Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the impact of people who arrive in the UK on the health and care visa and their dependents on the economy since that scheme was established.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Impact Assessments evaluating the impacts of policy changes to the Health and Care Worker route since it was established can be found at Impact assessments covering migration policy - GOV.UK. These provide insight into economic impacts of the route, addressing matters such as direct and indirect business impacts and the visa fee revenue collected by the Home Office.

Further analysis of the economic impact of those on the Health and Care Worker visa can be found in Chapter 1 of the independent Migration Advisory Committee’s 2024 Annual Report (Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) annual report, 2024 (accessible) - GOV.UK). The OBR also assesses the potential economic implications of net migration, to which those on the Health and Care Worker visa contribute, as part of their Economic and Fiscal outlook (Net migration forecast and its impact on the economy - Office for Budget Responsibility).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff work for the Child Maintenance Service by each civil service pay bracket.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The number of staff who work for the Child Maintenance Service by each civil service pay bracket has been provided in the tables 1 and 2 below.

Table 1: The Child Maintenance Service, Great Britain (CMS GB) have a total of 3,831 staff in post.

Data to December 2024

Table 2: The Department for Communities, Northern Ireland (DFC NI) administers casework for Paying Parents living in Northern Ireland under Northern Ireland legislation for the 2012 scheme and have their own funding process, pay structure and grading system. DFC NI also provide services to CMS GB under a Memorandum of Understanding. There are a total of 987 staff in post providing these services who are either civil servants employed by the DFC NI or agency staff employed by The Recruitment Co.

Data to December 2024

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many child maintenance administrative liability orders were rejected by courts in each year between 2021 and 2024; and for what reasons courts rejected these applications.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

Where parents fail to take responsibility for paying for their children, the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) will not hesitate to use the range of enforcement powers available, and a liability order facilitates this.

A liability order allows the CMS to formally have the debt a paying parent owes legally recognised in a court of law. It can choose which enforcement method to proceed with depending on the circumstances of the case, and the welfare of any qualifying children involved.

Following the Child Support (Enforcement) Act 2023 receiving royal assent in July 2023, secondary legislation is required to bring into force existing powers that allow the CMS to make an administrative liability order (ALO) against a person who has failed to pay child maintenance and is in arrears.

The ALO will replace the current requirement for the CMS to apply to the court for a liability order enabling CMS to take faster action against those paying parents who actively avoid their responsibilities and will get money to children more quickly.

Liability orders have not yet been replaced by ALOs, so we are only able to provide data for liability orders. Published data can be found on the national tables page 6.1. Please find a summary of the data below.

Data on the reasons a court rejected a liability order is not held centrally and to compile it would not be an effective use of operational resources.

The CMS applied for approximately;

• 17,800 liability orders between October 2023 and September 2024,
• 15,100 liability orders between October 2022 and September 2023, and
• 11,300 liability orders between October 2021 and September 2022.

Approximate number of liability orders withdrawn or dismissed (rejected);

• 1,200 liability orders between October 2023 and September 2024,
• 900 liability orders between October 2022 and September 2023, and
• 900 liability orders between October 2021 and September 2022.

(Please note that the figures exclude Scotland).

It is worth noting that an important reason for liability orders being withdrawn is that they are settled prior to going to court.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much the supervision and processing of (a) Direct Pay arrangements and (b) Collect and Pay arrangements cost the Child Maintenance Service.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The cost of running the Child Maintenance Service is not separated between supervision and processing of (a) Direct Pay arrangements and (b) Collect and Pay arrangements, therefore, the information requested is not held.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate with the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the potential impact of the number of people granted Health and Care Worker visas on the public finances since in the period since that visa was introduced; and how many of those people have since qualified for indefinite leave to remain.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The information requested is not centrally held, and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the impact of people who have arrived in the UK on the Skilled Worker Visa on the economy since that scheme was established.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Impact Assessments evaluating the impacts of policy changes to the Skilled Worker route since it was established can be found at Impact assessments covering migration policy - GOV.UK. These provide insight into economic impacts of the route, addressing matters such as direct and indirect business impacts and the visa fee revenue collected by the Home Office.

Further analysis of the economic impact of those on the Skilled Worker visa can be found in Chapters 1 and 2 of the independent Migration Advisory Committee’s 2024 Annual Report (Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) annual report, 2024 (accessible) - GOV.UK). The OBR also assesses the potential economic implications of net migration, to which those on the Skilled Worker visa contribute, as part of their Economic and Fiscal outlook (Net migration forecast and its impact on the economy - Office for Budget Responsibility).

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the annual budget of the Child Maintenance Service was in each year since 2021; and what the forecast budget is for 2025.

Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

The table below outlines the Child Maintenance Service budget for each year since 2021, sourced from the CMS Management Accounts.

The budget for 2025/2026 has not yet been finalised and therefore is not included.

Note: the budget information does not represent actual spend.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of full-time undergraduate students with British nationality non-domiciled in the UK are paying international fees.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department is not able to identify which non-UK domiciled students who hold British nationality are paying international fees.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is responsible for collecting and publishing data on the UK higher education sector. These data are shared with the department and includes a wide range of information on students coming from overseas to study in UK higher education providers (HEPs), including their legal nationality. Information on the type of fees a student pays, however, is not collected across all UK HEPs.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has plans to conduct a fiscal impact analysis of trends in the level of Indefinite leave to remain grants on the economy.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) produces forecasts of the UK’s economic and fiscal position.

The government sets its fiscal policy on the basis of the official OBR forecast.

Box 4.5 of the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook published in March 2024 sets out estimated impacts of migration on the fiscal forecast. As the minimum residency required to move to indefinite leave to remain is currently at least 5 years, this falls outside the forecast period. As the OBR says in the March 2024 EFO. ”However, our forecasts will capture the cost of any immigrants from previous cohorts who now claim welfare through Indefinite leave to remain grants because their claims will be included in the outturn data that provides the starting point for our forecast”.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made cost benefit analysis of the Health and Care Worker visa.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Impact Assessments evaluating the impacts of policy changes to the Health and Care Worker route since it was established can be found at: Impact assessments covering migration policy - GOV.UK. These provide insight into specific economic impacts of the route, addressing matters such as direct and indirect business impacts and the visa fee revenue collected by the Home Office.

Further analysis of the economic impact of those on the Health and Care Worker visa can be found in Chapter 1 of the independent Migration Advisory Committee’s 2024 Annual Report (Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) annual report, 2024 (accessible) - GOV.UK). The OBR also assesses the potential economic implications of net migration, to which those on the Health and Care Worker visa contribute, as part of their Economic and Fiscal outlook (Net migration forecast and its impact on the economy - Office for Budget Responsibility).

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her department records the (a) employment and (b) earnings of (i) people who arrived in the UK on a Health and Care Worker visa and (ii) their dependents.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

Every migrant is required to submit a valid certificate of sponsorship (CoS) that details their employment and earnings whenever they apply for a skilled worker (including a Health and Care) visa. These details remain on our Sponsor Management System.

Home Office staff carry out compliance checks on the employers that sponsor the migrant workers to verify their roles and earnings. No equivalent data is currently collected in respect of their dependents.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many cases are waiting to be assessed by the Building Safety Regulator.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We are aware that there have been delays for applicants in Gateway Two. The Building Safety Regulator have told applicants to currently plan on the basis of 20 weeks to clear Gateway Two, although we are seeing signs that this processing time is improving. This is compared to the Service Level Agreement of 12 weeks for new builds. We also understand there are specific applications which exceed current average processing timescales.

The new regulatory approach for building control on higher-risk buildings represents a fundamental shift in the approach to building safety. The introduction of the new regulatory regime initially resulted in a lot of poor quality and incomplete applications. The BSR are supporting applicants to ensure they are meeting the functional requirements of the building regulations. It is worth noting that the requirements in the regulations are not new and rejected applications contribute to the processing time of compliant applications.

We recognise the changes are still bedding in, however it is clear that the sector must also take responsibility for the projects they deliver. Guidance is available to support them in understanding their duties.

MHCLG and BSR have taken the following actions to enable applications to be processed more efficiently:

• The BSR has recruited additional personnel and they are starting to process applications.
• The department has granted funding to HSE this financial year to improve its infrastructure, training and processes to maximise the BSR’s efficiency and effectiveness.
• MHCLG and the BSR are also reviewing how the multidisciplinary teams which assess applications are resourced, to enable faster stand-up times.
• We are aware of the wider issues with capacity and capability faced by the sector and the Government has invested £16.5 million in new local authority building control inspectors to support the BSR. The Government has also provided funding to support 111 additional Fire and Rescue staff to support the BSR. Work to recruit and train these additional staff is well underway.
• BSR continues to review guidance to industry on compliance with the building regulations.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking to increase the number of claims processed by the Building Safety Regulator.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We are aware that there have been delays for applicants in Gateway Two. The Building Safety Regulator have told applicants to currently plan on the basis of 20 weeks to clear Gateway Two, although we are seeing signs that this processing time is improving. This is compared to the Service Level Agreement of 12 weeks for new builds. We also understand there are specific applications which exceed current average processing timescales.

The new regulatory approach for building control on higher-risk buildings represents a fundamental shift in the approach to building safety. The introduction of the new regulatory regime initially resulted in a lot of poor quality and incomplete applications. The BSR are supporting applicants to ensure they are meeting the functional requirements of the building regulations. It is worth noting that the requirements in the regulations are not new and rejected applications contribute to the processing time of compliant applications.

We recognise the changes are still bedding in, however it is clear that the sector must also take responsibility for the projects they deliver. Guidance is available to support them in understanding their duties.

MHCLG and BSR have taken the following actions to enable applications to be processed more efficiently:

• The BSR has recruited additional personnel and they are starting to process applications.
• The department has granted funding to HSE this financial year to improve its infrastructure, training and processes to maximise the BSR’s efficiency and effectiveness.
• MHCLG and the BSR are also reviewing how the multidisciplinary teams which assess applications are resourced, to enable faster stand-up times.
• We are aware of the wider issues with capacity and capability faced by the sector and the Government has invested £16.5 million in new local authority building control inspectors to support the BSR. The Government has also provided funding to support 111 additional Fire and Rescue staff to support the BSR. Work to recruit and train these additional staff is well underway.
• BSR continues to review guidance to industry on compliance with the building regulations.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what the average time was for the Building Safety Regulator to make a decision in the last 12 months.

Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

We are aware that there have been delays for applicants in Gateway Two. The Building Safety Regulator have told applicants to currently plan on the basis of 20 weeks to clear Gateway Two, although we are seeing signs that this processing time is improving. This is compared to the Service Level Agreement of 12 weeks for new builds. We also understand there are specific applications which exceed current average processing timescales.

The new regulatory approach for building control on higher-risk buildings represents a fundamental shift in the approach to building safety. The introduction of the new regulatory regime initially resulted in a lot of poor quality and incomplete applications. The BSR are supporting applicants to ensure they are meeting the functional requirements of the building regulations. It is worth noting that the requirements in the regulations are not new and rejected applications contribute to the processing time of compliant applications.

We recognise the changes are still bedding in, however it is clear that the sector must also take responsibility for the projects they deliver. Guidance is available to support them in understanding their duties.

MHCLG and BSR have taken the following actions to enable applications to be processed more efficiently:

• The BSR has recruited additional personnel and they are starting to process applications.
• The department has granted funding to HSE this financial year to improve its infrastructure, training and processes to maximise the BSR’s efficiency and effectiveness.
• MHCLG and the BSR are also reviewing how the multidisciplinary teams which assess applications are resourced, to enable faster stand-up times.
• We are aware of the wider issues with capacity and capability faced by the sector and the Government has invested £16.5 million in new local authority building control inspectors to support the BSR. The Government has also provided funding to support 111 additional Fire and Rescue staff to support the BSR. Work to recruit and train these additional staff is well underway.
• BSR continues to review guidance to industry on compliance with the building regulations.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on subsequent family migration patterns of people with Indefinite Leave to Remain.

Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)

The information requested is not centrally held and could only be collected and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.

The Bereavement Journey programme

Found: Patricia Ferguson MP (Chair) • Lillian Jones MP • Douglas McAllister MP • Angus MacDonald MP2 • Jack Rankin

Found: Chair) • Lillian Jones MP • Mr Angus MacDonald MP • Douglas McAllister MP • Susan Murray • Jack Rankin

Found: Q17 Jack Rankin: That is clear, thank you.

Found: Q17 Jack Rankin: That is clear, thank you.

Found: Q17 Jack Rankin: That is clear, thank you.

No description available

Submit Evidence (by 27 Mar 2025)

The Committee’s work on industrial transition in Scotland has two parts. The first part of the inquiry considers Scotland’s industrial past, how its industrial landscape has changed over time, and the socio-economic impact of industrial transition on communities. The second part examines the future of Scotland’s industrial landscape and the extent to which the UK Government’s forthcoming industrial strategy ‘Invest 2035’ is geared towards the challenges and opportunities facing Scotland today.