Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints to the Financial Service Ombudsman were dismissed in financial year 2025/26 on the grounds that to do so, "would seriously impair the effective operation of the Service," and, of these complaints, how many a) involved a lasting Power of Attorney and b) involved sums over £50,000.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) recently answered a similar question from Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and a copy of the letter was placed in the Library of the House of Lords.
In the letter, the FOS confirmed that it dismissed 680 complaints without consideration of their merits in the 2025-26 financial year, on the basis that doing so would have seriously impaired the effective operation of the FOS.
In the same period, it received over 223,000 complaints in total, meaning that cases dismissed on this basis represented approximately 0.31% of its overall annual caseload.
The Treasury does not hold the other information requested. The FOS will respond to the Honourable Member regarding those points by letter and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House of Commons.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment her Department has made of whether domestic resilience measures can protect the UK from risks arising from loss of control of advanced AI systems in the absence of international agreement limiting the development of such systems.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
Domestic resilience measures are an important part of the Government's approach, but a range of responses will be needed to address the risks from loss of control of advanced AI. The most capable AI systems are developed by a small number of companies, largely outside the UK, and the risks they pose cross borders.
That is why the Government works on these risks at source as well as at home. The AI Security Institute (AISI) works directly with frontier AI developers to test their most advanced systems, including for capabilities relevant to loss of control, and to strengthen the safeguards that protect against them. The UK also works with allies and international partners to build a shared scientific understanding of these risks and of the measures needed to manage them.
Domestically, the Government prepares for and monitors a wide range of national risks, including scenarios where AI could act as a catalyst or introduce novel risks, through the National Risk Register and the Chronic Risks Analysis. We keep this approach under review as the technology and the evidence develop.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the oral contribution on the 7th September during the debate on Surrogacy Law and Legal Parenthood, Official Report, Column 235WH, whether her department has concluded its assessment on allegations made regarding My Surrogacy Journey.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer provided on 26 October in response to Question 33080.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) Palestinian women and (b) Palestinian children detained in Israel.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not hold figures on the number of Palestinian women and children detained in Israel. We have been consistently clear that all detainees must be treated with dignity and in full accordance with international law. The UK continues to urge the Government of Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross immediate and unfettered access to all detention facilities and detainees.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she plans to take legislative steps with Cabinet colleagues to ban people domiciled in the UK from entering into international surrogacy arrangements.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are clear that no surrogacy arrangement should place any party at risk of exploitation. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office provides guidance on the risks of overseas surrogacy and the steps intended parents must take to return to the UK with their child. The Government has no current plans to legislate to prevent people domiciled in the UK from entering into international surrogacy arrangements.Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the loss-of-control scenarios contained in the Government’s AI Risk Register have associated likelihood assessments.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government's AI Risk Register includes a range of risks, spanning a number of sectors, and contains a number of different inputs informed by technical expertise from the AI Security Institute and across-Whitehall.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what estimate he has made of the number of Palestinian healthcare workers detained in Israel.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Health Cluster data provides information on the number of Palestinian healthcare workers detained and arrested. The UK government regularly engages with Israeli counterparts to express concern about the detention of Palestinian doctors and other detainees. We have been consistently clear that all detainees, including doctors, must be treated with dignity and in full accordance with international law. The UK continues to urge the Government of Israel to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) immediate and unfettered access to all detention facilities and detainees.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of (a) UNISON’s 2026 NMC member survey on staff satisfaction and (b) its findings relating to (i) senior leadership, (ii) organisational culture and (iii) HR practices.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We continue to engage closely with UNISON, and other trade unions representing the healthcare workforce to improve the working lives of all National Health Service staff, and we look forward to discussing the results of their latest survey.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on increasing skills in the net zero sector through the Local Growth Fund.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Local Growth Fund in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland gives local partners the flexibility to invest in transformational projects that reflect local priorities to drive economic growth.
It enables those who know their area best to invest in projects which improve skills and employment opportunities, including those in the net zero sector.
Asked by: Tracy Gilbert (Labour - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help increase skills in low carbon sectors in Edinburgh.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
As my Honourable Friend will be well aware, earlier this year we unlocked £25 million of seed capital for the Forth Green Freeport to create tens of thousands of jobs in clean energy and manufacturing.
Already we are seeing the benefits in Edinburgh. The Port of Leith has transformed itself into an offshore wind hub, currently servicing the massive InchCape development. There is the potential for further investment by the wind turbine manufacturer Vestas, which could create up to 500 new jobs at the port.
Skills policy is devolved to the Scottish Government and it is up to them to ensure that the young people of Edinburgh are equipped to take advantage of these opportunities.