Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions she has had with the Scottish Government on (a) immigration, (b) asylum seekers and (c) refugees.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Immigration is a reserved matter and representatives from across Government meet with their counterparts and will continue to do so as part of regular engagement with the Devolved Administrations.
The Home Secretary chaired the Home Office's Inter Ministerial Group with the Devolved Administrations on 11th July 2023, where one of the items for discussion was the Illegal Migration Bill.
From 13 April 2022, all local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales are considered a dispersal area and will need to take part in asylum dispersal. This is to ensure a fair and equitable accommodation spread of asylum seekers across the UK. We have agreed targets for every local authority and region in the UK to deliver by the end of 2023. The latest published Home Office figures from 31st March 2023 show that Midlothian has one asylum dispersal accommodation.
The SNP Government are accommodating 4.6% of the total asylum population being accommodated in the UK, when Scotland makes up 8.2% of the UK population.
If you would like to put forward specific proposals, please do contact the Home Office at: rasiengagementhubregionalconsultation@homeoffice.gov.uk and officials will happily discuss this in greater detail with you.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the Government (a) issuing an official apology and (b) providing compensation to Britain's nuclear test veterans.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Government continues to recognise and be grateful to all Service personnel who participated in the British Nuclear testing programme. They contributed to keeping our nation secure during the Cold War and since, by ensuring that the UK was equipped with an appropriate nuclear capability
A commemorative Nuclear Test Medal was announced by the Prime Minister in November 2022, to recognise Service veterans and civilian personnel who participated in the UK’s atmospheric nuclear test programme between 1952 and 1967.
Since the 1980’s, the Ministry of Defence has commissioned and published four independently-conducted and analysed longitudinal studies of 20,000 Nuclear Test Veterans. These compared cancer and mortality rates between Nuclear Test Veterans and age- and gender-matched contemporary control groups, both within the UK Armed Forces and the general population. The results of these studies have consistently demonstrated that cancer and mortality rates for the Nuclear Test Veterans are similar to those serving contemporaneously in the UK Armed Forces who did not participate in the testing programme, and lower than for the general population.
Any veteran, including those of the Nuclear Tests, who believes they have suffered ill-health due to service has the right to apply for no-fault compensation under the War Pension Scheme if they served before 6 April 2005. War pensions are payable in respect of illness or injury as a result of service in the Armed Forces, with the benefit of reasonable doubt always given to the claimant. Decisions are medically certified and follow consideration of available service and medical evidence and carry full rights of appeal to an independent Tribunal.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what data his Department holds on the number and proportion of veterans who were involved in Britain’s nuclear testing programme in (a) Australia, (b) the South Pacific and (c) elsewhere between 1952 and 1967 who have been diagnosed as (i) being infertile and (ii) having fertility problems.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not collect or hold data monitoring the fertility of veterans. Since 1948, it has been the policy of successive Governments that the National Health Service in England and the Devolved Administrations is responsible for healthcare provision for veterans.
The MOD does hold War Disablement Pension files which are created when an individual is either medically discharged or submits a claim under the War Pension Scheme. These can contain discharge information, medical reports, service record documentation and various administrative papers. Case papers, for example additional medical reports and claims, are then added to the file when received. However, the information within these individual paper files is not stored centrally.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will meet nuclear test veterans to discuss their concerns.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I or the Secretary of State for Defence will meet with nuclear test veterans to discuss their concerns.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support armed forces personnel with increases in the cost of living.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We have introduced a full range of measures to support our people coping with the cost of living, including capping subsidised accommodation charge increases to 1%; increasing travel allowances by 7% and over 32,000 Service personnel have received a Contribution in Lieu of Council Tax (CILOCT) rebate of £150. The Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) also delivered a £400 non-repayable discount to eligible households, to help with energy bills and families can save around £3,400 per child per year through our wraparound childcare.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department (a) is taking steps to (i) monitor and (ii) regulate and (b) has made a recent assessment of the implications for her policies of the development of artificial consciousness technology.
Answered by Paul Scully
The AI Regulation White Paper proposes a proportionate, collaborative approach to AI regulation, and aims to promote innovation while protecting the UK’s values. Our approach is designed to ensure the Government is able to adapt and respond to the risks and opportunities that emerge as the technology develops at pace.
It is important to distinguish between AI as we define and understand it today, and concepts such as Artificial Consciousness and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). As our AI Regulation White Paper sets out, AI systems are ‘trained’ – once or continually – and operate by inferring patterns and connections in data which are not always easily discernible to humans. This includes a spectrum of AI systems that perform specific and less-specific tasks, and includes forms of generative AI that are in use and under development currently. This is not the same as AGI, and there are different views amongst experts regarding the feasibility and timescales associated with AGI becoming a reality. Whilst people have argued that AGI and Artificial Consciousness are theoretically possible, many researchers disagree.
The Government is working with international partners to understand emerging technologies and AI trends, while promoting the UK’s values, including through key multilateral fora, such as the OECD, the G7, the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI), the Council of Europe, and UNESCO, and through bilateral relationships.
The AI Regulation White Paper proposes a range of new central functions, including a horizon scanning function intended to support the anticipation assessment of emerging risks. This will complement the existing work undertaken by regulators and other government departments to identify and address risks arising from AI.
As set out in the white paper, the Government will continue to convene a wide range of stakeholders – including frontier researchers from industry – to ensure that we hear the full spectrum of viewpoints.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of lowering the state pension age for construction workers.
Answered by Laura Trott - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government believes that the principle of having a State Pension age that is the same for everybody is fundamental in the UK. It has the merit of simplicity and clarity including giving a clear signal to those planning for retirement.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department holds the data in the UK Regular Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey at a (a) national and (b) regional level.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The latest Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) was published on 1 June 2023. The survey has held National Statistics status since 2013, which means it meets the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value.
AFCAS utilises a stratified sample by Service and rank, which helps to ensure sufficient representation. Segmenting the data by different demographic variables other than Service or rank, such as by region, would mean we could not be as confident that the results are representative of that group. It would only be possible to construct a regional breakdown by combining AFCAS data with other existing databases. There are no plans to undertake such an exercise given the inherent issues with generating unrepresentative, and therefore unreliable, results.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to publish regional breakdowns of the armed forces continuous attitudes survey results 2023.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The latest Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey (AFCAS) was published on 1 June 2023. The survey has held National Statistics status since 2013, which means it meets the highest standards of trustworthiness, quality, and value.
AFCAS utilises a stratified sample by Service and rank, which helps to ensure sufficient representation. Segmenting the data by different demographic variables other than Service or rank, such as by region, would mean we could not be as confident that the results are representative of that group. It would only be possible to construct a regional breakdown by combining AFCAS data with other existing databases. There are no plans to undertake such an exercise given the inherent issues with generating unrepresentative, and therefore unreliable, results.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the process is for addressing complaints made by armed forces personnel about the condition of their accommodation.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There is clear guidance available for Service Families on Gov.uk, detailing the process they should follow should they wish to make a complaint about their Service Family Accommodation.
Complaints are handled in three stages, with the aim of making sure that they are fully investigated and promptly put right. If a family is dissatisfied by the response at any stage, they will be given the opportunity to go to the next stage.
Stage one complaints are made to MOD's National Accommodation Management Services contractor, Pinnacle, who will investigate and respond. If the family are not satisfied with the outcome, a Stage two complaint can be made to the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, who will investigate and respond. Complaints can be escalated to Stage three only where it is believed that accommodation policy has been misinterpreted or misapplied at Stages one or two of the complaints process, where they will be investigated by the Accommodation Complaints Review Panel. If still not satisfied, Service personnel can raise a Service complaint.