Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea 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 ensure compliance with (a) legal limits and (b) targets for (i) benzo[a]pyrene, (ii) nickel, (iii) nitrogen dioxide, (iv) ozone and (v) particulate matter.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are delivering a wide range of actions to drive improvements to air quality:
We continually measure ambient concentrations of a wide range of air pollutants, including ozone, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, particles, hydrocarbons, and metallic pollutants at over 500 urban, suburban, roadside, industrial and rural locations throughout the UK. In September 2023 we published the Air Pollution in the UK 2022 report providing the most comprehensive and complete analytical picture of the UK’s air pollution during 2022, at Air Pollution in the UK report - Defra, UK.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating the use of carbon monoxide alarms in all health settings.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There are no plans to make an assessment. Guidance on ventilation and air filtration systems in National Health Service facilities is provided in Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 03-01: Specialised Ventilation for Healthcare Premises. As with all guidance provided on the NHS estate, it is reviewed on an ongoing basis and will be updated to reflect changes in approach to relevant areas. The memorandum is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HTM0301-PartA-accessible-F6.pdf
There is a range of national resources available to promote carbon monoxide safety. This includes guidance on GOV.UK, the NHS website and from the Health and Safety Executive. The UK Health Safety Agency also has a programme of work, much of it delivered in partnership with other organisations, to increase awareness of carbon monoxide exposure risks and help to prevent them.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating the use of carbon monoxide alarms in all health settings.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to findings in the All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group's report entitled Prepare, Practice, Protect: Improving Carbon Monoxide Safety in Health and Care Services, published July 2023, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for national resources on carbon monoxide funding.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
No recent assessment has been made.
There is a range of national resources available to promote carbon monoxide safety. This includes guidance on GOV.UK, the National Health Service website and from the Health and Safety Executive. The UK Health Security Agency also has a programme of work, much of it delivered in partnership with other organisations, to increase awareness of carbon monoxide exposure risks and help to prevent them.
Asked by: Liz Twist (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to help (a) prevent and (b) diagnose carbon monoxide poisoning in (i) healthcare settings and (ii) the homes of vulnerable people.
Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works with national and local stakeholders, public health partners and Government Departments to develop advice and actions which can be taken to improve diagnosis and prevent accidental exposure to carbon monoxide (CO) in healthcare settings and homes, including the homes of vulnerable people.
It has a programme of work to increase awareness and prevent exposure to CO. This includes participating in the cross-Government group on gas safety and carbon monoxide awareness and providing updated and consistent evidence, for example, for medical professionals diagnosing and managing CO poisoning in patients, and during antenatal checks.
UKHSA produces advice for the public on the risks from CO and regularly issues national press releases to raise public awareness of the dangers. In addition, UKHSA has published research quantifying CO exposure in the population, identifying risk factors for exposure and interventions to reduce the risk to the public.
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholders on requirements for the regulation for carbon monoxide alarms in owner-occupied properties.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
We have introduced legal obligations on both private and social landlords to provide carbon monoxide detectors in their properties and we have amended the statutory guidance (Approved Document J) supporting Part J of the Building Regulations to require that carbon monoxide alarms are fitted alongside the installation of fixed combustion appliances of any fuel type (excluding gas cookers) in all tenures.
We continue to advise homeowners to install carbon monoxide alarms and support the Health and Safety Executive when they recommend these alarms as one useful precaution to give advance warning of carbon monoxide in a property. We also commend the work of the All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group and the Carbon Monoxide and Gas Safety Society.
The latest report from the Cross-government Group on Gas Safety and Carbon Monoxide Awareness can be found at Cross government group on gas safety and carbon monoxide (CO) awareness (hse.gov.uk).
Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with stakeholders on requirements for carbon monoxide alarms in owner-occupied properties.
Answered by Dehenna Davison
We have introduced legal obligations on both private and social landlords to provide carbon monoxide detectors in their properties and we have amended the statutory guidance (Approved Document J) supporting Part J of the Building Regulations to require that carbon monoxide alarms are fitted alongside the installation of fixed combustion appliances of any fuel type (excluding gas cookers) in all tenures.
We continue to advise homeowners to install carbon monoxide alarms and support the Health and Safety Executive when they recommend these alarms as one useful precaution to give advance warning of carbon monoxide in a property. We also commend the work of the All-Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group and the Carbon Monoxide and Gas Safety Society.
The latest report from the Cross-government Group on Gas Safety and Carbon Monoxide Awareness can be found at Cross government group on gas safety and carbon monoxide (CO) awareness (hse.gov.uk).
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment the Government has made of the impact of HMO licensing requirements on compliance with (a) fire, (b) carbon monoxide and (c) gas safety requirements in homes in which asylum seekers are tenants; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of those licensing requirements on such tenants' (i) wellbeing, (ii) physical health and (iii) mental health.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
All licensed houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) are required to comply with mandatory conditions which include a gas safety certificate being presented annually to the local authority; ensuring that a carbon monoxide alarm is installed in any room in the house which is used wholly or partly as living accommodation and contains a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker; and ensuring that a smoke alarm is installed on each storey on which there is a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation.
All asylum accommodation used by the Home Office will remain subject to the Home Office accommodation contracts which set out clear minimum standards for asylum accommodation including fire, carbon-monoxide and gas safety. The Home Office Contracts Assurance team will inspect each HMO property benefitting from licensing exemption at least once in the two-year exemption period to ensure that Service Providers are adhering to the housing quality standards set out in the contracts. All local authorities will retain powers to enforce wider private rented sector standards.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what modelling his Department has carried out to assess the potential impact of its swap to stop policy on the Government's ability to achieve its smoke free 2030 target.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Modelling for our Swap to Stop policy has to date been based on effective pilot schemes across the country. For example, in Salford a pilot successfully engaged with over 1,000 smokers, many of whom were from the most deprived communities. Of those smokers who remained engaged in the four-week scheme, 62% were recorded as having successfully quit, by means of carbon monoxide verification. This is a fourfold increase in the number of successful quitters compared to the equivalent period the year before, when the scheme had not been in operation.
As announced on 11 April 2023, our vision for the new national Swap to Stop scheme is to offer a million smokers a free vaping kit alongside expert behavioural support. The impact of the scheme on our Smokefree 2030 ambition will be further modelled following the completion of the first wave of the programme in the coming months.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what training is given to GPs on the symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
General Practitioners are responsible for ensuring their own clinical knowledge, including on carbon monoxide, remains up-to-date and for identifying learning needs as part of their continuing professional development. This activity should include taking account of new research and developments in guidance, such as that produced by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, to ensure that they can continue to provide high quality care to all patients.