Imogen Walker

Project Gigabit is the government’s programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans, including business premises.

According to Ofcom's Connected Nations Spring 2026 report, 89% of premises in the Hamilton and Clyde Valley constituency already have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection, which is above the national average of 88%.

To increase this further, approximately 460 premises in the constituency are in scope of a Project Gigabit contract being delivered by Openreach. Building Digital UK (BDUK) and the Scottish Government are working together on plans to add further premises into this contract in support of the government’s targeting of reaching 99% UK gigabit coverage by 2032.

As ‘State Party’ to the World Heritage Convention, DCMS is proud to represent all 35 UK World Heritage Sites when engaging with UNESCO, including New Lanark. UNESCO does not routinely provide direct financial or operational support to inscribed sites, which remains the responsibility of national and local managing authorities.

Support for UK World Heritage Sites is provided by a number of organisations, with the Scottish Government and Historic Environment Scotland taking a leading role for Scottish sites. Other organisations such as NatureScot, the National Trust for Scotland and the UK National Commission for UNESCO play an active role and also support Scotland’s ‘UNESCO Trail’, the world’s first national trail to connect different UNESCO designations.

The Government recognises the importance of networks being as reliable as possible so that people can access the modern digital economy, communications providers have statutory responsibilities to take appropriate and proportionate measures to maintain the resilience of their networks. Power cuts can disrupt mobile services, but if the current mobile network is unavailable all emergency 999 calls automatically switch to other available networks.

Following a detailed review, Ofcom updated their regulatory guidance to operators in June 2026, confirming that mobile operators are expected to take robust measures to manage and mitigate against the risks of power outage. Government is also working closely with all of UK’s mobile operators and electricity network operators, so that industry implements measures to reduce the impact of power cuts on mobile services wherever possible.

The Government also welcomes new direct to device low earth orbit satellite services which are now available in the UK market, which can provide another means of connectivity when there is disruption to terrestrial networks.

Our forthcoming legislation on ticket touting (Draft Ticket Tout Ban Bill) aims to improve access for fans to all live events across the UK, including in Scotland.

We're delighted Glasgow will be hosting matches as part of UEFA EURO 2028 and are working closely with the Scottish Government and other football and government partners to deliver a fantastic event. UEFA has also confirmed that there will be no dynamic pricing, more than 40% of tickets will be offered in the most affordable categories, and over 80% of all tickets will be available to fans of the participating teams and the general public.

The Government recognises the importance of accelerating gigabit-capable broadband deployment across the UK and keeps barriers to digital connectivity under review through engagement with industry, Ofcom and the Devolved Administrations. Through Project Gigabit, contracts have been signed since 2024 to connect a further 846,770 premises across the UK, including 77,640 premises in Scotland.

Openreach is currently delivering a Project Gigabit contract covering areas across Central, Northern and Western Scotland, as well as Dumfries and Galloway. Over 6,500 premises have already gained coverage as part of this delivery. In addition to this, GoFibre is delivering Project Gigabit contracts across the North East of Scotland and the Borders and East Lothian. BDUK and The Scottish Government are due to publish delivery updates on these contracts soon.

On 14 July the then Minister for Digital Economy wrote to her Scottish Government counterpart to emphasise that DCMS officials stand ready to continue discussions on targeted measures to support broadband deployment in Scotland, particularly in relation to deployments in multi-dwelling units.

The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and GOV.UK.

While Capita committed to a complete return to standard contractual service levels by the end of June 2026, they have failed to meet this critical milestone. This includes withholding £9.9 million in contract payments for undelivered milestones, alongside confirmation that the Government surge team costs will be recovered directly from Capita. To enforce strict compliance, independent auditors are being deployed to conduct a technical systems review, and an on-the-ground Remedial Adviser has been appointed at Capita’s expense. Further commercial, legal, and operational options remain on the table during the consideration of long-term structural delivery options.

Following Capita’s failure to meet its commitment to fully restore the scheme to contractual levels by the end of June, Capita’s executive leadership committed to Parliament to clear ‘stock’ cases by 1 September 2026 and process cases within Key Performance Indicators from 30 September 2026.

Capita has claimed to have met its self-imposed 1 September target across five priority areas: Bereavement, Death in Service, Ill-Health Retirement, Retirement Payments, and Retirement Quotes for cases that it categorises as workable. We are working to establish the accuracy of this claim. While this is noted, it does not constitute full service recovery and still leaves far too many scheme members facing uncertainty while they wait for their cases to be resolved. Overall performance remains unacceptable, and the Government continues to hold Capita firmly to account using all commercial levers available to it. Alongside this we continue to work on finding a suitable alternative for future scheme administration, considering all potential options including insourcing.

A written ministerial statement on the situation can be found in Hansard.

A substantive update will be provided to the House in October following the conclusion of the technical audit and report from the Remedial Advisor.

The Government recognises the essential role that post offices play in communities across the country. While decisions about individual branches within constituencies are operational matters for Post Office Limited, Government has committed to maintaining a minimum network of 11,500 branches and retaining all six geographical access criteria. These include the requirement that 99% of the UK population live within three miles of a Post Office outlet. The criteria is not currently measured on a constituency basis.

The government remains committed to ensuring a reliable universal postal service for users across all parts of the United Kingdom.

We have been clear that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough. The government has discussed Royal Mail’s performance with the company and Ofcom, as the independent regulator, and they know there is more to do to improve stability and reliability for customers, but it is welcome that the most recently released quality of service figures, for Q1 26/27, show an improvement.

Ofcom is investigating Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2025-26, and Royal Mail has published a service improvement plan alongside a £500 million investment into frontline resourcing.

Estimates by local authority and parliamentary constituency are not always available due to data reliability constraints.

Around 180,000 workers in Scotland were expected to benefit from a direct pay rise following National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) increases in April 2026. The 2026 NLW uplift is worth around £900 annually for a full-time worker, and over £1,500 for 18–20-year-olds on the NMW.

Further details can be found in the Impact Assessment The National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2026.

The Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone will strengthen Scotland's computing capacity by accelerating delivery of large-scale AI data centre infrastructure and increasing the amount of compute available in the UK.

The Lanarkshire AIGZ is also supporting significant private investment, creating skilled jobs and apprenticeships, and is contributing to the infrastructure needed to support the UK's AI ambitions.

Work is already well underway at the AI Growth Zone, and frontier AI chips will be live at the site next year, supporting the UK’s computing capacity and AI infrastructure goals.

The Government will bring forward a Small Business Strategy Command Paper next year, setting out the Government’s vision for small businesses, including those in Hamilton Town Centre, from boosting scale-ups to growing the co-operative economy, creating thriving high streets, and addressing access to finance and late payments.

The government will commit to funding key growth programmes in 2025-26 including Help to Grow: Management across the UK, which helps businesses and entrepreneurs unlock their potential through bespoke support and resources.

The Bill Discount Scheme will provide eligible households living near new or upgraded electricity transmission infrastructure with up to £250 a year off electricity bills for up to 10 years.

In March 2025, powers to establish the scheme were secured under the Planning and Infrastructure Act.

In May 2026, we announced the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) as the scheme administrator.

In July 2026, we published the scheme policy design.

The Government plans for the scheme to begin providing first payments to households in the first half of 2027, once necessary secondary legislation has been laid in Parliament.

As of 30 October 2024, there were 38 British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme members in Hamilton and Clyde Valley constituency.

The Government recognises the specific pressures faced by households in Scotland, including rural and semi-rural communities, and understands that many off-gas-grid households rely on heating oil. The Government has provided over £50 million in support for low-income households reliant on heating oil, including £4.6 million for Scotland delivered through the Scottish Emergency Oil Heating Scheme.

The Government has also increased Boiler Upgrade Scheme grants for air source heat pumps from £5,000 to £7,500, which can help off-gas-grid households move to cleaner, more efficient heating where suitable.

Tackling affordability is this Government’s number one priority. The Government has taken action to remove VAT from electricity bills from October, providing breathing space to households facing cost of living pressures. The Government also acted at last year’s Budget by taking on average £150 of costs off energy bills, with those decisions now factored into bills for the years to come.

In addition, 5.7 million households in Britain benefitted from our expanded £150 Warm Home Discount last winter, and this will remain in place for the rest of the decade. The Government has also been contingency planning for a range of scenarios since the conflict in the Middle East broke out. We will continue to look at what more we can do to tackle unaffordable bills and make life easier for working people.

The UK has one of the toughest pet border checking regimes in the world and this Government is committed to preserving the high standards of biosecurity and animal welfare.

The Animal Welfare (Import of Dogs, Cats and Ferrets) Act 2025 gives the Government powers to prohibit the import into Great Britain of puppies and kittens under six months old and introduce measures to strengthen current enforcement mechanisms. Defra will continue to work with UK enforcement bodies as we develop these measures.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publish detailed data on car driving test waiting times so learners can get better understanding of the booking system. More information and waiting time data, including for driving test centres serving Hamilton and Clyde Valley constituency is available on GOV.UK

In April 2025, the Government announced a package of measures to reduce practical car test waiting times and deliver around 10,000 additional tests per month. Between April 2025 and March 2026, DVSA conducted a record 1.99 million practical car tests, 159,000 (8.6%) more than the previous year.

DVSA has made changes to make the booking system fairer, as well as continuing to run national recruitment campaigns for driving examiners (DE) across the country. From recruitment, a full-time DE can be expected to add approximately 1,200 tests per year to the booking system.

E-bikes that do not comply with the requirements of the Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle Regulations 1983 are motor vehicles and must therefore be registered, taxed and insured to be used on public roads. The rider must also wear a safety helmet and hold a driving licence.

The police can seize e-bikes not properly registered as motor vehicles under Section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988. In addition, in the Crime and Policing Act 2026 the Government has strengthened the powers for the police to seize vehicles used anti-socially by removing the need to provide a warning. These powers apply to e-bikes that have been registered as motor vehicles.

Jobcentre Services in Hamilton and Clyde Valley are provided from Hamilton and Lanark Jobcentre Plus.

Through Jobcentre Plus, Work Coaches offer personalised advice to help individuals secure roles which reflect their skills, qualifications and prior experience, alongside targeted job-search support. In addition, we signpost to services delivered in partnership with South Lanarkshire Council, colleges, employers, and Scottish Government’s ‘No One Left Behind’ approach through Local Employability Partnerships. Those aged 16 to 24 also benefit from specialist Youth Work Coaches, employment programmes, and the Government's Youth Guarantee, which supports young people to access education, training, apprenticeships, and work.

In addition, we are currently exploring outreach opportunities within Hamilton, including within family hubs, alongside South Lanarkshire Council.

The requested information is published and available in table 13B, row 591, column K at: Universal Credit claimants statistics on the two child limit policy, April 2026 - GOV.UK.

With around one million young people not in education, employment and training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. The government is investing an additional £2.5 billion by 2029 into the Youth Guarantee and the Growth and Skills Levy, supporting almost one million young people and creating up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn.

This includes the expansion of Youth Hubs across Great Britain. As of 16 September 2026, there are 9 Youth Hubs open in Scotland with a further 19 planned to open by 2029. This investment also supports the introduction of a new Youth Guarantee Gateway in Jobcentres, to provide earlier and more intensive support to 16–24-year-olds on Universal Credit.

Our investment will create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn including 300,000 additional opportunities to gain workplace experience and training and up to 200,000 additional employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, which is available in Central and East Scotland, rolling out nationally from November 2026. All young people in Scotland who meet the eligibility criteria will be offered the relevant support.

With around one million young people not in education, employment or training, this Government will not leave an entire generation of young people behind. In Scotland, health, skills, careers and employment support are partially devolved to the Scottish Parliament, resulting in a mix of Scottish and UK-wide control. Our officials work closely with those in the Scottish Parliament, sharing best practice on providing employment support to disabled people.

We set out our plan for the Pathways to Work Guarantee in our Pathways to Work Green Paper and we are building towards our guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits. The guarantee is backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by the end of the decade. We anticipate the guarantee, once fully rolled out, will include: a support conversation to identify next steps, one-to-one caseworker support, periodic engagement, and an offer of specialist long-term work health and skills support. The Scottish Government received consequential funding in the usual way.

Disabled people and people with health conditions can face a wide range of unique, yet intersecting barriers, relating to not just their health, but their employment and circumstance. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Existing measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual.

Youth Hubs, Youth Guarantee Gateway, work experience and training, jobs grant are available across Great Britain. This includes the expansion of Youth Hubs to more than 360 areas across Great Britain, and the introduction of a new Youth Guarantee Gateway in Jobcentres, to provide earlier and more intensive support to 16–24-year-olds on Universal Credit. Our investment will create up to 500,000 opportunities to earn and learn including 300,000 additional opportunities to gain workplace experience and training and up to 200,000 additional employment opportunities, through a new £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant for employers hiring 18–24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for over six months, and the Jobs Guarantee scheme, providing long-term unemployed 18–24-year-olds with a fully funded six month job. The apprenticeship system is devolved in Scotland.

We recognise the crisis of participation that Alan Milburn has so clearly laid out in his interim report. We will use this interim report to continue to build our reforms and look forward to final recommendations in the Autumn.

The latest available Pension Credit caseload statistics show that in November 2025, there were 2,740 Pension Credit recipients in Hamilton and Clyde Valley parliamentary constituency (rounded to the nearest 10). This data is available via: Stat-Xplore.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The eligible population for Tax-free Childcare (TFC) is estimated at the UK level and no estimate has been made by UK nation.

The numbers of families in receipt of TFC in Scotland on a monthly and annual basis are available in the publication linked below (Tables 6 and 8).

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-free-childcare-quarterly-statistics

The Government recognises the importance of cash, understanding that it continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in rural and costal areas. The most recent data from the Financial Conduct Authority shows 98.1 per cent of people in rural areas live within 3 miles of a free-to-use cash access point offering withdrawals

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumed regulatory responsibility for access to cash in September 2024. Its rules require the UK’s largest banks and building societies to assess the impact of a closure or material alteration of a relevant cash withdrawal or deposit facility and put in place a new service if necessary. As part of this responsibility, the FCA must also seek to ensure that there is reasonable provision of free withdrawal and deposit facilities in relation to personal current accounts. This supports businesses to ensure they can continue to accept cash by ensuring that they have reasonable access to cash deposit facilities.

The Government continues to work closely with industry to support the roll-out of 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 280 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 240 are already open across the UK, including 31 in Scotland.

The Government is committed to continuing to monitor levels of cash acceptance and to evaluating all relevant payments data, including data on consumer preferences and trends, to inform future policy and help ensure that consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods to meet their needs.

The Government is committed to ensuring that people who need in-person banking can access essential services, including in rural communities.

That is why we commissioned the independent Access to Banking Services Review, to gather data about current access to banking services and it’s why this Government intends to introduce the Financial Services and Markets Bill with a power to allow the Government to act on that review.

Under the statutory access to cash regime, LINK is the coordination body for cash access arrangements and undertakes cash access assessments. Where an assessment identifies a gap, LINK determines the additional cash access service required, which may include a banking hub.

When asked to carry out a cash access assessment, LINK takes into consideration a wide range of criteria, including those unique to each location, such as the size and vulnerability of the population, existing and remaining cash access facilities and the number of shops. Specifically, LINK takes into consideration population demographics, public transport links and whether it is reasonable for people to travel to nearby facilities, including the actual travel distance. LINK uses a catchment area of 3 miles in rural locations and 1 mile in urban areas and considers if there is a significant impact on nearby towns.

This government is fully committed to ensuring veterans and their families have access to the employment support they need in Scotland and across the United Kingdom. The Veterans’ Strategy recognises veterans as one of the country’s great strategic assets. A key commitment of the strategy is to ensure that the unique skills, experience and personal values of veterans are appreciated, understood and that they are provided with opportunities to contribute to our national security, our economy and our communities.

A range of programmes are in place to support those leaving service in finding fulfilling and sustainable careers which make full use of their unique skills and experience. The Career Transition Partnership is the initial point of employment provision for those transitioning into civilian life, with assistance available for up to two years before and two years after leaving service. CTP provides holistic transition support to help Service leavers prepare for civilian life and employment.

For veterans who are more than two years post-service, as well as their families, additional support is provided through Op ASCEND. This initiative, which provides tailored employment support into sustainable civilian careers has already engaged with over 600 employers and 5,000 veterans and family members.

Defence is making a landmark investment in Scotland’s future defence workforce, including apprenticeships, through the Defence Industrial Strategy’s £182 million skills package and the Scotland Defence Growth Deal.

The Scotland Defence Growth Deal has identified skills as a core priority and will support interventions to address skills shortages across the defence sector. This includes a proposed £10 million investment in up to two Defence Technical Excellence Colleges in Scotland, creating pathways into careers in defence engineering, advanced manufacturing and maritime technologies.

Scotland will also benefit from UK-wide initiatives such as the UCAS Defence Portal, which will promote awareness of high-quality careers in defence and the apprenticeship and graduate routes into them. Similarly, through the Defence Universities Alliance, we are working with the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde to grow collaboration between MOD, universities and defence industries to support skills and the pipeline of students into rewarding careers.

In addition, major defence programmes are creating apprenticeship opportunities in Scotland. The Type 31 frigate programme in Rosyth, for example, currently supports around 150 apprenticeships and is expected to generate further apprenticeship opportunities over the lifetime of the programme.

Defence is making a landmark investment in Scotland’s future defence workforce, including apprenticeships, through the Defence Industrial Strategy’s £182 million skills package and the Scotland Defence Growth Deal.

The Scotland Defence Growth Deal has identified skills as a core priority and will support interventions to address skills shortages across the defence sector. This includes a proposed £10 million investment in up to two Defence Technical Excellence Colleges in Scotland, creating pathways into careers in defence engineering, advanced manufacturing and maritime technologies.

Scotland will also benefit from UK-wide initiatives such as the UCAS Defence Portal, which will promote awareness of high-quality careers in defence and the apprenticeship and graduate routes into them. Similarly, through the Defence Universities Alliance, we are working with the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde to grow collaboration between MOD, universities and defence industries to support skills and the pipeline of students into rewarding careers.

In addition, major defence programmes are creating apprenticeship opportunities in Scotland. The Type 31 frigate programme in Rosyth, for example, currently supports around 150 apprenticeships and is expected to generate further apprenticeship opportunities over the lifetime of the programme.

The 2022 census reported in Hamilton and Clyde, that there were 2,551 people who had previously served in the UK armed forces. Health is devolved across the UK, and as such systems differ in the Devolved Governments, with Scotland having their own mental health support provision for veterans.

In November 2025, the Government published its 10-year Veterans Strategy, setting a new vision that recognises veterans as one of the UK's great strategic assets. Applying across the UK and spanning government, business and wider society, the strategy aims to ensure every veteran is celebrated for their service, empowered to fulfil their potential, and supported where needed, while recognising that most are better off for having served.

This Government has launched VALOUR, a new system designed to make it easier for veterans across the UK, including in Scotland, to access the care and support, including the provision of mental health support. VALOUR Recognised Centres will provide access to a range of services, while a network of Field Officers will bring together charities, service providers and local authorities to improve coordination and collaboration. A central VALOUR HQ within the MOD will use data and insight to help ensure services are responsive to veterans' needs and local priorities.

Through the Government's Pride in Place Programme, up to £5.8 billion is being invested over 10 years in 284 neighbourhoods experiencing the highest levels of deprivation, including 24 towns and neighbourhoods in Scotland. In each area, a Neighbourhood Board will work with the local community to decide how this funding is spent, which could include investment in town centre regeneration projects, where these reflect local priorities.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has published guidance on GOV.UK here to support delivery of the Pride in Place Programme. The Government has set up a designated Communities Delivery Unit, sitting within MHCLG, which provides direct ongoing support to local authorities, MPs and Neighbourhood Boards. The Government is also establishing a Network for Neighbourhoods across the UK, which will help areas to build connections and share learning, and give Neighbourhood Boards access to expertise and support.

Scotland Office ministers have regular meetings with the Deputy First Minister, where we discuss local economic growth as one of the key missions of this Government. Our two Governments effectively co-manage the successful Glasgow City Region Growth deal, which includes funding for infrastructure.

Both local and national rail and bus routes in Scotland are devolved, however, and therefore the responsibility of the Scottish Government.