Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve rail transport links in rural areas to increase access to (a) the Duke of Edinburgh Award and (b) other youth services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The government continues to be open to initiatives that improve rural railways, and a number of schemes delivered previously through the New Stations Fund have improved access to the rail network for more rural areas.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if the Government will publicly call for the release of Jagtar Singh Johal.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government is absolutely committed to pushing the Government of India for faster progress in resolving Jagtar Singh Johal's case. The Foreign Secretary raised concerns on multiple occasions with the Government of India, including regarding Mr Johal's allegations of torture. Most recently, he raised Mr Johal's case with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on 24 July during his first official visit to India in this role. Consular staff regularly visit Mr Johal to check on his welfare, most recently on 21 August.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential (a) merits of introducing (i) an increased personal tax allowance, (ii) a tax code adjustment and (ii) other tax incentives for charity volunteers and (b) impact of such incentives on the (A) recruitment and (B) retention of such volunteers (1) in rural areas and (2) nationally.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government recognises the vital role charities plays in supporting individuals and communities, delivering a huge range of services up and down the country.
The government continues to support the sector and encourages people to volunteer. However, introducing a new tax code and tax incentives, or increasing the Personal Allowance to incentivise individuals to volunteer would make the system more complicated and difficult for taxpayers to navigate.
The government must prioritise ensuring the tax system supports strong public finances. Given the current state of the public spending inheritance, difficult choices are necessary. The Chancellor of the Exchequer has emphasised that sound fiscal policy is crucial for economic stability and growth, which are essential for keeping taxes as low as possible, while continuing to deliver high-quality public services.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Advertising Standards Authority upholds advertising standards in relation to pre-watershed online gambling adverts on (a) YouTube and (b) other websites.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent body responsible for regulating advertising in the UK across traditional forms of media (print, radio, TV) and online. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the ASA, are responsible for codifying the standards for advertising to the marketing industry as part of their CAP and BCAP Codes. The government is not involved in these codes, nor in the investigations and enforcement delivered by the ASA.
However, as part of the Gambling Commission’s licence conditions, gambling operators who advertise in the UK must comply with the advertising Codes. The ASA has the power to take action where there is evidence of advertising in breach of the Codes, wherever it appears, and the ASA can and does refer operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission for possible regulatory action.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether it is her policy to keep the allocations of funding set out in her Department's guidance on Levelling Up Fund Round 3: explanatory and methodology note on the decision-making process, published on 20 November 2023.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Chancellor’s July ‘Public Spending: Inheritance’ speech forecasted an overspend of £21.9 billion above limits set by the Treasury in the Spring. We understand that will have caused uncertainty about the status of some projects and the challenge that presents locally. We must, however, ensure that we are making responsible decisions on public spending. Decisions that have fallen on this government to take. In this context, the Chancellor has set out a path to confirming plans for this year and next at the forthcoming Budget on October 30th.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to (a) tackle wait times experienced by (i) vulnerable people who require urgent assistance and (ii) other callers to her Department's helpline, (b) improve the (A) efficiency and (B) accessibility of its customer service and (c) ensure that vulnerable individuals receive timely support.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP reviews forecasted telephony demand and plans resourcing accordingly to keep wait times down. Wait time performance is frequently reviewed and where DWP’s telephony is delivered by an outsourced provider we use the Key Performance Indicator of percentage of calls answered. All DWP customer telephone lines are Freephone numbers.
The Department is investing in a new capability that aims to better route customers to the right offer at the right time. This will help to reduce waiting times by supporting customers to utilise digital alternatives where appropriate, which enables telephony agents to speak to our customers that really need to speak to someone. If a customer indicates they may be at risk of physical or mental harm e.g. suicide, terminal illness, homelessness, and clinical mental health, they will be routed to a telephony agent in as short a journey as possible.
The Department offers a wide range of reasonable adjustments for customers, including production of communications in a range of alternative formats. We are currently testing further digital solutions for British Sign Language interpreter connectivity within our jobcentre environment.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the policy paper entitled Our Long-Term Plan for Towns, published on 1 October 2023, whether it is her policy to continue the £20 million endowment-style fund for each town.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
This Government is committed to delivering growth in every corner of the country, by empowering communities to find local solutions to national priorities. However, as you will appreciate, the Government has inherited an extremely difficult fiscal environment and has a responsibility to fix the foundations of our economy, to ensure economic stability.
The department will set out further details on funding, next steps, and confirmation of the revised timelines in due course.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what fiscal steps her Department is taking to support households with the cost of living.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government is working to improve living standards for everyone across the country, which is why growth is a key priority. This is why we have got to work straightaway implementing planning reform and establishing the National Wealth Fund and Great British Energy.
The approach of this government will centre on fostering good work. This government will reform employment support to offer more people the dignity and purpose of meaningful employment.
We have begun supporting households with the cost of living by launching a Ministerial Taskforce on child poverty and updating the Low Pay Commission's remit to reflect the cost of living when making recommendations on the National Living Wage.
Any further steps will be set out in due course.