Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed prohibition of upwards-only rent reviews in all commercial property leases contained in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill on (a) institutional finance markets and (b) speculative development funding sources in the context of (i) large scale urban regeneration projects and (ii) other development projects.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government conducted extensive research and engagement before deciding to ban upwards only rent reviews. In the last quarter of 2024, 1 in 7 high street properties were vacant. Whilst we recognise the ban removes a guarantee of return from investors, it will support growth overall by making rents fairer and allowing businesses to access and invest in our High Streets.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will consult with the (a) British Federation of Property and (b) Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors on her proposals to ban upward-only rent reviews in commercial leases in England.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government conducted extensive research and engagement before deciding to ban upwards only rent reviews. We will continue to engage with stakeholders including with the British Property Federation and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to train civil servants in the use of AI.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
DSIT has published guidance and launched training to upskill civil servants in the use of AI. These resources include the AI Playbook for the UK Government offering public services up-to-date guidance on AI technologies, their capabilities and limitations and 70 AI Civil Service Learning courses. The AI Community of Practice builds on this, offering knowledge sharing from teams who have developed AI solutions in government. GDS has built AI content into their Faststream Graduate and TechTrack Apprenticeship upskilling programmes, which are open to Civil Servants. In addition GDS has launched the AI Accelerator, an upskilling pipeline for existing civil servants within the Government Digital and Data profession to gain Machine Learning Engineering skills to work on AI tools.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will (a) reinstate VAT-free shopping for visitors and (b) allow VAT refunds on departure.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government has no plans to introduce a new tax-free shopping scheme in Great Britain.
According to the OBR, the withdrawal of the VAT Retail Export Scheme will save the Exchequer around £540 million per year by 2025-26.
Recent ONS data shows that UK tourism numbers and spending has recovered at a similar rate following the pandemic to other European economies.
The Government has considered analysis supporting the introduction of a new tax-free shopping scheme and found that there is insufficient evidence that a new scheme would have greater benefits to the UK than costs.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how his Department is supporting the (a) delivery and (b) expansion of apprenticeship programmes across Government departments.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office is committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he is encouraging employees in his Department's Scottish offices to attend in person.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government renewed its commitment to the 60% office attendance expectation on 24 October, emphasising the importance of collaboration through face-to-face interactions. This applies to all of the department's offices, including our offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve (a) recruitment and (b) retention within the army reserve.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This Government inherited a recruitment crisis, with targets being missed every year for the past 14 years, and is taking decisive action to get recruitment back on track. This has included the largest pay rise to personnel in decades and scrapping 100 outdated policies that slow recruitment down.
Improving recruitment and retention levels is one of the Army’s top priorities, supported by defence.
Measures in place to increase recruitment into the Army Reserves include a sustained digital and physical marketing campaign; an increased focus on professional training and upskilling courses; and improved financial incentives.
A retention strategy has been launched to address barriers to retention through a holistic set of financial and policy initiatives spanning the entire employee lifecycle.
Further announcements will be made in due course, in line with the future Strategic Defence Review.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Windsor Framework on the economy of the west coast of Scotland.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK internal market and trade between the UK’s four nations is worth around £129bn.
The Windsor Framework ensures Northern Ireland’s businesses have unfettered access to their most important market in Great Britain, including the west coast of Scotland, and the UK internal market system is helping to smooth the flow of trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to help veterans experiencing PTSD find (a) retraining and (b) employment opportunities.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who serve our country. I am leading work across Government and with Civil Society to look at the best ways to ensure veterans and their families get access to the health and employment support they need.
Healthcare, including provision for veterans with mental health and wellbeing needs, is devolved in Scotland. I have met and continue to regularly engage with the Minister responsible for veterans in the Scottish Government. I also work closely with the Scottish Veterans’ Commissioner, who continues to work on improving outcomes for veterans in Scotland. I am committed to regular engagement and am focused to providing the best support to veterans throughout the United Kingdom.
A range of cross-Government employment support is also available to veterans and their families after their time in service. This includes the Ministry of Defence-hosted Career Transition Partnership which is the initial point of resettlement provisions for veterans leaving military service, with directly provided support usually available for two years before and two years after leaving service.
The Government is expanding UK-wide career support for the armed forces community, ensuring support for all veterans, regardless of when they left service. The careers advice service Op ASCEND offer will include a broader range of job support for veterans, helping more into employment and boosting growth under this Government’s Plan for Change. This service will work with industry bodies to make sure businesses are set up to make the most of the talents veterans have to offer, showing how the Government is renewing the contract with those who serve and have served.
We are committed to delivering and expansion of NHS Talking Therapies, increasing the number of sessions available, and increasing the number of people completing a course of treatment by 384,000 by 2028-29.
NHS mental health services are available to support the mental health of people who have experienced trauma in their past or who might have post traumatic stress disorder. They can access evidence-based mental health treatment via their general practitioner or by self-referring to their local NHS Talking Therapies service - details on how to do so are available at: NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression - NHS (www.nhs.uk).
People with complex PTSD may be offered therapies used to treat it, such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy or eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing. They will also be offered treatment for other problems they may have, such as depression.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support army reserve units in Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Department recognises the invaluable contributions made by the Army Reserves to Defence. Ensuring they have adequate support remains both a priority of mine, and the Ministry of Defence.
Paisley is home to the 102 Field Squadron, a subordinate of the 71 Engineer regiment, an Army Reserve regiment of the Royal Engineers.
The 102 Squadron is supported in the same way as all elements of the Army Reserve, including in terms of equipment and medical and welfare support. Engagement with local employers helps to secure their support for their reservists, delivered through the Lowland Reserve Forces and Cadets Association and 51 Infantry Brigade.
Opportunities for high quality, role-related training is directed and delivered by 71 Engineer Regiment to ensure that 102 Squadron is prepared for its military role, whilst also providing personal development opportunities for those that take part in the training.