Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to encourage collaboration between the UK and its international partners in the R&D sector.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Achieving the best outcomes for our citizens from our investment in R&D requires us to collaborate internationally. We are actively strengthening ties with key partners through:
- Funding, including through Horizon Europe, the International Science Partnerships Fund and our core support to UK research institutions. DSIT’s overall R&D budget will grow in real terms over the SR period, totalling £58.5 billion from 2026/27 to 2029/30.
- Our Science and Technology Network which operates in 65 locations across the world to build partnerships and collaborations on science, technology and innovation.
- Dialogues and bilateral agreements with more than 20 international partners, including with the US, Australia, India, Germany, EU and Japan which cover issues including data adequacy, future technologies, and institutional co-operation.
- Being an active member of G7, G20, OECD through which we seek to align norms and standards.
- Collaborations with global partners on shared research infrastructures including world-leading facilities like CERN and new capabilities like the Square Kilometre Array Observatory – headquartered near Manchester with telescopes under construction in Australia and South Africa.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on reducing veteran homelessness in Scotland.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This is a Government that will always stand up for those who serve our country. I am working closely with Devolved Governments to ensure veterans across the UK have access to the support they need on housing, which is a devolved matter.
I, and my predecessor have engaged regularly with the Scottish Government and with the Scottish Veterans’ Commissioner on issues affecting veterans who live in Scotland.
The Reducing Veterans’ Homelessness Programme provides vital supported housing services to veterans across the UK. This programme has awarded grants to organisations across the UK, including £290,882 for organisations supporting veterans in Scotland.
Organisations across the UK have been eligible to apply for funding under the Veterans’ Capital Housing Fund. This funding is used to refurbish or build new social and affordable accommodation for veterans. To date, this programme has awarded five grants to organisations in Scotland totalling £1,565,931.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to mandate a National Activities Safeguarding Framework for Children and Vulnerable Adults participating in extracurricular activities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.
There are existing frameworks and legal powers in place to safeguard children participating in extracurricular activities.
The Children Act 1989 places legal obligations on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children in their areas and protect them from harm. There are also similar safeguarding responsibilities placed on local authorities regarding vulnerable adults under the Care Act 2014. Where concerns arise, the department expects their services to intervene using the wide range of powers available to them.
The department’s statutory guidance ‘Keeping children safe in education’ also makes clear that child protection arrangements apply where extracurricular activities are provided by a school or college’s governing body, under their direct supervision or management. Where this is not the case, safeguarding requirements should be included in any lease or hire agreement for the premises.
Providers of extracurricular activities also have a legal duty of care to take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of children attending their settings and protect them from harm. To support them, the department has published safeguarding guidance and free-to-access e-learning.
However, we are actively considering how to further enhance safety in this sector, and as part of our recent call for evidence, which closed on 21 September, we sought views on proposals to strengthen safeguarding in out-of-school settings.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many enforcement agents certificated under the Certification of Enforcement Agents Regulations 2014 have had their certificates (a) cancelled and (b) suspended by a judge under Regulation 11 in each of year between 2020 and 2024.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not routinely publish operational data on how many enforcement agents certificated under the Certification of Enforcement Agent Regulations 2014 have had their certificates cancelled or suspended by a judge under Regulation 11 of the Regulations. The public register of certificated enforcement agents is updated to reflect the cancellation of a certificate, but it does not record the reason for the cancellation.
In 2024, the average processing time for certification of potential enforcement agents at the County Court was 27.62 days. This figure reflects the time taken from submission of an application to the granting of a certificate.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time was for certification of potential enforcement agents at the County Court in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not routinely publish operational data on how many enforcement agents certificated under the Certification of Enforcement Agent Regulations 2014 have had their certificates cancelled or suspended by a judge under Regulation 11 of the Regulations. The public register of certificated enforcement agents is updated to reflect the cancellation of a certificate, but it does not record the reason for the cancellation.
In 2024, the average processing time for certification of potential enforcement agents at the County Court was 27.62 days. This figure reflects the time taken from submission of an application to the granting of a certificate.
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 assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the Access to Work cap for people who require BSL interpreters to remain in full time work.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The cap was introduced in 2015 to enable Access to Work to continue to provide tailored support for those with the most significant needs and at the same time grow the overall number of customers receiving support from the scheme. The cap was introduced that year, set at 1.5 times the national average salary. This was revised upwards to twice the national average salary in 2018, based in part on the recognition of needs of deaf customers, particularly British Sign Language users.
Since its introduction in 2015 the cap has been increased annually in line with average earnings. The cap was originally introduced at £40,800 in 2015/16, and it now stands at £69,620.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the proposed closure of the Forth Valley College's campus at Alloa; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of such a closure on the delivery of Project Willow's objectives.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
While education policy is devolved to the Scottish Government, we recognise the importance of colleges to the economies and communities of Scotland’s towns and cities.
As the First Minister said at First Minister's Questions on 2 October, their Cabinet Secretary for Education is considering all options to protect the future of the Alloa campus. The Scotland Office continues to engage regularly with the Scottish Government on all matters relating to Grangemouth, and the Secretary of State for Scotland, alongside Minister Shanks, met with Cabinet Secretary Gillian Martin on 21 October to discuss the progress of investment there.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has considered establishing a cross-Governmental oversight body to monitor Departmental compliance with the legal aid elements of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Bill expands the scope of legal aid, allowing bereaved families to access legal help and advocacy for inquests whenever a public authority is an Interested Person without means testing. By bringing advocacy into scope, the Bill removes the requirement for families to navigate the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) process to access representation at these inquests.
The legal aid provisions will be enshrined in law and administered by the Legal Aid Agency. Therefore, a cross-government oversight body to monitor compliance has not been considered during the Bill’s development.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her Department's policies of the Israeli Government's approval of the E1 Construction Plan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 3 September to question 71442.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to support the development of (a) affordable and (b) accessible padel courts in (i) Falkirk and (ii) Britain.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.
The majority of grassroots sport policy is devolved. Sportscotland, the national agency for sport in Scotland, receives funding from the Scottish Government to support more people to get active. The Secretary of State and I regularly meet with Scottish counterparts to discuss the importance of sport and tackling physical inactivity.
The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.