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 decisions on statelessness applications made in 2024 were challenged through administrative review; how many of those reviews have been completed; and how many of those completed resulted in a grant of leave.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose 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, with reference to data provided by her Department in relation to the court case Asylum Aid v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025] EWHC 316 (Admin), for what reason 170 statelessness applications submitted between 31 January and 31 December 2024 were rejected without consideration.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose 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, how many rejections of statelessness applications submitted in 2024 have been followed by renewed applications.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose 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, what the most common grounds were for the rejection of statelessness applications submitted in 2024.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
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, when she plans to respond to the letter of 9 April 2025 from the hon. Member for Aberdeen North, reference ZA32718, case CMPT12025/33740.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
We aim to investigate issues raised by complainants, and MPs on their behalf, within 15 working days, but where the case is complex, we may need to take longer.
We acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 9th April 2025 and will provide a reply shortly.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many posts there are for (a) press, (b) media and (c) other communications staff in his Department; and what the salary band is for each post.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In the central Cabinet Office communications team, there are a total of 37 Full Time Equivalent Government Communication Service professionals.
Of this total, 14 are in the media discipline which covers press and media responsibilities.
This is the latest available data from June 2024.
Information on Cabinet Office salary bands can be found in the Statistical tables - Civil Service Statistics: 2024 found here.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) press, (b) media and (c) other communications posts there are in his Department; and what the salary band is for each post.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the central Communications team of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, there are a total of 86 Full Time Equivalent Government Communications Service posts.
Of this 24 work in media relations.
This is the latest available data from March 2025.
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, how many waiver requests from overpayment recovery of Universal Credit were (a) recorded and (b) granted (i) in full and (ii) partially for (A) each of the last two calendar years and (B) the current calendar year to date.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
In last year's Annual Report and Accounts (ARA) waivers were included as part of the losses and special payments section on page 258: DWP annual report and accounts 2023 to 2024 (HTML) - GOV.UK.
Information regarding Secretary of State discretion to waive recovery of debt can be found in Chapter 8 of the Benefit Overpayment Recovery Guide which is published on gov.uk. Benefit overpayment recovery guide - GOV.UK
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the EHCR's Interim update on the practical implications of the UK Supreme Court judgment published on 25 April 2025, what guidance her Department has provided to (a) workplaces and (b) hospitality venues on access to single sex facilities.
Answered by Nia Griffith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
The Government has set out our expectation that organisations follow the clarity the ruling provides. The EHRC’s interim update provides a perspective on how the judgment and Equality Act are practically applied in some areas. The EHRC has already committed to supporting organisations, including workplaces, with its updated statutory Code of Practice following consultation; we will engage them as necessary as they progress this work.
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, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of its proposed disability benefit changes on children's educational attainment.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made.
Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’(opens in a new tab).
A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.