mental health support services. We are committed to supporting the scale-up of green social prescribing across England, as confirmed in our Environmental Improvement Plan.
We remain fully committed to supporting disabled people in the UK through creating more opportunities, protecting their rights and ensuring they fully benefit from, and can contribute to, every aspect of our society. To support this, the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs will be providing further details of our recent achievements to improve disabled people’s lives in the forthcoming Disability Action Plan consultation due for publication in the summer.
Ahead of this, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work will write providing a list of these achievements and will place a copy in the House Library.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when she expects the official designation of parts of the East Riding of Yorkshire as an area of outstanding natural beauty to be made; if she will set out a timeframe for achieving that status; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Natural England, the statutory advisor to Government on landscape, is progressing the multi-year landmark designation programme announced in the summer 2021 which includes the consideration of two new AONBs, in the Yorkshire Wolds within North and East Yorkshire, the Cheshire Sandstone Ridge, and extensions to the Surrey Hills and Chilterns Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The consideration of the four designation are for the first time in decades being project managed concurrently and the full programme is expected to be completed by 2025.
Asked by: Yasmin Qureshi (Labour - Bolton South East)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of creating protections for landscapes featured in classic works of literature under planning rules.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
While literary landscapes are not subject to a separate designation within the planning system, they are protected more generally through the National Planning Policy Framework. For example, the Framework states that planning policies and decisions should recognise the character and beauty of the countryside, and local authorities are expected to protect heritage assets which can include landscapes.
Asked by: Justin Madders (Labour - Ellesmere Port and Neston)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of energy costs on the hair and beauty sector; and what meetings (a) she and (b) officials in her Department has had with business leaders from that sector on energy costs.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We recognise the importance of hair and beauty businesses and their significant challenges with energy costs. We meet regularly with businesses through ministerial roundtables and official-level engagement.
The Government has introduced a range of measures to support businesses with energy costs including the £18bn Energy Bill Relief Scheme, the Energy Bills Discount Scheme, and the Energy Advice Service. I have also written to Ofgem to discuss small business’ relationships with their energy suppliers and encourage fair treatment.
Asked by: Selaine Saxby (Conservative - North Devon)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the potential for an extremely hot and dry summer season in 2023, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the risk of wildfires; and when the findings of her Department’s research into the fire and environmental risks of sky lanterns and disposable BBQs will be published.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government has a key role to play in making our natural landscapes resilient to the risks posed by wildfire.
We are working with Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Park Authorities and other Government departments to promote a series of guidance videos to educate users about travelling to and spending time outdoors safely in the wider countryside. This includes an updated Countryside Code which advises not to have barbecues or fires.
In 2021 we supported the development of a new accredited training programme, designed to consolidate knowledge, skills and understanding of vegetation fires including wildfire incidents. Within the first two years more than 800 prevention and response modules have been completed by public and private land managers.
The Government has committed further funding for the next two years and we continue to work closely with a range of stakeholders including land managers, the Forestry Commission, NFU, ENGOs and the National Fire Chiefs Council to embed this training across England, and to identify and respond to further training requirements.
Research into the environmental impacts of single use barbecues and sky lanterns concluded in March. We are currently considering next steps which we aim to finalise soon.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to protect and preserve landscapes with a distinct literary heritage and value.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Many of our most precious literary landscapes are protected in law as National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs). In England, there are 10 National Parks and 34 AONBs. Together, they cover nearly 25% of land in England. These places are designated in statute for their natural beauty which provided the inspiration and the settings for some of our greatest works of literature. There are also some good examples of literary considerations in landscape character assessments, including Natural England’s National Character Areas, which reference these associations across England’s landscapes.
These designated landscapes are all managed to conserve and enhance their important cultural associations, including relevant literature and the sites which inspired it, as key components of the natural beauty of the area. For instance, the Lake District National Park celebrates its close links to and the inspiration it provided for the great British Romantic Movement, including authors such as Wordsworth and the other Lakes Poets, as well as the much loved children’s authors Beatrix Potter and Arthur Ransome (Swallows and Amazons). Exmoor National Park actively promotes its links with Robert Blackmore’s ‘Lorna Doone’. The Dorset, Blackdown Hills and Cranbourne Chase AONBs all rightly celebrate their associations with Thomas Hardy and help conserve and enhance the settings for his novels.
Literary associations are also celebrated and conserved in some of the England’s World Heritage sites. The Lake District World Heritage Site was designated in part due to the fact that it is “A landscape which has inspired artistic and literary movements and generated ideas about landscapes that have had a global influence and left its physical mark” and the Management Plan for this site emphasises the importance of its literary associations.
In addition, nearly 400,000 heritage assets – many of them located within the boundaries of National Parks and AONBs – benefit from statutory protection in their own right as Listed Buildings or Scheduled Monuments. Often such assets have strong literary associations – for instance, Stonehenge (protected as a Scheduled Monument) famously provided the setting for the tragic climax of Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles, while Max Gate (protected as a Listed Building) survives as the house Hardy designed and had built in Dorchester, and in which he wrote this and several of his other classics. These are but two of several such examples.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans to revise the powers given to telecommunications companies to erect phone masts in order to give greater protection to land within or adjacent to Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty which already have sufficient mobile phone signal.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to providing the necessary digital infrastructure across the UK to ensure that people and businesses have the connectivity they need, and in the years ahead. The changes we made to planning law in England in 2022 will help to extend and improve mobile coverage, including supporting our £1 billion Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme.
However, it is important that the delivery of network infrastructure is balanced with environmental considerations. Planning legislation allows for planning authorities to assess the impact of certain infrastructure, such as new masts, and decide whether it is appropriate for the proposed location. There are also greater restrictions and limitations on network development in more sensitive locations, such as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Operators are required to minimise the visual impact of network infrastructure in these areas.
In addition to this, the Code of Practice for Wireless Network Development in England sets out how operators and planning authorities can work collaboratively to ensure that network deployment is carried out in a way that provides positive benefits to communities, whilst respecting the sensitive nature of protected areas.
The Government also supports the view that operators should use existing structures and buildings for hosting infrastructure, and share sites where possible, to reduce the environmental impact of installation. The SRN in particular is a sustainable approach to the challenge of delivering rural mobile coverage and will transform 4G coverage without duplicating infrastructure, minimising the impact on our countryside.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made on the impact of light pollution on the environment in areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and surrounding areas.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Our National Parks (NP) and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) have some of the best dark skies across Great Britain and attained some of the earliest dark sky designations in Europe. 53% of our darkest skies are in NPs and AONBs, demonstrating the vital role these places play, and seven of our NPs and AONBs have been internationally recognised for their dark skies and are managed in ways that conserve dark skies for the benefit of people and wildlife.
Defra has worked with other government departments to ensure that the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that policies and decisions should limit the impact of light pollution on local amenities, dark landscapes and nature conservation. We continue to work with partners including leading scientists to review the latest studies and ensure we continue to address key threats to biodiversity.