Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve service accessibility for deaf claimants who also have additional support needs.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to pursuing a just, equal, and inclusive society, ensuring independence and control for everyone, including our deaf customers.
Customers can communicate with us using Relay UK. We also offer email as a reasonable adjustment as well as a range of different (or alternative) formats such as Easy Read, which uses succinct and simplified language combined with images to convey information about government benefits and services.
UC customers can also communicate with us using the UC journal.
As a department we continue to recognise the importance and value of British Sign Language. We take our commitments seriously and are continuously seeking ways to improve the BSL services we offer.
We’re almost one year into our BSL 5-year plan and have made good progress against our goals. This includes:
For customers with additional support needs, the department offers a wide range of reasonable adjustments, including a visiting service for vulnerable customers who are unable to use our other contact routes, and support from Disability Employment Advisors within our jobcentres.
We continue to review our services and make improvements to ensure they are accessible and responsive to customer needs.
Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to his Department's services for deaf claimants.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department is committed to pursuing a just, equal, and inclusive society, ensuring independence and control for everyone, including our deaf customers.
Customers can communicate with us using Relay UK. We also offer email as a reasonable adjustment as well as a range of different (or alternative) formats such as Easy Read, which uses succinct and simplified language combined with images to convey information about government benefits and services.
UC customers can also communicate with us using the UC journal.
As a department we continue to recognise the importance and value of British Sign Language. We take our commitments seriously and are continuously seeking ways to improve the BSL services we offer.
We’re almost one year into our BSL 5-year plan and have made good progress against our goals. This includes:
For customers with additional support needs, the department offers a wide range of reasonable adjustments, including a visiting service for vulnerable customers who are unable to use our other contact routes, and support from Disability Employment Advisors within our jobcentres.
We continue to review our services and make improvements to ensure they are accessible and responsive to customer needs.
Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average processing time was for applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme by people resident in Glasgow in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The table below shows the average time for decisions to be made on applications* for criminal injuries compensation by people resident in Glasgow**.
Financial Year of CICA decision | Average time (days) |
2020-21 | 377 |
2021-22 | 449 |
2022-23 | 481 |
2023-24 | 487 |
2024-25 | 454 |
* The table does not include archived bereavement applications because the address of the applicant is not retained. In most cases, applications are archived three years after the case has been closed.
** The above table includes all applications where the applicant named Glasgow as the city in their home address in their application.
Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people in Glasgow received awards under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in each of the last five years; and what the value of those awards was.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The table below provides the number of compensation awards paid in each of the last five financial years to applicants living in Glasgow.
Number of compensation awards paid to applicants living in Glasgow* **
Financial Year | Number of awards paid | Total value of those awards |
2020-21 | 349 | £3,584,374 |
2021-22 | 306 | £2,535,552 |
2022-23 | 245 | £2,723,991 |
2023-24 | 367 | £3,592,648 |
2024-25 | 323 | £2,703,553 |
* The above table includes all awards where the applicant named Glasgow as the city in their home address in their application.
**The table does not include archived bereavement applications because the address of the applicant is not retained. In most cases, applications are archived three years after the case has been closed.
Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the Government’s assessment is of the steps required by the UK and international allies to help prevent further illegal settlement building and settler violence in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers I gave on this issue in Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office oral questions on 3 March, and to the joint statement issued by the Foreign Secretary and fourteen of her overseas counterparts on 24 December 2025 condemning condemn the approval by the Israeli security cabinet of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-on-israeli-settlement-expansion-in-the-west-bank.
Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what analysis the Government has undertaken to assess levels of increases of illegal settlement building in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answers I gave on this issue in Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office oral questions on 3 March, and to the joint statement issued by the Foreign Secretary and fourteen of her overseas counterparts on 24 December 2025 condemning condemn the approval by the Israeli security cabinet of 19 new settlements in the occupied West Bank. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/statement-on-israeli-settlement-expansion-in-the-west-bank.
Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many instances of cars being illegally unclamped have been reported to the Police by the DVLA since 1st March 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency does not hold a record of instances reported to the police. However, since 1 March 2025, just under 28,000 immobilisation devices were unlawfully removed from a vehicle before the wheelclamping company returned to impound it and the vehicle was no longer present.
Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether discussions have taken place between his Department and (a) NHS England, (b) the British Association of Prosthetics and Orthotics and (c) universities on the sustainability of prosthetics and orthotics training programmes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the Department for Education to support the availability of a diverse range of training routes into health and care careers including prosthetics and orthotics. While the Government is committed to ensuring sustainable training pathways for the future supply of prosthetics and orthotists, higher education institutions are independent providers and are responsible for making their own decisions about course delivery and viability.
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England remain committed to working with stakeholders through NHS England’s small and vulnerable professions programme, to help maintain and strengthen training and education pathways for pre-registration learners. This work has been supported recently with a meeting between myself and the British Association of Prosthetics and Orthotics to discuss strengthening a sustainable training and workforce pipeline.
Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department or NHS England has undertaken a risk assessment on the potential closure of prosthetics and orthotics pre-registration programmes.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the Department for Education to support the availability of a diverse range of training routes into health and care careers including prosthetics and orthotics. While the Government is committed to ensuring sustainable training pathways for the future supply of prosthetics and orthotists, higher education institutions are independent providers and are responsible for making their own decisions about course delivery and viability.
The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England remain committed to working with stakeholders through NHS England’s small and vulnerable professions programme, to help maintain and strengthen training and education pathways for pre-registration learners. This work has been supported recently with a meeting between myself and the British Association of Prosthetics and Orthotics to discuss strengthening a sustainable training and workforce pipeline.
Asked by: John Grady (Labour - Glasgow East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking to help ensure compliance with International Law with reference to cross-border military actions in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 11 March to Question 116086.