Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what contractual expectations are placed on landlords providing asylum accommodation.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

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.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will set out how complaints relating to (a) cleanliness, (b) safety and (c) hygiene in landlord-provided asylum accommodation are (i) monitored, (ii) reported and (iii) investigated to ensure such accommodation is fit for purpose.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

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.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has had recent discussions with Marie Curie on funding for the hospice sector.

Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

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.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has considered establishing a dedicated regulator for the video games industry.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

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.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the report by Marie Curie, entitled Dying in Poverty, published in 2025.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

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.

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%.

150th anniversary of Partick Thistle Football Club

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