Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the exemption for basic or new state pension to not have to pay small amounts of tax through simple assessment from April 2027 will apply to recipients of the State Earning Related Pension Scheme.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The State Pension is taxable income along with other pension income. As the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) is extra money on top of the basic State Pension, it is also taxable.
The Budget has confirmed that the basic and new State Pension will be uprated by 4.8% in 2026-27, in line with our commitment to the Triple Lock. This means pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments will not pay income tax in 2026-27.
The Budget also announced that the Government will ease the administrative burden for pensioners whose sole income is the basic or new State Pension without any increments so that they do not have to pay small amounts of tax via Simple Assessment from 2027-28. The Government will set out more detail next year.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps the Office for the Impact Economy is taking with social investors to increase funding for communities.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Social investors and philanthropists across the country are already working in partnership with local community organisations to improve people’s daily lives.
The Office for the Impact Economy will act as the front door to social investors who want to partner with the government to unlock funding for local communities. The Office will create partnerships, including investment opportunities, to scale up the impact of public investment and develop opportunities for communities across the UK.
This includes opportunities to make government spending go further on priority programmes such as Pride in Place and Neighbourhood Health Services.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Scottish Government's real terms reduction in College Funding since 2021 to the delivery of the industrial strategy in Scotland.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Colleges have a critical role in ensuring the young people of Scotland can access secure, skilled jobs, and in fostering innovation, developing a skilled workforce, and driving economic growth.
This is why we have committed to hundreds of millions of additional funding for colleges in the Industrial Strategy.
However, the funding of colleges in Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Government. Scotland’s colleges have had their funding cut by 20% between 2021/22 and 2025/26. The Spending Review was historic for Scotland and delivered the largest real terms settlement for the Scottish Government since devolution, with an average £50.9 billion per year between 2026-27 and 2028-29. Last week’s Budget has boosted this by a further £820m.
As the UK Government has delivered a record funding settlement to the Scottish Government, it is up to them to ensure that young people will benefit from these investments.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of criminalising those who impersonate a (a) serving member of the armed forces or (b) veteran.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has made no assessment of introducing new offences for impersonating Armed Forces personnel or Veterans and has no current plans to consider criminalising such impersonation, given that existing measures already apply in certain circumstances.
Veterans are expected to adhere to the guidance regarding the wearing of medals. However, it is not a criminal offence for Veterans, or the public, to wear medals to which they are not entitled unless, by doing so, an individual is seeking to make personal gain or defraud others.
The Fraud Act 2006 (and common law fraud offences in Scotland) make it an offence for anyone to fraudulently wear uniforms or medals, or by pretending to be or have been in the Armed Forces, if for financial gain or to cause disadvantage to others.
Further, under the Uniforms Act 1894, it is an offence for anyone to wear an Armed Forces uniform without permission, or to wear any dress having the appearance, or bearing any regimental or distinctive marks, of any such uniform. This does not, however, prevent individuals wearing a uniform for theatrical or similar purposes.
Whenever it is suspected that an individual might be committing an offence, as described above, the matter should be reported to the civilian police.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing offences for impersonating serving armed forces personnel or veterans.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has made no assessment of introducing new offences for impersonating Armed Forces personnel or Veterans and has no current plans to consider criminalising such impersonation, given that existing measures already apply in certain circumstances.
Veterans are expected to adhere to the guidance regarding the wearing of medals. However, it is not a criminal offence for Veterans, or the public, to wear medals to which they are not entitled unless, by doing so, an individual is seeking to make personal gain or defraud others.
The Fraud Act 2006 (and common law fraud offences in Scotland) make it an offence for anyone to fraudulently wear uniforms or medals, or by pretending to be or have been in the Armed Forces, if for financial gain or to cause disadvantage to others.
Further, under the Uniforms Act 1894, it is an offence for anyone to wear an Armed Forces uniform without permission, or to wear any dress having the appearance, or bearing any regimental or distinctive marks, of any such uniform. This does not, however, prevent individuals wearing a uniform for theatrical or similar purposes.
Whenever it is suspected that an individual might be committing an offence, as described above, the matter should be reported to the civilian police.
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 he has had discussions with the Scottish Government on the rollout of universal thrombectomy services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Department ministers regularly have discussions with colleagues across Government on issues of cross-border interest. There have been no specific meetings held recently on thrombectomy services.
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, how much funding will be allocated to (a) tennis and (b) padel in each year until 2028.
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 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.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Statement on Asylum Policy of 17 of November, Official Report column 509, what the qualifying tests for family reunion for refugees applying through the work and study route will be.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
A refugee who is given core protection will have no automatic right to bring family to the UK. Refugees will be able to switch into a new, bespoke work and study route to access family reunion and settlement rights with new fees and conditions in accordance with the rules of that route. This will enable them to earn down their length of time before they can settle in the UK from 20 years.
The Government will set out the requirements and timelines in due course.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to protect workers’ terms and conditions including through the implementation of short-time working arrangements in the construction industry.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Construction Industry Working Rule Agreement, collectively negotiated between employer organisations and trade unions to establish agreed terms and conditions, is a matter for the industry. This agreement provides a consistent framework for fair treatment of workers across the sector, supporting stability and clarity for both employers and employees.
Looking ahead, the Employment Rights Bill will modernise our employment rights legislation. It will provide a new baseline of security for workers including through day one protection from unfair dismissal, increasing protection from sexual harassment, strengthening Statutory Sick Pay and ending exploitative zero hours contacts and tackling fire and rehire.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Statement on Asylum Policy of 17 of November, Official Report column 509, how many failed asylum seekers are from a home country who is not a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights in each year for which information is available.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not publish data on the number of failed asylum seekers, including those with exhausted appeal rights, from countries that are not signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights.
Published asylum data is available in the Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release. The latest outcomes of asylum claims, as at July 2024, are in table Asy_D04 of the asylum detailed datasets. These figures should not be interpreted as the number of failed asylum seekers, as refusal outcomes may still be subject to review or appeal.
As appeals information is not included, it is not possible to determine from published data how many individuals have become failed asylum seekers. Data on cases subject to removal is available in table Asy_03 of the transparency data.