Maureen Burke

The Government will publish an Impact Assessment alongside the legislation that implements the increase to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage in 2025. This will include analysis of the number of workers affected by region and country. More granular estimates by constituency are subject to greater data reliability issues due to survey response rates.

We are currently focused on making Great British Energy’s Aberdeen Headquarters a reality. Once Great British Energy is set-up in Aberdeen, we will work towards opening sites in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and we will provide further detail on this in due course. We are committed to delivering these additional sites, that will enable Great British Energy to tap into a wider labour market, maximising skills and expertise across Scotland.

The Government will provide £8.8 billion funding to UK Research and Innovation in 2025-26, of which £773 million is allocated to talent, including doctoral students. UKRI sets a minimum stipend level for the students that it funds and announced in January that this would increase by 8% (to £20,780) from 1 October, with additional funding provided to UKRI training grants to support the uprating. UKRI considers a range of factors when setting stipends, including affordability, potential impact on the number of students, the welfare of students, ensuring that doctoral training remains attractive to potential candidates, and international peers.

The Government has not considered establishing a dedicated regulator for the video games industry. Video games are already regulated by a number of legislative and voluntary measures, governed by several enforcement bodies.

Video games are regulated with age ratings, which protect children and vulnerable people from inappropriate content. The Government works closely with the Games Rating Authority (GRA) who are designated by Government to ensure games are appropriately rated and include information for buyers on potentially harmful content, for example violence or bad language.

The Online Safety Act, made law on 26 October 2023, applies to online services which allow users to share content and interact with one another. This definition includes some video games, for example those with in-game chat functions. The Act is enforced by Ofcom.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) are responsible for setting and enforcing the UK Advertising Codes; which includes online and in-game advertisements, such as advertising of microtransactions or loot boxes.

Finally, where video game products amount to unlicensed gambling, such as skins gambling, the Gambling Commission has shown it will take strong enforcement action.

The Department is in regular contact with the Organising Company and Scottish Government to support Glasgow 2026. I was pleased to be able to visit Glasgow this summer and discuss with the Commonwealth Sport Coordination Commission and other partners the excellent work that is being done to ensure a successful event and legacy.

The Organising Company will publish further details in late 2025 on how the event will deliver lasting community benefits, alongside a range of other positive outcomes.

As a Government, we are proud to support the Glasgow Games, which will drive economic growth, showcase Scotland and the UK to the world, and build on the legacy of Glasgow 2014.

The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme was previously due to end in March 2025. The Government extended this for one year with an overall budget of £23m. To ensure this budget remains affordable, claims are now capped at £25,000 per place of worship. These changes to the scheme were necessary given the tight fiscal challenges we inherited and the pressures on other parts of the heritage and cultural sectors and we feel that the cap ensures the fairest distribution of the available budget. Based on the Department’s analysis of previous data, 94% of applications between 2022-2024 have been under £25,000, and most of these claims were for under £5,000.

We are fully committed to multi-year funding for our elite sport system and enabling our athletes to excel on the world stage.

This means supporting them financially to match and build on their success in Paris, helping them to deliver at LA 2028. We will set out further details at the Spending Review.

I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Glasgow North East to the answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 45165.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes data annually showing car driving test pass rates by age (17 to 25 year olds), at all driving test centres (DTCs). This data table can be found online at drt122d-car-driving-test-by-age-by-test-centre.ods. This data was last updated on 2 September 2024 with data to March 2024.

The DVSA publishes data quarterly showing car driving test pass rates by gender per month at all DTCs. This data table can be found via: drt122a-car-driving-test-by-test-centre.ods. This data was last updated on 20 December 2024 with data to September 2024.

The Department for Transport has not made a recent assessment, of the merits of amending the national speed limits for rural roads.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

On the 18 December, DVSA set out further plans to reduce driving test waiting times. These steps include recruiting 450 driving examiners (DE) and improving rules for booking driving tests. Full details of these steps can be found on GOV.UK.

DVSA continues to aim to recruit new DEs into the driving test centres that serve the Glasgow North East constituency, and is currently working through the recruitment process from recent campaigns. From this, DVSA hopes to make offers to successful candidates in the new year.

The Government acknowledges the findings of Marie Curie’s Dying in Poverty report (2025), which highlights the financial insecurity experienced by individuals at the end of life.

This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it including for those nearing the end of their life. For these claimants, the Government’s priority is to provide financial support quickly and compassionately. The main way this is applied is through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) which enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain welfare benefits without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.

The Department for Work and Pensions makes it a contractual term of employment that its employees comply with the Civil Service Code and report if ever they are required to act in any way which may be illegal, improper or unethical. Failure to meet this contractual duty could result in disciplinary action, for which the most severe penalty could be dismissal.

The Department uses mandatory induction training and periodic communications to ensure its employees are aware of the standards prescribed by the Code and through its annual ‘People Survey’, employees are asked if they are aware of the Code and know how to report alleged breaches. Undertaking annual training in security and anti-fraud measures, relevant to the Code’s requirement for honesty, is also mandatory and monitored for compliance. Employees are required to declare apparent conflicts of interest and declarations are mandatory for the Senior Civil Service and for employees in particular circumstances.

Day to day, line managers are responsible for ensuring the employees they manage comply with the Code, and for dealing promptly with alleged breaches. All employees can use either the grievance or whistleblowing procedures to request investigation of alleged breaches by colleagues and in the case of whistleblowing, they may also report concerns about breaches of the Code to the Civil Service Commission or National Audit Office.

Confirmed breaches of the Code are recorded for whistleblowing but are also registered in disciplinary data according to the nature of the proven breach, e.g. fraud, theft, data misuse.

The Department for Work and Pensions deploys a variety of methods for monitoring enforcement of rules of conduct that underpin but are not exclusively about the Civil Service Code.

For example, the Departmental Audit and Risk Assurance Committee monitors the effect of measures to prevent and detect dishonesty that takes the form of internal fraud and security breaches, and employees are appointed to roles in areas such as security, data management and fraud detection to assess risks, monitor compliance, implement improvements and undertake investigations.

Other employees, such as human resources experts, support enforcement of the Civil Service Code by monitoring take up of mandatory training and ensure that concerns identified by misconduct, grievances and annual ‘People Survey’ are acted upon.

It is not possible to state all of the ways of monitoring enforcement of rules that ensure compliance with the Civil Service Code’s wide-ranging standards for integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

No assessment has been made. This would be a matter for the Scottish Government and National Records of Scotland: Life Expectancy in Scotland 2021-2023 - National Records of Scotland (NRS)

Last year, I met key palliative care and end-of-life care stakeholders, including Marie Curie, in a roundtable format with a focus on long-term sector sustainability within the context of our 10-Year Health Plan.

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End-of-Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England, and we will consider contracting and commissioning arrangements as part of this work. We recognise that there is currently a mix of contracting models in the hospice sector. By supporting integrated care boards to commission more strategically, we can move away from grant and block contract models. In the long term, this will aid sustainability and help hospices’ ability to plan ahead.

Officials are working closely with Marie Curie and a number of other stakeholders from the hospice sector in the development of the MSF.

While health is predominantly devolved, the Department holds some reserved functions, and working together across the United Kingdom on health and social care is ingrained in the values of our National Health Service and social care sector.

The Department works collaboratively with the devolved administrations to drive forward our objective of supporting people to lead more independent, healthier lives for longer, and to simplify health treatments between the nations of the UK.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and I met with health ministers from the devolved administrations on 11 December at the Interministerial Group for Health and Social Care, where we discussed a range of issues and approaches to drive reform and tackle the common challenges in our healthcare systems.

While health is a devolved matter, to reduce bureaucracy the Government and NHS England have launched a Red Tape Challenge, to address bureaucracy between primary and secondary care, to give our health professionals time back to do what they do best.

We are working to improve access by increasing the number of appointments delivered in general practice (GP), and taking the pressure off those currently working in the system, by investing £82 million in England to recruit over 1,000 newly qualified GPs through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme. We are also training thousands more GPs and ending the 8:00am scramble for appointments by introducing a modern booking system.

Last January, Pharmacy First was launched, which enables patients to receive treatment for seven common health conditions from a pharmacy without the need to visit a GP. In dentistry, we are working to ensure patients can start to access 700,000 additional urgent dental appointments as soon as possible, targeting the areas that need them most.

Additionally, funding announced in the Autumn Budget will support the delivery of an additional 2 million operations, scans, and appointments during our first year in Government, which is the equivalent to 40,000 per week, as a first step in our commitment to ensuring that patients can expect to be treated within 18 weeks.

As part of the Government’s five long-term missions, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan to reform the NHS and make it fit for the future. The plan will set out a bold agenda to deliver on the three big shifts needed to move healthcare from hospital to the community, analogue to digital, and sickness to prevention. The online portal is available for engagement at the following link:

https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

In her recent Spending Review speech, the Chancellor announced that the Government would be establishing a Growth Mission Fund to expedite local projects that are important for growth.

Whilst we cannot confirm funding allocations yet, our £240 million Growth Mission Fund should support transformative projects that give local leaders real investment to deliver real change.

Details regarding funding criteria will be set out in due course.

The Home Office expects the highest standards of cleanliness, safety and hygiene in all asylum accommodation and holds providers to account through the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services (AASC) contracts.

Contractual expectations are set out in the AASC Statement of Requirements (Schedule 2) which requires accommodation providers and their landlords to ensure that properties are safe, habitable and fit for purpose at all times, including meeting standards on cleanliness, hygiene, repairs and health and safety compliance.

Monitoring of accommodation standards is carried out through Home Office contract management and assurance activity, including inspections and performance reporting against contractual requirements.

Reporting routes are available to asylum seekers through the Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service, delivered by Migrant Help, which allows issues or complaints relating to accommodation to be raised.

Investigation and resolution of complaints are managed by the Home Office once issues are escalated by Migrant Help. Providers are required to investigate concerns promptly, take remedial action within contractual timescales, and report outcomes to the Home Office.

Independent customer satisfaction and assurance activity further informs performance management and continuous improvement.

The Home Office expects the highest standards of cleanliness, safety and hygiene in all asylum accommodation and holds providers to account through the Asylum Accommodation and Support Services (AASC) contracts.

Contractual expectations are set out in the AASC Statement of Requirements (Schedule 2) which requires accommodation providers and their landlords to ensure that properties are safe, habitable and fit for purpose at all times, including meeting standards on cleanliness, hygiene, repairs and health and safety compliance.

Monitoring of accommodation standards is carried out through Home Office contract management and assurance activity, including inspections and performance reporting against contractual requirements.

Reporting routes are available to asylum seekers through the Advice, Issue Reporting and Eligibility (AIRE) service, delivered by Migrant Help, which allows issues or complaints relating to accommodation to be raised.

Investigation and resolution of complaints are managed by the Home Office once issues are escalated by Migrant Help. Providers are required to investigate concerns promptly, take remedial action within contractual timescales, and report outcomes to the Home Office.

Independent customer satisfaction and assurance activity further informs performance management and continuous improvement.

UKVI are currently processing applications on all of its routes where a customer service standard is operated within their published customer service standards. As previously announced by the Home Secretary, Family Reunion applications are currently paused. Visa processing times are published on the UKVI website at Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK and Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK.

It may take longer to process an application if:

• the information in the application is not accurate or needs more consideration
• further evidence needs to be provided, for example evidence of funds
• supporting documents need to be verified
• an interview is required

we need more information on personal circumstances (for example if there is a criminal conviction)

Our published transparency statistics can be found here: Migration transparency data - GOV.UK, including data on service standards.

The current publication covers to end of March 2025: Visas, status and immigration data: Q1 2025 - 98% of standard Graduate cases are considered within service standard.

We continue to operate within our service standard of 8 weeks for straightforward applications, with even faster times for our priority services.

We encourage applicants to apply as early as possible and ensure they have provided all required documents, and their university has reported successful course completion to UKVI, to avoid any delay in processing.

Where applications are complex or there is missing information, decisions may take longer. Applicants will have been informed by email if this is the case, but these emails can be missed or ignored. We encourage applicants to check their junk or spam folders and respond promptly to any request for further information. Further information on processing times is available here: Visa processing times - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

If a student’s results are not expected before their current visa expires, and they need more time to demonstrate successful course completion, they may apply to extend their Student visa as set out in the Immigration Rules Appendix Student.