Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to support UK Research and Innovation; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing doctoral studentships in the UK on the level of financial support for researchers, in the context of (a) increases in the cost of living and (b) international comparisons of PhD stipends.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
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.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, for what reason a cap was introduced to the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
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.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support pupils with Additional Support Needs (ASN); and whether her Department provides additional funding for ASN courses in schools.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
I refer my hon. Friend, the Member for Glasgow North East to the answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 45165.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce barriers to treatment and care between UK nations.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
While health is predominantly devolved, working together across the United Kingdom on health and social care is ingrained in our values. NHS emergency care is available for all patients, regardless of borders and we are working with the Devolved Governments to support people to lead independent, healthier lives for longer. This government has provided an additional £6.6 billion through the Barnett formula to support the Scottish Government.Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to (a) ensure compliance with the Civil Service Code and (b) record breaches of that code.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
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.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department takes to monitor enforcement of the Civil Service Code.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
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.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the previous Government's policies on life expectancy in Glasgow North East constituency.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
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)
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will publish practical driving test results broken down via (a) age and (b) gender for each of the test centres in greater Glasgow.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
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.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of amending the national speed limit for rural roads.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has not made a recent assessment, of the merits of amending the national speed limits for rural roads.
Asked by: Maureen Burke (Labour - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to support veterans.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who serve our country. I am working across government and with civil society to ensure veterans get access to the support they need.
This Government has already taken swift action to demonstrate our commitment to renew this nation’s contract with those who have served. In November the Prime Minister announced an additional £3.5 million of funding for the continuation of the cross-UK Reducing Veterans Homelessness Programme, including Op FORTITUDE. This is in addition to the reforms he announced earlier in the year which mean that veterans are now exempt from local connection and residency tests when applying for social housing in England.
Housing support is available across the United Kingdom through Op FORTITUDE, a single referral pathway for veterans. This system provides housing guidance and assistance to veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness. As of 5 January 2025, 2,993 referrals have been made and 854 veterans have been supported into housing.
A range of support is in place for veterans. In England Op RESTORE provides specialist care to veterans who have physical health problems, and Op COURAGE, a specialist mental health service that helps service leavers, veterans and reservists. Healthcare is devolved across the UK, and as such systems that can be accessed by veterans differ in the Devolved Governments. As of 3 January 2025, over 35,000 referrals have been made to Op COURAGE and Op RESTORE has over 1,000 service users.
Veterans can also access a range of tailored employment support, including the Career Transition Partnership, which is the initial point of provision for those leaving military service in search of new job opportunities.
The Government’s manifesto commitment to include the Veteran Card in the list of voter identification has already been delivered with the legislation coming into effect in December 2024..
In December 2024 the MoD launched an LGBT financial recognition scheme, with a total budget of £75 million, which was 50% higher than the level recommended in the Etherton review and the cap set by the last Government. This will mean that almost all of the 49 recommendations made by Lord Etherton will have been delivered.
We will continue to stand up for those who served and have served and are currently reviewing how we can make veterans’ support more institutionally resilient.