Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will issue guidance on (a) what a single sex space is, (b) whether toilets should be considered single sex spaces and (c) whether any toilets should be excluded from this designation.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
The Supreme Court’s ruling has brought clarity and confidence for women and single-sex services providers. The Government will work closely with the EHRC as they develop definitive guidance. All government departments should follow the clarity the ruling provides.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential impact of recent changes to welfare provision on families in Scotland.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
Scotland needs both its governments to step up and fix a broken welfare system.
We will ensure the system protects the most vulnerable who can’t work, while supporting people who can into work.
But in Scotland there are people who want to work but can’t because they are stuck on an NHS waiting list, employability services have faced cuts, college places are at a decade low and the equivalent of a large secondary school’s worth of kids leave school every year without qualifications, and there is a declared housing crisis in Scotland - does the hon Member really think that speaks well of the SNP’s record?
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, which jobcentres in Scotland have seen work coach staffing numbers reduced (a) since 2018-19 and (b) in the year for which the most recent data is available.
Answered by Alison McGovern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Work Coach staffing numbers for 2018-19 are unavailable. We have therefore compared Work Coach staffing numbers between March 2020 and the latest position (February 2025).
The following Jobcentres in Scotland have seen reductions in Work Coach levels between the two periods of March 2020 and February 2025:
Airdrie Stirling Street
Forfar Service Road
Forres Tytler Street
Fraserburgh South Harbour Road
Glasgow Radnor House
Greenock Dalrymple Street
Leven Waggon Road
Paisley High Street
The following Jobcentres in Scotland have seen reductions in Work Coach levels between the two periods of March 2024 and February 2025:
Annan Murray Street
Ayr Wallacetoun House
Dumfries Irish Street
Forfar Service Road
Fraserburgh South Harbour Road
Glasgow Radnor House
Leven Waggon Road
Paisley High Street
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 36656 on Refugees, whether any statelessness determination applications have been refused since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not available from published statistics, but, in general, casework actions on statelessness claims are taken daily and we routinely review and monitor outstanding statelessness cases to ensure they are progressed without delay. This includes making decisions to grant or refuse statelessness claims.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2025 to Question 36656 on Refugees, whether any statelessness determination applications have been granted since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not available from published statistics, but, in general, casework actions on statelessness claims are taken daily and we routinely review and monitor outstanding statelessness cases to ensure they are progressed without delay. This includes making decisions to grant or refuse statelessness claims.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2025 to Question 36658 on Home Office: Training, how many people have acted as mentors in the last 12 months.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not readily available, and could only be collected for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2025 to Question 36658 on Home Office: Training, how many people have been mentored in the last 12 months.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not readily available, and could only be collected for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will outline the (a) content and (b) frequency of statelessness-specific training for her Department's statelessness determination unit.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
Statelessness Determination training for caseworkers new to this work, consists of two weeks classroom training covering the Statelessness Convention and the relevant immigration rules and how these apply to statelessness casework with case studies.
After the initial classroom training, there is approximately nine weeks of mentoring where caseworkers complete statelessness casework with a mentor and are assessed with the aim to transition to independent case working.
After completing initial training and mentoring, caseworkers receive ongoing support and assessment through quality assurance from their technical specialist who is also available to assist with cases and casework queries. If new rules or legislation are introduced, training is delivered as and when required.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were refused statelessness status by her Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not available from published statistics and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department employs anyone to work exclusively on statelessness determination applications.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office employs a small team which covers the issue of statelessness applications, but also routinely covers different, or additional work, as business needs and priorities require.