Written questions by Mayer.

What recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a maximum workplace temperature.

Awaiting answer.

What impact the Pension Commission will have for residents in (a) Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency and (b) Bedfordshire.

This government is committed to enabling tomorrow’s pensioners to have security in retirement. The Pensions Investment Review and the Pension Schemes Bill currently going through Parliament both focus on ensuring the pension pots of savers in Bedfordshire and throughout the UK are working as hard as they can – for average earners saving in a DC workplace pension over their career this could mean up to £29,000 more in retirement pots. The Pensions Commission has been revived to consider what is required in the long term to deliver financial security in retirement through a pensions framework that is stronger, fairer and more sustainable for people up and down the country.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact the Pension Schemes Bill on the savings of people in (a) Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard constituency and (b) East of England.

The Pension Schemes Bill could mean nationally an average earner saving over their career may have around £29,000 more in their Defined Contribution pension pot at retirement. In total, around 20 million savers could benefit from the Bill and around 2 million are estimated to be in the East of England. Breakdowns by constituency are not available. See page 52-53 of the Pension Schemes Bill Impact Assessment for further details.

What estimate her Department has made of the number of stay-at-home mothers in (a) Bedfordshire and (b) the East of England who claimed Child Benefit between 1978 and 2000 and may have missed out on receiving a full State Pension due to missing Home Responsibilities Protection or National Insurance credits.

The Department estimates in total there are around 210,000 people with State Pension underpayments due to missing Home Responsibilities Protection on their National Insurance record DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 (HTML) - GOV.UK. Geographical breakdowns are not available.

What steps her Department is taking to consult with young people with autism during the development of the Youth Employment Strategy.

We know that young people with autism can face significant barriers to seeking and remaining in employment. We have ambitious plans to better support our young people to lead fulfilling lives and careers as set out in the Get Britain Working white paper and Pathways to Work green paper. The government is committed to consulting with stakeholders, including young people with health conditions and those who are neurodivergent. We will run a series of collaboration committees with a wide range of stakeholders. We are also in the process of establishing the Disability Advisory Panel to connect the Department to more voices and perspectives and improve how we collaborate with disabled people. The Disability Advisory Panel will be a strategic advisory panel consisting of up to 12 disabled people and individuals with long-term health conditions, supporting on longer-term strategic aims and specific policy design. We will finalise the workplan together with the Chair and Panel. The Youth Advisory Guarantee Panel as part of the Youth Guarantee is being shaped and informed by the voices and lived experiences of young people, including autistic and neurodiverse young people, building on the Youth Voice Forum, established in collaboration with the Department for Education, Youth Futures Foundation and Youth Employment UK. In addition, in January 2025, we launched an independent panel of academics with expertise and experiences of neurodiversity to advise employers and government on boosting neurodiversity awareness and inclusion at work. This will build on the work of the independently led Buckland Review which focused more specifically on autism employment. The panel will report in the summer.

Whether her Department is taking steps to strengthen restrictions on the use of rodenticides in order to reduce exposure to non-target wildlife.

Rodenticide products are regulated under the Great Britain Biocidal Products Regulations (GB BPR). Under this legislation, evaluations of the safety of biocides to humans, animals and the environment are carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on behalf of Ministers. The Rodenticides Stewardship Scheme was developed by The Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use UK to further promote responsible use by the three groups of professional users (pest controllers, farmers and gamekeepers). Compliance with the scheme and its principles is a legal requirement as part of the authorisation and use of rodenticide products. The scheme is overseen by the Government Oversight Group for Rodenticide Stewardship (GOG), chaired by HSE and includes representatives from relevant government departments and agencies. The GOG is conducting a review to consider how rodenticide stewardship in the UK can be strengthened. It will consider all relevant and appropriate evidence. The detailed work of this review is expected to be completed in 2025.

What the completion status is of each (a) key delivery objective and (b) activity in the UK REACH work programme for 2023-24.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), acting as the UK REACH Agency, submitted to Defra in April this year their annual report which detailed the completion status of key delivery objectives and activities contained in the 2023-24 UK REACH work programme. Once approved by Ministers, the annual report will be published on HSE’s website.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 July 2024 to Question 728 on Working Conditions: Temperature, when her Department plans to bring forward proposals for consultation on workplace temperatures.

The government remains committed to modernising health and safety guidance, including addressing workplace temperatures. In ‘Next steps to Make Work Pay’ published on 10 October the government acknowledged that some reforms will take longer to undertake and implement. We have committed to bring forward this review in due course.