Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what consideration is given to disqualifying companies fined for non compliance for paying the national minimum wage when awarding Government contracts.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Non compliance with paying the national minimum wage is unacceptable and has no place in government contracts or in wider society.
The Procurement Act 2023 provides contracting authorities with strong powers to exclude suppliers from public procurements where an exclusion ground applies, including where they have breached existing labour laws.
Where the circumstances that cause an exclusion ground to apply are continuing or likely to reoccur, contracting authorities must exclude suppliers subject to mandatory exclusion grounds.
Such grounds could include where a supplier is convicted of the offences of refusing or wilfully neglecting to pay the national minimum wage, or of failing to comply with a labour market enforcement order (which can relate to offences under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998). Where a discretionary exclusion ground applies, such as if a labour market enforcement order is made against the supplier, contracting authorities can choose whether to exclude them.
The Debarment Review Service can also carry out investigations in accordance with the Act to establish whether a supplier can be added to the debarment list.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many backlog death in service cases remain unresolved by Capita following the Cabinet Office's Recovery Plan Sprint 3.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government.
The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this Government has taken firm action to help put things right as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. For priority cases, we have deployed additional resources and improved communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.
Existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been enhanced and strengthened to deliver improved performance and higher penalties for failure, including financial penalties. These have already applied in respect to Capita's performance with recent issues and delays in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
The highest priority cases for recovery, including death-in-service and ill-health retirements, have been returned to normal service levels, with cases concluded wherever it has been possible to do so.
Capita has processed 407 death-in-service cases, successfully reducing the volume of workable cases from 375 to 75 as of 23 March. Capita has now achieved its target of normalising work in progress to 60 cases, representing a return to steady-state operations. While the backlog has been addressed, this figure is expected to fluctuate slightly as cases currently with third parties are returned to Capita for finalisation.
The Cabinet Office remains committed to ensuring these cases are managed efficiently to provide timely support to beneficiaries.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether Lords Amendment 22 to the Tobacco and Vapes Bill permits an enforcement body to invest in smoking cessation services in connection with their purposes.
Answered by Sharon Hodgson - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Lords Amendment 22 allows a relevant enforcement authority in England to retain all proceeds from the £2,500 fixed penalty notices for licensing offences in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. The bill provides that the proceeds must be used for the enforcement of tobacco and vape legislation, mirroring the approach to the use of proceeds from £200 fixed penalty notices in the bill. The bill does not allow proceeds from fixed penalty notices to be invested in smoking cessation services.
From April 2026, the Government is investing an additional £260 million over three years in Stop Smoking Services within the Public Health Grant. This will mean at least £153 million of ringfenced funding for Stop Smoking Services each year.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to UIN 116915, what the most recent data for outstanding backlog Civil Service Pension cases his department has been informed of by Capita.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this Government has taken firm action to help put things right as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. For priority cases, we have deployed additional resources and improved communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve.
Existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been enhanced and strengthened to deliver improved performance and higher penalties for failure, including financial penalties. These have already applied in respect to Capita's performance with recent issues and delays in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme.
The Cabinet Office confirms that the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS) administrator inherited 86,000 cases from the previous provider. Significant progress has been made in clearing the most urgent components of this inherited backlog, supported by an established recovery plan.
Key achievements as of 13 March 2026:
The inherited backlog of 15,000 unread emails was fully addressed by the end of February 2026.
Of the 8,063 inherited retirement lump sum cases, 6,871 payments have been processed, ensuring all inherited lump sums are paid where full information has been received.
For urgent cases, outstanding workable cases have been significantly reduced, returning to or nearing normalised work in progress levels.
All February and March back office delivery promises are on track due to the deployment of additional CO and Capita surge resource.
The latest position of the Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan Update (2 March 2026) is available at this weblink: (latest update 16 March): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-update-16-march-2026
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his department is taking to support research, national awareness and UK-wide collaboration to improve outcomes for people living with epilepsy and their families.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to the Hon. Member for Knowsley on 6 January 2026 to Question 101055.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what Barnett consequentials will be generated for the Scottish government by (a) grants awarded to local authorities in England to address SEND deficits announced in the written statement entitled Local Government Finance Settlement 2026-27 to 2028-29, published on 9 February 2026, HCWS1315, and (b) additional funding for SEND announced in the Spring Statement.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Spring Forecast 2026 it was confirmed that the Scottish Government will receive £533 million Barnett consequentials in 2026-27, through the application of the Barnett formula to the grants for Local Authorities to address SEND deficits in England.
The Barnett formula applies mechanically to new funding for the Department for Education in 2028-29, to support reforms of the SEND system. This results in an additional £362 million for the Scottish Government in 2028-29.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what Barnett consequentials will be generated for Scotland by (a) the awarding of grants to local authorities in England to address SEND deficits, as set out in UIN HCWS1315 and (a) the funding for SEND announced in the Spring Statement 2026.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
At Spring Forecast 2026 it was confirmed that the Scottish Government will receive £533 million Barnett consequentials in 2026-27, through the application of the Barnett formula to the grants for Local Authorities to address SEND deficits in England.
The Barnett formula applies mechanically to new funding for the Department for Education in 2028-29, to support reforms of the SEND system. This results in an additional £362 million for the Scottish Government in 2028-29.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including refined products in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism before January 2029 or earlier.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the role that refineries play in energy security and the UK’s industrial base. The Government published a call for evidence (https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/future-of-the-uk-downstream-oil-sector/future-of-the-uk-downstream-oil-sector-call-for-evidence) on the future of the fuel sector on 23rd February 2026 in order to help understand the current state of the refining sector.
Following a strategic and technical assessment by HMG, it has been decided not to expand the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to refined oil products in January 2028. Assessing the case for and feasibility of including refined oil products within the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism at a later date is a priority. We are continuing to work with the sector to assess the options.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the inclusion of refined products in the carbon border adjustment mechanism on national security.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the role that refineries play in energy security and the UK’s industrial base. The Government published a call for evidence (https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/future-of-the-uk-downstream-oil-sector/future-of-the-uk-downstream-oil-sector-call-for-evidence) on the future of the fuel sector on 23rd February 2026 in order to help understand the current state of the refining sector.
Following a strategic and technical assessment by HMG, it has been decided not to expand the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to refined oil products in January 2028. Assessing the case for and feasibility of including refined oil products within the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism at a later date is a priority. We are continuing to work with the sector to assess the options.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Aviation Industry Skills Industry Board on the value of ongoing funding during the transition from Apprenticeship Level to the Growth and Skills Levy for Level 3+ Leadership and Management Apprenticeship Standard Apprenticeships.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Skills is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
The Department for Transport regularly attends Aviation Industry Skills Board meetings, where they provide government updates alongside colleagues from the Department for Work and Pensions, the Department for Education and Skills England. Skills England recently discussed the Growth and Skills levy with this group and government will continue to engage as we deliver this reform.
From September 2026, we will withdraw funding from 16 existing apprenticeship standards. Three of these are generic leadership and management apprenticeships, which have grown significantly but are predominantly used as continuing professional development for established staff aged 25 and over.
The changes to streamline the apprenticeship offer will help to create headroom to invest in opportunities for young people. Over the past 10 years, apprenticeship starts among young people have fallen sharply. Starts for 16–24-year-olds have declined by 40%, and over half of all apprenticeship starts are now by learners aged over 25, many of which are at higher levels. To support our ambition of 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, we are expanding foundation apprenticeships into hospitality and retail, introducing an incentive of up to £2,000 for SMEs that take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees, and launching a new level 2 administrative assistant apprenticeship for young people.