Alison Thewliss
Scottish National Party - Former Member for Glasgow Central
First elected: 7th May 2015
Left House: 30th May 2024 (Dissolution)
8 APPG memberships (as of 30 May 2024)
Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax, Fair Business Banking, Fairgrounds and Circuses, Fuel Poverty and Energy Efficiency, Immigration Detention, Infant Feeding and Inequalities, Students, Yemen73 Former APPG memberships
Afghanistan, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Bahá'í Faith, Basketball, Birth Trauma, British Hindus, British Sikhs, Broadband and Digital Communication, Building Communities, Cameroon, Channel 4, Conception to Age Two - First 1001 Days, Domestic Violence, Domestic Violence and Abuse, Drug Policy Reform, Excluded UK, Fairs and Showgrounds, Financial Markets and Services, Gaps in Support, Haemophilia and Contaminated Blood, Hazaras, HIV and AIDS, Home Electrical Safety, Hospitality, Hospitality and Tourism, Inclusive Growth, Indo-British, Industrial Heritage, International Students, Jazz, Jazz Appreciation, Kabaddi, Leasehold and Commonhold Reform, Limits to Growth, Lithuania, Liver Disease and Liver Cancer, Loneliness, Malawi, Markets, Maternity, Mortgage Prisoners, Museums, Ovarian Cancer, Refugees, Responsible Tax, Sex Equality, Sexual Violence, Sikhs, Slovakia, Smart Cities, Social Media, Somaliland, Sport, Stem Cell Transplantation, Stem Cell Transplantation and Advanced Cellular Therapies, Sustainable Built Environment, Swimming, Tackling Loneliness and Connected Communities, Terminal Illness, Theatre, Ticket Abuse, United Nations Women, Universal Credit, University, Unpaid Work Trials, Votes at 16, Water Safety, Whistleblowing, White Ribbon Campaign, White Ribbon UK, Women in Parliament, Women's Health, Working at HeightDivision Voting information
Alison Thewliss voted No - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 1 Scottish National Party No votes vs 2 Scottish National Party Aye votes
Tally: Ayes - 9 Noes - 10
All Debates
Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
Sparring Partners
(73 debate interactions)
(69 debate interactions)
Department Debates
(645 debate contributions)
(359 debate contributions)
(180 debate contributions)
(170 debate contributions)
Legislation Debates
(32,861 words contributed)
(26,272 words contributed)
(20,987 words contributed)
(15,375 words contributed)
Latest EDMs signed by Alison Thewliss
Skin cancer awareness month
Tabled by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)That this house recognises the importance of skin cancer awareness month in educating the public on the harms of the sun; recognises that sunscreen is an essential health item, and not a luxury to be used just on holidays; notes that almost 90% of melanomas are preventable, so it is …
(Most recent: 24 May 2024)
Signatures by party:
Scottish National Party: 8
Labour: 3
Plaid Cymru: 3
Independent: 1
The West Highland Way
Tabled by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)That this house commends the many people who will complete the West Highland Way walk this summer; recognises the opportunity to witness some of Scotland’s most incredible landscapes via this iconic route; notes the abundance of local businesses available at the start of the route in Milngavie for walkers to …
(Most recent: 24 May 2024)
Signatures by party:
Scottish National Party: 8
Commons initiatives
These initiatives were driven by Alison Thewliss, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.
3 Urgent Questions tabled by Alison Thewliss
3 Adjournment Debates led by Alison Thewliss
2 Bills introduced by Alison Thewliss
The Bill failed to complete its passage through Parliament before the end of the session. This means the Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to make provision about supervised drug consumption facilities; to make it lawful to take controlled substances within such facilities in specified circumstances; and for connected purposes
A Bill to control the advertising and promotion of feeding products for babies and children; to establish arrangements to set standards for the efficacy of products and to measure claims against those standards; to make provision about penalties for advertisers and promoters who do not meet the standards; and for connected purposes.
23 Bills co-sponsored by Alison Thewliss
Social Energy Tariff (No. 2) Bill 2023-24
Sponsor - Marion Fellows (SNP)
Mortgages (Switching) Bill 2023-24
Sponsor - Martin Docherty-Hughes (SNP)
Tax Reform Commission Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Liz Saville Roberts (PC)
Energy Costs (Pre-payment Meters and Social Tariffs) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Kenny MacAskill (Alba)
Electricity Supply (Vulnerable Customers) Bill 2022-23
Sponsor - Sam Tarry (Lab)
Shared Prosperity Fund (Wales) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Ben Lake (PC)
Workers (Definition and Rights) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Chris Stephens (SNP)
School Toilets (Access During Lessons) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Layla Moran (LD)
Problem Drug Use Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Tommy Sheppard (SNP)
Gaming Hardware (Automated Purchase and Resale) (No. 2) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Douglas Chapman (SNP)
Covid-19 Financial Assistance (Gaps in Support) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Tracy Brabin (LAB)
Automated External Defibrillators (Public Access) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Jim Shannon (DUP)
Assaults on Retail Workers (Offences) Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - Alex Norris (LAB)
Dockless Bicycles (Regulation) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Daniel Zeichner (Lab)
Parental Leave (Premature and Sick Babies) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - David Linden (SNP)
Parental Leave and Pay Arrangements (Publication) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Jo Swinson (LD)
Green Deal (Conduct of Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Alan Brown (SNP)
Food Insecurity Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Emma Lewell-Buck (Lab)
Universal Credit (Application, Advice and Assistance) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Philippa Whitford (SNP)
Child Maintenance Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Marion Fellows (SNP)
Unpaid Trial Work Periods (Prohibition) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Stewart Malcolm McDonald (SNP)
Courts (Abuse of Process) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Liz Saville Roberts (PC)
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2016-17
Sponsor - Liz Saville Roberts (PC)
Latest 50 Written Questions
(View all written questions)5 Other Department Questions
Glasgow businesses and residents play a crucial role in the delivery and overall success of an event such as COP26. The Government is working with Glasgow City Council to engage local people around COP26 through local activations. We launched a Host City Volunteering programme in January to recruit volunteers at COP26, who will play a key role in representing Glasgow and the UK to delegates from around the world.
Through the ‘Get Ready Glasgow’ public information campaign, Glasgow City Council have developed an integrated and tailored programme of sustained and timely communication and engagement activities with local residents and businesses. This will inform them about the impacts on city operations and daily lives, and the opportunities presenting themselves to residents and local businesses by being the host city.
Through the 'Together for our Planet' campaign, the Government will continue engaging the whole country in the conversation around climate change leading up to COP26. The campaign will celebrate people across the UK already taking action and inspire more to join them.
COP26 President (Cabinet Office)
The Government wants to ensure that all eligible pensioners are able to claim Pension Credit. In May 2020, DWP launched a new online claim service. This offers an additional channel through which pensioners can be supported to make a claim with the help of family, friends and organisations.
Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
The government has set up a £5m fund to help celebrate this important occasion, which extended voting rights to women for the first time. The fund will help build a legacy for the future by educating young people about this important milestone and to inspiring women to get more involved in politics at all levels.
This funding will be available for projects in England, and details including application criteria will be announced in due course.
The Barnett formula has been applied to this funding in the usual way and it is for the devolved administrations to decide whether, and how, they choose to mark the centenary.
The Government Equalities Office is based at Sanctuary Building, London which has a facility for nursing mothers.
The Government Equalities Office follows the Department for Education guidance issued to managers on the support available to new and expectant mothers.
Below is a breakdown of successful foreign direct investment projects into Scotland from EU countries in 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 together with the estimated number of jobs created and safeguarded, as recorded by UK Trade & Investment.
Projects | New Jobs | Safeguarded jobs | |
2012-13 | 27 | 2,110 | 491 |
2013-14 | 33 | 1,960 | 968 |
2014-15 | 34 | 883 | 648 |
Source: UKTI FDI projects database.
No members of the public are subject to automated decision-making in the Attorney General's Office.
Staff and visitors to One Kemble Street, the main office of both GLD and HMCPSI, have access to a lockable room with a fridge that allows private expressing and storage of milk. The key to the room is available on request.
The Attorney General’s Office, which occupies a different premises, has no dedicated staff area but there are a number of meeting spaces that can be made completely private and secure which are available to staff and visitors for this purpose.
In all Crown Prosecution Service offices, the appropriate rest facilities and access to a refrigerator are made available to all staff and visitors for lactating mothers and the expressing of breast milk.
In accordance with the workplace regulations 1992 (section 25.4) the Serious Fraud Office provides rest facilities for all staff and visitors who are lactating mothers or who may wish to express breast milk. The SFO has one welfare room with lying down facilities and two quiet rooms that can be used for these purposes within their offices.
In October 2022, we made interim payments of £100,000 to chronic infected beneficiaries and bereaved partners registered with existing support schemes. I recognise the importance the infected blood community places on interim payments relating to those deaths not yet recognised, and the Government is working through the technical implications of recommendation 12.
Shadow Paymaster General
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon. Member's Parliamentary Question of 24th May is attached.
This information for the whole of government is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.
This information for the whole of government is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office.
10 Downing Street is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. All Civil Servants that work at the Cabinet Office are able to access parental support policies, such as Parental Leave and Flexible Working.
With due consideration to COVID-19, Civil Servants are able to manage childcare arrangements with the support of paid special leave and flexible working, where alternative provisions cannot be found.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive
Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.
I am not aware of any current contracts with Cambridge Analytica, or with the SCL group.
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Since January 2011, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at:https://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archive
Those published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.
I am not aware of any current contracts with Cambridge Analytica, or with the SCL group.
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Public Sector workers are amongst the most talented and hardworking people in our society and we believe they should be fairly rewarded.
As the Chancellor’s budget statement reconfirmed, we are moving away from a 1% public sector average pay award to a more flexible approach.
Proposals will be issued later this year.
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Individual departments are responsible for putting in place arrangements for telephony services and helplines. There is not specific central guidance in place for hold facilities on Government phone services.
Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
I have had no discussions on this matter. The Department of Health is responsible for the implementation of the Code.
The list of Government owned freeholds in the Central Glasgow constituency drawn from the central database of Government properties and land across the UK, ePIMS™ available at dat.gov.uk. A number of these are land holdings owned by the Department of Transport and as such there are no addresses held for these records.
Information on the Government Estate including a mapping service is published online at: https://www.gov.uk/find-government-property.
Details of Ministerial UK official visits and official meetings with external organisations and individuals are published quarterly and made available on the gov.uk website.
The Government has 69 freehold holdings in Glasgow Central, of which 68 are land holdings held by the Department for Transport.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The Civil Service has a history of working to increase the support and opportunities available to parents across the Civil Service.
The law requires all employers to provide somewhere for a breastfeeding employee to rest and lie down, in line with Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
Spaces in buildings are provided for breast-feeding, whether they be staff or visitors.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The Government recognises and supports the cultural and historical significance of all languages spoken within the United Kingdom, and as a demonstration of its support for Scottish Gaelic, is providing the broadcaster MG ALBA with funding of £1 million in the previous and current financial years.
Given the current low levels of demand for such a service, providing official responses to correspondence in Scottish Gaelic would represent a disproportionate cost. Therefore, we have no plans to introduce a Gaelic language policy for written correspondence.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
There is no formal requirement for public bodies to offer responses to public correspondence and inquiries made in the Gaelic language in that language.
Before imposing a penalty, a warning notice must be issued. Over 1,200 notices have so far been issued. As of 4 September 2023, fourteen penalties have been issued for non-compliance with a value of circa £490,000, zero have been paid. A further five penalties were issued 6 September bringing the total value to £660,000.
Once the warning is issued, Companies House must allow 28 days for representation and factor in time to mitigate delays in the international postal system. Only after that point will Companies House issue the penalty. During these stages, compliance by the entity will cease the case. To date, forty warned entities have complied, meaning that no financial penalty will be imposed.
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
There have been 2 convictions of Scottish Limited Partnerships (SLPs) for failure to register information for Persons with Significant Control (“PSCs”) under The Scottish Partnerships (Register of People with Significant Control) Regulations 2017. The latest conviction was in August 2023.
The prosecuting authority is the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS). The Registrar is not advised of the level of the fine in each case. Up to 31 March 2023, Companies House have passed 106 cases to COPFS for prosecution. Companies House publish figures for “Prosecutions under the Scottish Partnerships (Register of People with Significant Control) Regulations 2017” as part of their management information. This is a link to the publication (see Table 7):
Companies House management information: April 2022 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Further to the answer to a previous query on this topic (UIN 75983) tabled on 1 November 2022, as of 31 August 2023, Companies House considers 7,836 Scottish Limited Partnerships (‘SLPs’) on the register to be active. Of these 85 have failed to register information for persons with significant control. This compares to 201 on 31 October 2022, 203 SLPs in January 2022, 213 SLPs in October 2021, 828 in January 2021, 948 in January 2020, 2,019 in January 2019 and 7,078 in January 2018.
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) GB delivered a £400 non-repayable government discount on electricity bills to all households with a domestic electricity meter, more than 28 million households in Great Britain.
The Department will carry out an evaluation of the EBSS after scheme closure.
Reporting to the four months to January 31st, 2023, shows an estimated 31,210 Energy Bills Support Scheme traditional prepayment meter vouchers were issued to households in Glasgow Central, with 17,760 (57%) of these redeemed. October and November vouchers were valued at £66, and December and January’s were valued at £67 meaning the 13,450 unredeemed vouchers have a value of at least £887,700. Transparency data on Energy Bills Support Scheme GB payments made by electricity suppliers to customers is reported monthly and can be found at:
9 Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Questions
(View all Alison Thewliss's BEIS questions)Delivery data by region, local authority and Westminster parliamentary constituency will be published in the coming weeks.
The Energy Bill, introduced to Parliament in June 2022, contains measures that will introduce consumer protection regulations for heat networks across the UK and will appoint Ofgem as the regulator in Great Britain, including communal networks.
Ofgem will have powers to introduce rules and/or guidance on fair and consistent pricing, take enforcement action against disproportionately high pricing, and the ability to set price comparison and benchmarking methodologies.
The Secretary of State will hold powers to introduce a price cap into the market, balancing out the benefits of a price cap with the risks inherent in a nascent market.
Companies House is unable to procure an identity verification provider until the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency (ECCT) Bill has received Royal Assent. As such, the tendering exercise to procure an identity verification service has not yet begun.
To note, entirely separate to any ID Verification procurement exercises, Companies House did advertise a Digital Delivery Partner opportunity on GOV.UK Digital Marketplace from 10th October to 24th October 2022. This contracting opportunity relates to internal system changes that will move Companies House from the current model of multiple account services to a single log-in portal. Whilst this activity is an enabler for ID Verification, it is wholly distinct from any identity verification provider procurement exercise.
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
In cases prosecuted by the Insolvency Service, the total number and value of fines imposed on a defendant, in each of the past ten years, for a General false statement offence, contrary to Section 1112 Companies Act 2006 is:
2012 - nil
2013 - nil
2014 - nil
2015 - nil
2016 - nil
2017 - nil
2018 - 1 x £1,602.00
2019 - 1 x £15,000.00
2020 - nil
2021 - nil
2022 - (up to 31 October) 1x £500.00
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Further to the answer given to the Hon. Member on this topic on 3rd March 2022 to Question 131219, as of 31 October 2022, Companies House considers 8,204 of the Scottish Limited Partnerships (‘SLPs’) on the register to be active. Of these, 201 had no PSC information. This compares to 203 SLPs as of 31 January 2022, 213 SLPs in October 2021, 828 in January 2021, 948 in January 2020, 2,019 in January 2019 and 7,078 in January 2018 that had failed to register PSC information.
Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Ministers regularly meet with external stakeholders. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/beis-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings.
The latest published data covers April to June 2022, further data will be published in due course.
The Registrar of Companies has no legislative power to move the principal place of business of a Limited Partnership to the Companies House default address. The address for Starnyx LP was changed by the Registrar in error. The Registrar is now urgently exploring options with the relevant parties to remedy the situation.
Whilst the Registrar is unable to do this now, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill, which was introduced to Parliament on 22 September 2022, proposes changes to provide the Registrar with a power to move the registered office of a Limited Partnership to the Companies House default address.
In the Corporate Transparency and Register Reform White Paper published on 28 February 2022, the Government confirmed that it will introduce measures to void the appointment, and prevent the registration, of individuals acting as directors where they are subject to sanctions by virtue of being ‘designated persons’ under section 9 of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018. The Government has committed to legislating on economic crime in the next session of this parliament.