Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he plans to take to provide Jobcentre Plus services in Hamilton and Clyde Valley constituency in future.
Answered by Andrew Western - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
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.
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the potential financial impact of sending patient communications through the NHS App rather than by post on the NHS.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the estimated total cost was of developing the NHS App.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
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.
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of families in Scotland eligible for Tax-Free Childcare and not receiving it.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
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
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of Post Office services in Hamilton and Clyde Valley constituency, including in Lanark, Larkhall and Lesmahagow.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Minister of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade)
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.
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the performance of the Civil Service Pension Scheme in processing retirement claims.
Answered by Sally Jameson - Parliamentary Secretary and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
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.
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of practical driving tests at test centres serving Hamilton and Clyde Valley constituency.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to support veterans in Scotland into employment after leaving the armed forces.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
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.
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the number of (a) households and (b) businesses in Hamilton and Clyde Valley constituency that will receive gigabit-capable broadband through Project Gigabit.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
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.
Asked by: Imogen Walker (Labour - Hamilton and Clyde Valley)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with UNESCO on support for World Heritage Sites in Scotland, including New Lanark.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
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.