Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the prevalence of the use of fire and rehire practices in higher education in England; and what steps he plans to take to address it.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill including an impact assessment of the Bill’s measure to end the unscrupulous use of fire and rehire. The evidence on the prevalence of the practice of fire and rehire is limited, however. Department for Business and Trade analysis suggests that <1% of employers might engage in the practice each year.
We are strengthening the law in this area to make it clear that the unscrupulous use of fire and rehire and fire and replace are not acceptable and will be an automatically unfair dismissal.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will publish an impact assessment for the changes to development assistance announced on 25 February 2025.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Prime Minister has set out a new strategic vision for government spending on defence and security, and Official Development Assistance (ODA). Detailed decisions on how the ODA budget will be used will be worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review on the basis of various factors including impact assessments.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2025 to Question 30613 on British Nationality, whether victims of (a) trafficking and (b) modern slavery who are given leave to remain will have any citizenship application they make affected by whether they entered the UK via an irregular route.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
A person who previously entered the UK illegally, or who arrived without a required valid entry clearance or electronic valid authorisation, having made a dangerous journey, will normally be refused citizenship, regardless of the time that has passed since they entered the UK.
However, when assessing good character, it is normally appropriate to disregard immigration breaches if it is accepted this was outside of the applicant’s control.
Citizenship applications will continue to be considered on a case-by-case basis, allowing for mitigating factors to be properly considered, such as where a person is a victim of trafficking or modern slavery. Where it is appropriate, an exceptional grant may be supported.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will set out the the routes to British citizenship open to people who secure indefinite leave to remain having arrived in the UK by an irregular route after the 10 February 2025; and what estimate she has made of the cost of applying for naturalisation to this process.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
An individual can apply for British citizenship if they believe they meet the requirements. Those wishing to naturalise will need to meet the statutory requirements set out in the British Nationality Act 1981, including to be of good character. Applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis, but a person who has entered the UK on irregular routes will not normally meet the good character requirement.
Details of fees for immigration and nationality applications, including the estimated unit costs, can be reviewed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/visa-fees-transparency-data.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many NCC1 application forms were (a) received and (b) approved in each month in 2024.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The requested information is not readily available as it is not centrally collated and to provide this would be at disproportionate cost. Depending on the benefit being claimed, the clerical NCC1 forms are either handed into the Jobcentre Plus office, for Universal Credit, or are sent to the relevant postal address for Child Tax Credits and Income Support.
The annual statistics about the policy that provides support for a maximum of 2 children in Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit provides a range of statistics including statistics relating to the exceptions to the policy. The latest and previous publications can be found here: Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit claimants: statistics related to the policy to provide support for a maximum of 2 children, April 2024 - GOV.UK
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 66 on Sexual Harassment, what progress she has made on implementation of the Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Act 2023.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is committed to halving levels of violence against women and girls in a decade. An important part of this ambition is tackling public sexual harassment which often leaves people, disproportionately women, feeling very unsafe. The Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Act 2023 will make this type of harassment a specific offence and could see perpetrators face a custodial sentence of up to 2 years. We will confirm next steps on implementation of the Act at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps the Government plans to take to respond to the Egyptian Government's refusal to (a) release and (b) recognise the British nationality of Alaa Abd El-Fattah.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains committed to securing the release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah. We continue to raise Mr El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian Government. The Egyptian Government does not recognise Mr El-Fattah's British nationality and is refusing consular access. The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions, most recently with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on 14 November. The Prime Minister also raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 8 August. I raised Mr El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 15 October.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress his Department has made on securing the release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK Government remains committed to securing the release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah. We continue to raise Mr El-Fattah's case at the highest levels with the Egyptian Government. The Egyptian Government does not recognise Mr El-Fattah's British nationality and is refusing consular access. The Foreign Secretary has raised Mr El-Fattah's case on several occasions, most recently with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on 14 November. The Prime Minister also raised Mr El-Fattah's case with President Sisi on 8 August. I raised Mr El-Fattah's case with the Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdelatty on 15 October.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many officials in his Department have worked on product standard regulations in each year since 31 January 2020.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) is the UK’s national product regulator within the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). As well as policy responsibility for product safety and standards, OPSS delivers front line product regulation for DBT, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Transport.
The Department does not routinely publish separate data on the number of staff employed in OPSS. The last separately published figures for OPSS were that it employed 430 staff in the year 2021/22.
Asked by: Stella Creasy (Labour (Co-op) - Walthamstow)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an estimate of the number of EU product standard regulations that will be issued in the next five years.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
No estimate has been made on the number of product standard regulations that will be issued by the EU in the next five years. Some expected changes to EU regulations have been identified, with outdoor noise regulations due to be implemented in May 2025 for instance.
The Government takes consumer protection very seriously which is why we are introducing the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill. This Bill is intended to enable the UK to maintain high product standards, supporting businesses and economic growth, by allowing the UK Parliament the power to update relevant laws.