Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost to the public purse of (a) building border inspection facilities, (b) operating border inspection facilities annually since construction and (c) in total was since the UK left the EU.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Customs infrastructure at Inland Border Facilities (IBFs) is essential to protect the UK by ensuring risk-based checks on goods entering and leaving the country can take place. The cost to HMRC of building and setting up both enduring and temporary sites was £89m.
The annual cost to HMRC for the operation of IBFs is £32m.
The total cost since leaving the EU (up to 31st March 25) was £495m, this included £20m for decommissioning costs at temporary sites.
In April 2025, Government announced amendments to existing legislation to require all approved border locations to provide and fund their own customs infrastructure. This includes border locations which currently benefit from Government provision of IBFs.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much her Department has spent on inland border facilities for customs checks since 2020.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Customs infrastructure at Inland Border Facilities (IBFs) is essential to protect the UK by ensuring risk-based checks on goods entering and leaving the country can take place. HMRC has spent a total of £495m since 2020 on IBFs. This figure represents all costs up to and including 31st March 2025.
In addition to HMRC costs, the Sevington IBF was constructed by the Department for Transport. The total costs of this were £154 million. This includes £70 million on the Border Control Post (BCP), which allows biosecurity checks to take place on sanitary and phytosanitary goods (SPS).
In April 2025, Government announced amendments to existing legislation to require all approved border locations to provide and fund their own customs infrastructure. This includes border locations which currently benefit from Government provision of IBFs.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to evacuate the dependents of students with UK scholarships as well as those students.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Government is prioritising those with fully-funded, verifiable, scholarships commencing in the autumn term. This decision has been made for these students due to their potential role in rebuilding Gaza in the future.
I refer the Honourable Member to the then-Home Secretary’s oral statement to the House of Commons on 1 September 2025 on strengthening border security and reforms to the asylum system. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Darwin Plus on maintaining the British Overseas Territories' environmental heritage.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Darwin Plus remains a funding programme that continues to improve outcomes for the unique biodiversity and environmental heritage of the UK Overseas Territories and we note the strong support for that continuation.
Defra has confirmed funding for the continuation of existing projects throughout 2025/2026 and to support additional projects beginning this year. We have contacted all applicants shortlisted from our most recent funding rounds to discuss commencement of their individual project proposals and details of those successful projects will be published on the Darwin Plus website in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reinstating Darwin Plus.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Darwin Plus remains a funding programme that continues to improve outcomes for the unique biodiversity and environmental heritage of the UK Overseas Territories and we note the strong support for that continuation.
Defra has confirmed funding for the continuation of existing projects throughout 2025/2026 and to support additional projects beginning this year. We have contacted all applicants shortlisted from our most recent funding rounds to discuss commencement of their individual project proposals and details of those successful projects will be published on the Darwin Plus website in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's White Paper entitled Restoring Control over the Immigration System, published on 12 May 2025, when she plans to publish further information on the expansion to the points-based system for immigration.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
As part of our Plan for Change, this Government is taking decisive action to bring net migration down and restore control over the immigration system.
In July we began implementing the first set of reforms outlined in the Immigration White Paper – Restoring Control over the Immigration System. These reforms represent a fundamental shift in the UK’s approach to immigration, focusing on higher skills, lower numbers and tighter controls. Our approach will end the UK’s reliance on overseas recruitment and ensure the system better supports investment in the domestic workforce.
The July package of measures included:
By the end of this year, we will also:
Over the course of this Parliament, we will continue to roll out additional measures to further strengthen our immigration system. Details of these will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support state-level institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK remains committed to the stability and constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), including supporting its state institutions and the Office of the High Representative. On 17 June, the Foreign Secretary and I underlined that commitment to BiH Presidency Members Becirovic and Komsic. We continue to condemn secessionist actions by Milorad Dodik, former President of Republika Srpska, which undermine BiH's stability and state institutions. Our Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes also support the country's state institutions to deliver their mandates. Our projects provide support to the judiciary and have worked to combat corruption and serious organised crime.
I recently discussed the situation in BiH with the European External Action Service and regularly discuss our work to maintain peace and stability with Quint partners. We will host the Berlin Process this autumn.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with European counterparts on offering support to Bosnia and Herzegovina on the rule of law.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Following the appeal ruling by the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) against Milorad Dodik, former President of Republika Srpska, we have worked with European and international counterparts to stress the importance of respect for the judgement and that all actors should uphold the rule of law. In July, the Foreign Secretary spoke with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy about safeguarding BiH's rule of law, and officials have regular coordination meetings with Quint counterparts. We will continue to work with our BiH and international partners to support local actors in upholding the rule of law.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the average wait time for callers to HMRC helplines; and what steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for callers to HMRC helplines.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publishes its call waiting times on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates
Improving day-to-day performance is a key priority for HMRC. Last year, HMRC recruited and deployed additional customer service advisers. They are also investing in new technology which will significantly enhance the customer experience.
Asked by: Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party - Arbroath and Broughty Ferry)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing unredacted access to the war records of ancestors of members of Polish forces who fought alongside the British Army in World War Two.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has no plans to provide unredacted access to the records of service of Polish military personnel who served alongside British Forces during World War Two.
The MOD assesses the release of information on a case-by-case basis in response to requests processed in accordance with Freedom of Information and Data Protection legislation, subject to any exemptions that may apply, to protect third-party personal data and information that is either sensitive or confidential.