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Written Question
State Retirement Pensions: Women
Monday 9th December 2024

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, if she will make an estimate of the number of women born in the 1950s affected by State Pension age changes in each constituency in (a) Scotland and (b) Northern Ireland.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

In Scotland, as of the 2022 census there were the following numbers of 1950s-born women in each Scottish constituency:

Constituency

Females aged 63 to 72 in 2022

East Renfrewshire

6,086

Na h-Eileanan an Iar

1,914

Midlothian

5,569

North Ayrshire and Arran

6,866

Orkney and Shetland

2,901

Aberdeen North

6,079

Aberdeen South

5,144

Aberdeenshire North and Moray East

6,279

Airdrie and Shotts

5,342

Alloa and Grangemouth

5,716

Angus and Perthshire Glens

7,146

Arbroath and Broughty Ferry

6,507

Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber

7,029

Bathgate and Linlithgow

5,286

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross

6,977

Coatbridge and Bellshill

5,540

Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy

5,976

Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch

5,585

Dumfries and Galloway

7,212

Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale

6,432

Dundee Central

5,094

Dunfermline and Dollar

5,543

East Kilbride and Strathaven

5,921

Edinburgh East and Musselburgh

4,895

Edinburgh North and Leith

4,363

Edinburgh South

5,203

Edinburgh South West

4,699

Edinburgh West

5,847

Falkirk

5,732

Glasgow East

4,516

Glasgow North

3,995

Glasgow North East

4,823

Glasgow South

4,754

Glasgow South West

4,648

Glasgow West

4,880

Glenrothes and Mid Fife

5,958

Gordon and Buchan

5,696

Hamilton and Clyde Valley

5,982

Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West

6,209

Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire

6,686

Livingston

5,600

Lothian East

6,023

Mid Dunbartonshire

6,639

Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey

6,736

Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke

5,589

North East Fife

6,248

Paisley and Renfrewshire North

5,749

Paisley and Renfrewshire South

5,439

Perth and Kinross-shire

6,664

Rutherglen

6,004

Stirling and Strathallan

5,965

West Dunbartonshire

5,905

Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock

6,619

Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk

7,240

Central Ayrshire

6,245

Kilmarnock and Loudoun

6,100

West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine

6,004

The relevant Scottish census data is available here in table UV102a, broken down by United Kingdom Parliamentary Constituency 2024: SuperWEB2(tm) - Table View.

In Northern Ireland, as of the 2021 census there were the following numbers of 1950s-born women in each Northern Irish constituency:

Constituency

Females aged 62 to 71 in 2021

Belfast East

4,825

Belfast North

5,116

Belfast South and Mid Down

5,343

Belfast West

5,081

East Antrim

5,633

East Londonderry

5,771

Fermanagh and South Tyrone

5,701

Foyle

5,087

Lagan Valley

5,528

Mid Ulster

4,845

Newry and Armagh

5,439

North Antrim

5,656

North Down

6,181

South Antrim

5,286

South Down

5,441

Strangford

5,917

Upper Bann

5,796

West Tyrone

5,234

The relevant Northern Irish census data is available in this table: Get data for Single year of age and sex (MS-A09) | NISRA Flexible Table Builder


Written Question
Low Alcohol Drinks: Labelling
Monday 18th November 2024

Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the consultation entitled Updating labelling guidance for no and low-alcohol alternatives, published on 28 September 2023, whether his Department plans to take steps to update labelling guidance for no and low-alcohol alternatives.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

A consultation published in 2023 considered options for updating labelling guidance for no and low alcohol alternative drinks.

We will continue to consider how alcohol labelling can be improved to support consumers to make informed decisions about the products they are purchasing, whilst also promoting responsible consumption.


Written Question
Low Alcohol Drinks: Labelling
Monday 18th November 2024

Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to standardise the term alcohol-free at 0.5% ABV for no and low-alcohol alternatives.

Answered by Andrew Gwynne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

A consultation published in 2023 considered options for updating labelling guidance for no and low alcohol alternative drinks.

We will continue to consider how alcohol labelling can be improved to support consumers to make informed decisions about the products they are purchasing, whilst also promoting responsible consumption.


Written Question
Asylum: Aberdeen
Tuesday 7th May 2024

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 and what proportion of offers for dispersal accommodation for asylum seekers in Aberdeen have been made to asylum seekers staying in (a) contingency and (b) bridging hotel accommodation in Scotland in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Pursglove

Bridging hotel accommodation was previously used to temporarily house Afghans resettling in the UK and has not been used to accommodate asylum seekers. As of 31 August 2023, we have successfully ended the use of bridging hotels for legally resettled Afghans.

Asylum accommodation is offered on a no choice basis. Asylum seekers receiving asylum support may be accommodated in any area of the UK where the Home Office has a supply of accommodation available and ready to use.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation (including in contingency hotels and other contingency accommodation) is published in table Asy_D11 here: Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data is published on a quarterly basis.


Written Question
Asylum: Aberdeen
Tuesday 7th May 2024

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 he will make an estimate of the number of asylum seekers that have been transferred from (a) contingency and (b) bridging hotel accommodation in England to similar accommodation in Aberdeen in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Pursglove

Bridging hotel accommodation was previously used to temporarily house Afghans resettling in the UK and has not been used to accommodate asylum seekers. As of 31 August 2023, we have successfully ended the use of bridging hotels for legally resettled Afghans.

Asylum accommodation is offered on a no choice basis. Asylum seekers receiving asylum support may be accommodated in any area of the UK where the Home Office has a supply of accommodation available and ready to use.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation (including in contingency hotels and other contingency accommodation) is published in table Asy_D11 here: Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data is published on a quarterly basis.


Written Question
Asylum: Aberdeen
Tuesday 7th May 2024

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 vacant places there are in asylum seeker (a) contingency and (b) bridging hotels in Aberdeen.

Answered by Tom Pursglove

Bridging hotel accommodation was previously used to temporarily house Afghans resettling in the UK and has not been used to accommodate asylum seekers. As of 31 August 2023, we have successfully ended the use of bridging hotels for legally resettled Afghans.

Asylum accommodation is offered on a no choice basis. Asylum seekers receiving asylum support may be accommodated in any area of the UK where the Home Office has a supply of accommodation available and ready to use.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation (including in contingency hotels and other contingency accommodation) is published in table Asy_D11 here: Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data is published on a quarterly basis.


Written Question
Asylum: Aberdeen
Tuesday 7th May 2024

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 he will make an estimate of the number of asylum seekers that have been transferred from (a) contingency and (b) bridging hotel accommodation in Aberdeen to similar accommodation in England in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Pursglove

Bridging hotel accommodation was previously used to temporarily house Afghans resettling in the UK and has not been used to accommodate asylum seekers. As of 31 August 2023, we have successfully ended the use of bridging hotels for legally resettled Afghans.

Asylum accommodation is offered on a no choice basis. Asylum seekers receiving asylum support may be accommodated in any area of the UK where the Home Office has a supply of accommodation available and ready to use.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation (including in contingency hotels and other contingency accommodation) is published in table Asy_D11 here: Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data is published on a quarterly basis.


Written Question
Asylum: Scotland
Tuesday 7th May 2024

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 he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of transporting asylum seekers in taxis to (a) contingency and (b) bridging hotels from (i) Aberdeen to (ii) Glasgow in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Pursglove

Bridging hotel accommodation was previously used to temporarily house Afghans resettling in the UK and has not been used to accommodate asylum seekers. As of 31 August 2023, we have successfully ended the use of bridging hotels for legally resettled Afghans.

Costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not publish this information. The total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK.

The AASC Requirements below gives a detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and to the standards we expect. Full details of our polices:

http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2018-1112/AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf.


Written Question
Asylum: Scotland
Tuesday 7th May 2024

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 he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of transporting asylum seekers in taxis to (a) contingency and (b) bridging hotels from (i) Glasgow to (ii) Aberdeen in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Pursglove

Bridging hotel accommodation was previously used to temporarily house Afghans resettling in the UK and has not been used to accommodate asylum seekers. As of 31 August 2023, we have successfully ended the use of bridging hotels for legally resettled Afghans.

Costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not publish this information. The total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK.

The AASC Requirements below gives a detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and to the standards we expect. Full details of our polices:

http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2018-1112/AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf.


Written Question
Asylum: Scotland
Tuesday 7th May 2024

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 he will make an estimate of the number of taxis that have taken asylum seekers between (a) contingency and (b) bridging hotel accommodation from (i) Aberdeen to (ii) Glasgow in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Pursglove

Bridging hotel accommodation was previously used to temporarily house Afghans resettling in the UK and has not been used to accommodate asylum seekers. As of 31 August 2023, we have successfully ended the use of bridging hotels for legally resettled Afghans.

Costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not publish this information. The total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at HO annual reports and accounts - GOV.UK.

The AASC Requirements below gives a detailed breakdown of all of the services to be undertaken by our accommodation providers and to the standards we expect. Full details of our polices:

http://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2018-1112/AASC_-_Schedule_2_-_Statement_of_Requirements.pdf.