Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to help prevent the sale of disposable barbecues in order to protect rural landscapes and wildlife.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The public are encouraged to always behave responsibly when using products which have a fire risk.
There are no plans to prohibit the sale of disposable barbeques or sky lanterns at this time, and there are existing powers available that limit the use in certain places.
Current 'Byelaw' legislation allows for local authorities to restrict the use of disposable barbecues in parks and public spaces. These are steps that Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council among others have already taken. The Government encourages all local authorities to use these existing powers to take similar steps if they feel it necessary.
There are also existing powers in legislation which can be used to regulate and prohibit the lighting of fires on access land in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and National Parks. The New Forest and Peak District National Park Authorities have already banned the use of disposable barbecues within their boundaries and have successfully collaborated with several retailers to remove disposable barbecues from a great many stores.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of banning the sale of disposable barbecues.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The public are encouraged to always behave responsibly when using products which have a fire risk.
There are no plans to prohibit the sale of disposable barbeques or sky lanterns at this time, and there are existing powers available that limit the use in certain places.
Current 'Byelaw' legislation allows for local authorities to restrict the use of disposable barbecues in parks and public spaces. These are steps that Dorset Council and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council among others have already taken. The Government encourages all local authorities to use these existing powers to take similar steps if they feel it necessary.
There are also existing powers in legislation which can be used to regulate and prohibit the lighting of fires on access land in Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and National Parks. The New Forest and Peak District National Park Authorities have already banned the use of disposable barbecues within their boundaries and have successfully collaborated with several retailers to remove disposable barbecues from a great many stores.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential adequacy of current health and safety regulations for (a) practice and (b) training in the beauty industry.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety at Work Act and associated regulations provide an effective framework for securing the health, safety and welfare of those working in beauty industry.
Under health and safety legislation, employers and the self-employed providing beauty treatments are required to identify risks to workers and others from their work activities and take action to manage those risks. In addition, employers are required to take into account the health and safety capabilities of their employees when entrusting them with tasks and ensure that they receive adequate health and safety training. Employers are also required to provide their employees with clear, relevant information on risks to their health and safety and the use of preventive and protective measures.
Asked by: Danny Kruger (Conservative - Devizes)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to (a) support and (b) require landowners to (i) undertake repairs to (A) footpaths, (B) stiles, (C) gates and (D) other rights of way and (ii) improve public access to the countryside under Environmental Land Management schemes.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government supports the health and wellbeing benefits that access to the countryside can bring, including improving physical and mental health and supporting local communities and economies.
Landowners have a statutory duty to keep public rights of way in good working order and therefore this is not covered by Environmental Land Management Schemes, unless they choose to upgrade to provide additional access, e.g. from a stile to a gate via under Countryside Stewardship (option AC1).
Under Countryside Stewardship, we currently pay for the following actions to help improve public access to the countryside:
Public access is also supported by our Landscape Recovery scheme, with projects being assessed for the benefits they will deliver for a wide range of objectives. Under the England Woodland Creation Offer, higher payments are available if woodland is located close to settlements within the 40% most deprived areas in England, or if it will provide new long-term permissive access for recreation.
Additionally, through our Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, we provide funding to support and improve Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks. We pay for projects providing opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage, including permissive access.
We do want to offer further support for access to our countryside, and so under our Environmental Land Management Schemes we are also now exploring how we can pay for:
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve access to the countryside for people who use wheelchairs in England.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has taken steps to improve access to the countryside for people who use wheelchairs in England such as committing to make the England Coast Path as easy to use as possible for those with disabilities. Our Access for All programme has committed £14.5m 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. For example, supporting Miles without Stiles programme to improve accessibility in the Peak District National Park.
Additionally, 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, and creating new permissive paths on farms and estates.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has had discussions with Natural England on options for expanding the freedom to roam to other land types, including woodland and inland waterside.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 provides for a right to roam across open access land, giving the public a right of access to most areas of mountain, moor, heath, down, registered common land and coastal margin. We have no plans to change this. England has an extensive network of footpaths and the public has the ‘right to roam’ over many areas of wild, open countryside.
While we want to increase access to nature, as per Goal 10 of the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023, we also recognise that to restore nature we need to ensure that people can enjoy its beauty responsibly. We also know it is important to recognise the needs of all those who live and work in the countryside.
A broader right to roam would risk trampling rather than protecting our habitats and species, and could also risk harming the livelihoods of our farmers.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department monitors the impact of artificial light levels on wildlife in (a) Merseyside and (b) the UK.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Our legally binding target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 underlines our ambition to protect wildlife across all areas of the UK, including Merseyside.
Artificial light offers valuable benefits for safety and amenity. Defra has funded or co-funded national and international assessments of drivers of change on insects and wider biodiversity such as the global IPBES Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production. This report notes that the effects of artificial light in general on nocturnal insects may be growing.
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. Our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty have some of the best dark skies across Great Britain and attained some of the earliest designations in Europe. Seven of our parks have secured protected dark sky status and we are committed to conserving and celebrating this wonderful experience for all.
HM Government has not made any specific assessment of the impacts of light pollution on insect (or wider wildlife) population trends, but we will continue to work with partners including leading scientists to review the latest studies and ensure we continue to address key threats to biodiversity.
Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities about the impact of light pollution on insect populations; and what steps the Government is taking to reduce light pollution in (a) urban, (b) suburban and (c) rural areas.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
Artificial light offers valuable benefits for safety and amenity. Defra has worked with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to ensure that the National Planning Policy Framework is clear that policies and decisions should limit the impact of light pollution on local amenity, dark landscapes and nature conservation. Our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty have some of the best dark skies across Great Britain and attained some of the earliest designations in Europe. Seven of our parks have secured protected dark sky status and we are committed to conserving and celebrating this wonderful experience for all.
Defra has funded or co-funded national and international assessments of drivers of change on insects and wider biodiversity such as the global IPBES Assessment Report on Pollinators, Pollination and Food Production. This report notes the effects of artificial light in general on nocturnal insects may be growing.
HM Government has not made any specific assessment of the impacts of light pollution or changes in spectrum on insect population trends. We will continue to work closely with researchers, NGOs and across HM Government to improve our understanding of the impacts of light pollution
Protecting insects is a priority, and we are taking action to support them and the wider natural environment of which they are a vital component. Our legally binding target to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 underlines our ambition.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Employer Skills Survey 2019, how many skill-shortage vacancies were reported in England in the (a) creative industries and (b) digital and technology sector; and how many such vacancies were reported in the previous survey.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Employer Skills Survey (ESS) has run biennially since 2011, providing a vital source of intelligence on the skills issues employers face. The survey captures the density and incidence of skills shortage vacancies.
The survey provides a breakdown of all key metrics by 13 sectors.
For the creative industries sector, the closest published sector code is arts and other services. This covers arts, entertainment and recreation and other service activities including performing arts, libraries and museums, gambling and betting, sports facilities, amusement and recreation activities, activities of religious, political, trade union and professional membership organisations, and personal services, such as hairdressing, beauty, textile cleaning, well-being activities and funeral activities. In England, in 2019 there was a total of 8,229 skill shortage vacancies in this sector, and in 2017 there was a total of 12,410 skill shortage vacancies in this sector.
For the digital and technology sector, the closest published sector code is information and communications. This covers television, film and music production, broadcasting, telecommunications, computer programming, publishing, software and computer games and consultancy and information service activities, such as data processing and hosting. In England, in 2019 there were 9,075 skill shortage vacancies in this sector, and in 2017 there was 10,064 skill shortage vacancies in this sector.
In its current format, the ESS is not able to provide representative data for a more granular level of sector than the above. The department is exploring the feasibility of including breakdowns by two and four digit Standard Industrial Classification codes for future publications of the ESS data.
Asked by: Lucy Powell (Labour (Co-op) - Manchester Central)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Employer Skills Survey 2019, how many skill-shortage vacancies were reported in England in the (a) creative industries and (b) digital and technology sector.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The Employer Skills Survey (ESS) has run biennially since 2011, providing a vital source of intelligence on the skills issues employers face. The survey captures the density and incidence of skills shortage vacancies.
The survey provides a breakdown of all key metrics by 13 sectors.
For the creative industries sector, the closest published sector code is arts and other services. This covers arts, entertainment and recreation and other service activities including performing arts, libraries and museums, gambling and betting, sports facilities, amusement and recreation activities, activities of religious, political, trade union and professional membership organisations, and personal services, such as hairdressing, beauty, textile cleaning, well-being activities and funeral activities. In England, in 2019 there was a total of 8,229 skill shortage vacancies in this sector, and in 2017 there was a total of 12,410 skill shortage vacancies in this sector.
For the digital and technology sector, the closest published sector code is information and communications. This covers television, film and music production, broadcasting, telecommunications, computer programming, publishing, software and computer games and consultancy and information service activities, such as data processing and hosting. In England, in 2019 there were 9,075 skill shortage vacancies in this sector, and in 2017 there was 10,064 skill shortage vacancies in this sector.
In its current format, the ESS is not able to provide representative data for a more granular level of sector than the above. The department is exploring the feasibility of including breakdowns by two and four digit Standard Industrial Classification codes for future publications of the ESS data.