Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will publish a breakdown of the allocation of £3million government funding for Operation Joseph.
Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Operation Joseph was established to enforce the rules on vaping, and tackle illicit vapes and underage sales. It supplements work being undertaken by local authorities using existing local government funding. The £3 million of funding has been allocated over two years, from 2023/24 to 2024/25. A grant was provided to the National Trading Standards to commission specific areas of work, and to support local authorities. The following table shows the budget of each work area as of February 2024, as well as the total allocated:
Work Area | Budget |
Business Education | £88,800 |
Professional Training and Upskilling | £164,400 |
Intelligence and Data | £500,000 |
Supporting storage and disposal costs for local authority seizures | £600,000 |
Online test purchasing and website takedowns | £80,000 |
Market Surveillance and testing of vaping products | £140,000 |
Tackling the import of illegal vapes | £1,087,000 |
Programme Governance Communications and Evaluation | £281,000 |
Contingency | £58,800 |
Total Allocated | £3,000,000 |
Note: The figures shown are based on allocations in February 2024, and may be subject to change.
Asked by: Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative - Shrewsbury and Atcham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason her Department has made it compulsory for farmers to provide photographic ID when buying ammonium nitrate.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
On 23rd January 2023, the Home Office laid the Control of Explosives Precursors and Poisons Regulations 2023 to further tighten the controls in place for explosives precursors and poisons to prevent the illicit use of these substances. A full consultation – including with sectors affected by the proposed regulations – was undertaken before the regulations were laid. A summary of the consultation responses was published in Annex A of the impact assessment which was laid alongside the regulations: The Control of Explosives Precursors and Poisons Regulations 2023 (legislation.gov.uk)
From 1st October, ammonium nitrate above 16% nitrogen content will be a regulated explosives precursor under the Poisons Act 1972. Ammonium nitrate has a history of being used in improvised explosive devices in the UK and overseas.
Businesses and professional users, including farmers, will not require a licence to be able to buy or use ammonium nitrate above 16% nitrogen content. However, the 2023 regulations require suppliers to take additional steps to verify the legitimacy of the professional user or business they are selling a regulated substance to. This is in order to prevent sales of potentially dangerous precursors to those seeking to use them for illicit purposes and to provide a further opportunity for businesses to identify any potentially suspicious transactions. There is evidence of individuals trying to obtain substances in the Poisons Act by passing themselves off as businesses and bypassing the regulations.
Before selling a regulated substance to a business customer, the person making the sale must obtain certain information about the business customer they are selling to. This includes requesting a form of photographic ID. Further guidance on this requirement can be found here: Supplying explosives precursors and poisons - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
These requirements apply to all businesses selling any regulated substance to another business.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her planned timeline is for the banning of all sales of horticultural peat.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The Government proposes to restrict and ultimately ban the sale of peat and peat-containing products used in horticulture. Such a ban would make controls on extraction unnecessary. We propose to ban the retail sale of peat, accounting for around two thirds of peat sold, from 2024 when parliamentary time allows.
At the same time, we will legislate for exemptions for professional growers to allow time for technical barriers to be overcome and peat-free alternatives to be further developed. We are minded to permit such exemptions until 2030, with no restriction on professional use until after 2026.
Between 2027 and 2030, exemptions will be targeted on certain plant types and production methods where peat cannot be readily replaced. We will work with the sector to frame the exact nature of these exemptions based on the latest evidence.
Finally, we propose a conservation exemption, to ensure that peat continues to be available for the safeguarding of vulnerable or endangered plant species where there is no other reliable growing media. This exemption will not be time limited.
We believe this phased approach will protect the production of edible food stuffs, and the production of specialist trees and other ornamental horticultural products, while preventing the unnecessary extraction of peat both in England and abroad and protecting the livelihoods of those working in the horticultural sector.
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 support farmers to reduce the use of antibiotics.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra is a co-signatory with the Department of Health and Social Care of the UK's Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) 5-year National Action Plan (2019-2024) and the UK's 20 year Vision to Contain and Control AMR by 2040, documents which set out the UK's short and long term goals for mitigating the threat of AMR. A key ambition of these strategies is the appropriate use of antibiotics in humans and animals so that they continue to be an effective tool to treat infections when needed.
The UK Government is committed to reducing the unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals while safeguarding animal welfare. It has been our position for many years that we do not support the routine or predictable use of antibiotics, including where antibiotics are used to compensate for inadequate farming practices. We seek to reduce veterinary antibiotic prescribing through a combination of approaches, including improved biosecurity, stockmanship and good farming practices, disease prevention (including vaccination) and use of diagnostics. To date in the UK, collaborative working between government, the veterinary profession and the agriculture sectors to focus on these issues has resulted in our national sales of veterinary antibiotics reducing by 55% since 2014, and in 2021 we recorded the lowest antibiotic use to date.
Over the years the Government has supported several stewardship programmes to encourage the responsible use of antibiotics in animals, including Farm Vet Champions, a major collaborative project supported by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and spearheaded by RCVS Knowledge, to empower the veterinary community to tackle AMR by providing resources and continued professional development materials.
Directly linked to our commitment to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics in animals is a commitment to strengthening animal health and welfare standards. Central to this commitment will be delivering practical support to farmers through the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, an initiative co-designed with farmers, vets, academics and national experts in the sector. The first step on the Pathway, the Annual Health and Welfare Review (copy attached) has now launched. Eligible farmers can now register an Expression of Interest in a visit by a vet-led team to carry out a yearly on-farm review of animal health and welfare. This includes carrying out diagnostic testing, reviewing biosecurity and the use of medicines, as well as bespoke advice on actions to improve the health and welfare.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to commission research into harmful side-effects arising from insecticides (1) used in agriculture and horticulture, (2) applied directly to farm animals, and (3) sold directly to the public in many commercial outlets.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
HM Government’s first priority with regard to pesticides – including insecticides – is to make sure that they will not harm people or pose unacceptable risks to the environment. Defra currently funds a range of research projects exploring the impacts of pesticides. Research commissioned by Defra investigating the chronic toxicity of insecticide thiamethoxam on honeybees was recently completed, as was a research project to better understand baseline levels of pesticides in foxes and hedgehogs and the potential impacts of pesticides on the health of these mammals. Both project reports are due early 2023.
Additionally, research assessing the exposure of honeybees to pesticides through the National Honey Monitoring Scheme is ongoing. We have also commissioned research into the sales of pesticides online, with a report expected in 2022. This project looks at the marketing of professional pesticide products online to those who do not hold the necessary qualifications to use them, raising the risk of harmful side-effects of use.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) apprenticeships and (b) traineeships were started in each month of 2021 in the (a) HGV driver, (b) nursing, (c) home and other types of carer, (d) nursery and primary education, (e) professional chef, (f) sales and retail assistant, (g) cleaners and (h) butcher and slaughter professions.
Answered by Alex Burghart - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The attached table contains apprenticeship starts, reported to date, for the provisional 2020/21 full academic year for selected apprenticeship standards and frameworks. Please note that these reflect the subject of the apprenticeship and do not necessarily align with the profession of the apprentice. These are provisional figures and subject to change – finalised figures will be published in November 2021. Figures for all apprenticeship starts are published here: https://content.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/api/releases/922d9d6b-8a91-428f-8133-0dc5425b9cd5/files/0785fe06-5be8-42b8-7aff-08d9826bde18.
For traineeships, whilst our data allows us to identify learners undertaking work experience, it is not possible for us to identify the profession involved. In the first three quarters of the 2020/21 academic year (August to April), reported to date, there were 13,600 traineeship starts in England, an increase of 23.8% from the equivalent point in 2019/20.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of progress in implementing the recommendations of the 2003 Competition Commission Report on supply of Veterinary Medicines; and what the implementation outcome is for each of the recommendations, including reasoning for those that have not been implemented.
Answered by Lord Benyon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All recommendations were implemented.
1 & 9
The Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR) provide four distribution categories, based on the perceived risk of a veterinary medicine and striking the right balance between appropriate controls and availability.
'Prescription Only Medicines - Veterinarian' (POM-V) require prescribing by a vet for animals under their care, following clinical assessment. POM-V covers those products containing narcotic or psychotropic substances or requiring veterinary diagnosis/clinical assessment. Clients may request a prescription which can be dispensed elsewhere.
'POM - Veterinarian, Pharmacist, Suitably Qualified Person' (POM-VPS) and 'Non-Food Animal-VPS' products can be prescribed and/or supplied by vets, pharmacists or SQPs; without clinical assessment but with point-of-sale advice.
'Authorised Veterinary Medicine - General Sales List' category covers products with safety profiles allowing distribution across a range of retailers.
7
The distribution category is assessed during the veterinary medicine application procedure. Factors considered in deciding the category include the need for clinical diagnosis, point-of-sale advice, administration route, nature of the product/active substance and safety profile. Cost is not considered as the scope is limited to the safety of the product for both the animal and people handling the product.
8 & 3
The EU centralised procedure is compulsory for products containing a new active substance, constituting significant therapeutic/scientific/technical innovation, or where a marketing authorisation (MA) is in the interest of animal health at EU level. These products are classified 'Prescription-Only' as their novelty represents an increased risk. The UK had the flexibility to assign one of its distribution categories, based on increased knowledge of the product's safety profile. Under the Northern Ireland Protocol the EU centralised system will still apply in Northern Ireland.
5
The Veterinary Products Committee (VPC) reviewed products over seven categories, recommending the appropriate distribution category. In some cases, this required removal of indications to support the products being more freely available via a lower distribution classification.
6
MA holders can apply to change the category. This will be considered by the VPC unless they previously advised on category changes for comparable products.
4
The VMD may grant, without requiring a full dossier, an MA for an EU-authorised medicine for import into the UK under Parallel Import provisions, provided the applicant demonstrates it is identical to a UK-authorised medicine for food-producing species, or therapeutically identical to a UK-authorised medicine for companion animals. The VMD requests a detailed description of the product's intended re-labelling.
10
An MA is initially valid for five years, after which it may be renewed upon re-evaluation of the risk-benefit balance. Once renewed, the MA is valid indefinitely unless pharmacovigilance raises concerns.
11
The VMD publishes standards and transparent targets around the assessment processes - something recognised and welcomed by industry. The VMD encourages companies to consult on their proposed MA application, particularly for exceptional MAs, prior to submission or during the process itself. After EU Exit the VMD introduced additional MA options - national-only or in parallel with an EU application to better utilise company resources.
2
The RCVS Code of Professional Conduct contains a chapter on fair trading requirements. This includes provision of information on medicine prices.
Asked by: Stephen Flynn (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much emergency covid-19 funding the Government has provided to (a) professional, (b) semi-professional, (c) amateur and (d) youth football in England since the start of the outbreak.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Sports and physical activity providers and facilities are at the heart of our communities, and play a crucial role in supporting adults and children to be active.
Government has provided unprecedented support to businesses through tax reliefs, cash grants and employee wage support, which many sport clubs have benefited from. An income scheme announced in July by the Secretary of State for Local Government, aims to support local authorities who have incurred irrecoverable loss of income from sales, fees and charge which they had reasonably budgeted for. On 22 October, the Government announced a £100m support fund for local authority leisure centres. In addition, Sport England’s Community Emergency Fund has also provided £210 million directly to support community sport clubs and exercise centres through this pandemic.
We are continuing to work with organisations to understand what they need and how we may be able to support them.
Asked by: Lord Mendelsohn (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the Pre Pack Pool Oversight Group’s suggestion that the Pre Pack Pool is “unsustainable” unless referrals of pre-pack sales to the Pool are made mandatory.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There has been a very low number of referrals to the Pre-Pack Pool which was set up by industry to provide opinions on a voluntary basis on pre-pack sales in administration to connected parties.
However, the Government continues to work with regulators and industry stakeholders to discuss options for strengthening the professional standards for insolvency practitioners to give greater assurance to creditors where a sale is to a connected party.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what volume of peat and peat-based products were sold in each of the last five years; what volume of peat was extracted from the UK in each of the last five years; and what volume of peat was imported from the Republic of Ireland in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park
In 2015 2.1 million cubic metres of peat were sold in growing media products in the UK. Data was not collected for 2016 and 2017. Sales data for 2018 is currently being compiled and 2019 data will be collected later this year.
Of the peat sold in growing media products in 2015, 0.9 million cubic metres were extracted in the UK and 1.1 million cubic metres were extracted in the Republic of Ireland. The remaining 0.1 million cubic metres were extracted in other EU countries. This data comes from the same survey which gathered data for 2018 and 2019 and data will be available for subsequent years on this basis.
The forthcoming data will allow us to assess progress towards the phasing out of peat in both the retail and commercial horticulture markets. However, this data will not include some significant market changes this year with the introduction of new peat-free and products with significantly reduced peat content by major retailers and brands. Data from 2020 sales will be collected in 2021.
The Government is committed to phasing out the use of peat in horticulture in England by 2030. In 2011 we introduced a voluntary target for amateur gardeners to phase out the use of peat by 2020 and a final voluntary phase-out target of 2030 for professional growers of fruit, vegetables and plants. While some progress has been made, we stated in the 25 Year Environment Plan that we would consider implementing further measures if there is insufficient movement to peat alternatives by 2020. We will set out our plans around the use of peat in horticulture in due course.