Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the £8.14 million grassroots sports facilities fund on access to sport in deprived communities.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government’s announcement of £8.14m investment in Scotland in 2026/27, via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, will encourage more people to be active by delivering high-quality grassroots sports facilities.

This funding is designed to benefit areas most in need, based on deprivation and inactivity rates, with 50% of investment being allocated to the 30% most deprived areas in Scotland. Additionally, at least 40% of projects will have a multi-sport offer, allowing more people to participate in a broader range of sports.

The programme also aims to increase participation levels for women and girls in Scotland and across the UK, through ensuring priority use slots for women and girls teams. Projects funded through the programme include new and upgraded changing pavilions, which create more appropriate facilities for women and girls.

The Secretary of State and I recently visited facilities in East Kilbride and The Spartans FC where we saw the impact of this investment.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how the grassroots sports facilities fund will be used to promote women's football in Scotland.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government’s announcement of £8.14m investment in Scotland in 2026/27, via the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, will encourage more people to be active by delivering high-quality grassroots sports facilities.

This funding is designed to benefit areas most in need, based on deprivation and inactivity rates, with 50% of investment being allocated to the 30% most deprived areas in Scotland. Additionally, at least 40% of projects will have a multi-sport offer, allowing more people to participate in a broader range of sports.

The programme also aims to increase participation levels for women and girls in Scotland and across the UK, through ensuring priority use slots for women and girls teams. Projects funded through the programme include new and upgraded changing pavilions, which create more appropriate facilities for women and girls.

The Secretary of State and I recently visited facilities in East Kilbride and The Spartans FC where we saw the impact of this investment.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many workers in Glasgow are estimated to benefit from day-one rights when the Employment Rights Act comes into force on 1 April 2026.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Across the UK from 6 April 2026, new day one rights will now allow 32,000 more dads and partners each year to take paternity leave and 1.5m more parents to take unpaid parental leave. This will support working families to juggle the modern demands of work with raising children. The government is also bringing in changes that will mean up to 1.3 million more employees, particularly in lower-paid or part-time roles are able to access Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) through the removal of the Lower Earnings Limit and ensuring all employees can access SSP from the first day of sickness absence.

Analysis also shows Scotland is expected to disproportionately benefit from the Employment Rights Act. Further detail on this analysis can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what guidance and support is available to businesses in Scotland to help ensure compliance with the Employment Rights Act.

Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

The Employment Rights Act 2025 will be delivered gradually over a two-year period to give businesses time to prepare.

We are working in partnership with business organisations to build awareness about the changes and ensure there is practical support available.

We have also rolled out a new online resource offering practical guidance and support on what the changes mean and how to comply. All businesses and other employers in Scotland, Wales and England, can visit business.gov.uk/employment-changes to find clear timelines, a summary of key changes and actions to take, and links to additional guidance.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of further education colleges in Scotland on the skills requirement for the defence industrial strategy.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

Further education has a significant role to play in giving Scotland’s, and the UK’s, defence sector the highly skilled workforce they need, both now and in the future. That is why, alongside the Defence Industrial Strategy, we have announced a £182 million skills package that contains initiatives to support people at all stages of their education and careers, including those in further education. This package includes specific funding allocated to support skills needs in Scotland, which as part of Scotland’s Defence Growth Deal, we are working with key stakeholders to define how this funding is best spent to support defence skills development in Scotland.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department has taken with the Scottish Government to ensure the Warm Homes Plan helps support households in Scotland.

Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each have unique devolution settlements. The age, tenure, type and size of building stock varies across different parts of the UK. Therefore, some aspects of the Warm Homes Plan will apply equally in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland while other parts will not be relevant in all nations of the UK.

The UK Government will continue to work closely with the Devolved Governments in delivering the Warm Homes Plan.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has been made of how the Employment Rights Act will help reduce economic inactivity.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The Employment Rights Act will support a reduction in economic inactivity by improving job security, job quality and working conditions, particularly for those in lower paid and insecure roles, who are concentrated in more deprived areas of the UK. Over 18 million employees are expected to benefit in some way from the Act’s new protections, with the greatest gains for workers in sectors such as social care, hospitality and retail, where low pay and irregular hours are most prevalent.

By strengthening protections for those at the margins of the labour market, the Act helps make work more stable, predictable and attractive. This is expected to encourage more people to enter or return to the labour market, supporting higher participation and reducing inactivity over time.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will confirm that ticket sales for prize draws offering both paid and free entry routes – as set out by the voluntary Code of Conduct published by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – are subject to VAT under the Value Added Tax Act 1994.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC confirm that prize draws offering both paid and free entry routes are not eligible for VAT exemption and paid entries will be subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure individuals with large liabilities under the Loan Charge are given adequate support, particularly in cases involving financial and personal distress.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government recognised that concerns continued to be raised about the loan charge and that some felt strongly that it had not been handled appropriately. The Government therefore commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to bring the matter to a close for those who had not settled and paid their loan charge liabilities.

The Government accepted all but one of the independent review’s recommendations and in some cases is going further. The Government’s decision to write off £5,000 from everyone’s liability will mean that around a third will have their liabilities written off entirely. Most people will see reductions in their liabilities of at least 50%.

HMRC will continue to work with taxpayers to resolve their cases in line with existing legislation and case law. HMRC is committed to working sensitively and pragmatically with taxpayers to reach settlement. This includes offering flexible payment terms where people need more time to pay their liabilities.

The Government takes the wellbeing of all taxpayers very seriously. Vulnerable customers can make use of HMRC’s well-established Extra Support Service.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of the enforcement of Section 2A of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office maintains a rigorous approach to enforcing Section 2A of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA), which embeds the statutory principles of replacement, reduction and refinement (the 3Rs). All applications proposing the use of animals undergo a robust assessment to ensure that non-animal alternatives have been fully explored, that any animal use is fully justified and that potential harms are minimised. Compliance with the 3Rs is actively monitored by the Animals in Science Regulation Unit through a programme of audit and enforcement activity.

All establishments which test on animals are required to establish an Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body (AWERB). AWERBs have a statutory responsibility under ASPA to advise on the application of the 3Rs within establishments. The Home Office has commissioned the Animals in Science Committee for advice on strengthening the effectiveness of AWERBs.

In November 2025, the Government published “Replacing animals in science: a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods”. This strategy commits to delivery of recommendations published in the ‘Rawle Report’, which involve strengthening Home Office processes for assuring full implementation of the 3Rs. The report is available here: https://nc3rs.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-02/Rawle%20project%20report.pdf.

Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the non-technical summaries for project licences granted in October – December 2025, what steps she is taking to phase out the use of animals in science.

Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

On 11th November 2025 the government published “Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods” which outlines the steps we will take to achieve this. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/replacing-animals-in-science-strategy/replacing-animals-in-science-a-strategy-to-support-the-development-validation-and-uptake-of-alternative-methods(opens in a new tab) ).

The Home Office publishes non-technical summaries (NTS) for every project licence granted under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. The non-technical summaries include the species and number of animals expected to be used over the duration of the project licence.

100th anniversary of the birth of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Together Alliance

King's Guard's ceremonial bearskin caps

150th anniversary of Partick Thistle Football Club

Found: Attendance Patricia Ferguson (Labour, Glasgow West) (Chair) (added 12 Sep 2024) 45 of 48 (93.8%) Maureen Burke

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Patricia Ferguson (Chair); Maureen Burke; Harriet Cross; Dave Doogan

Found: Q13 Maureen Burke: Excuse me, I have a sore throat this morning.

Found: Current membership Patricia Ferguson (Labour; Glasgow West) (Chair) Maureen Burke (Labour; Glasgow North

Found: Members in attendance: • Patricia Ferguson MP • Maureen Burke MP • Lillian Jones MP • Douglas McAllister

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Patricia Ferguson (Chair); Maureen Burke; Harriet Cross; Dave Doogan