Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government and HMRC on tackling the sale of illegal tobacco in Scotland.
Answered by Melanie Ward - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
I am concerned about the prevalence of illegal tobacco sold in Scotland, and fully support efforts to limit its spread.
The enforcement of trading standards is a devolved matter. I understand that the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland is currently engaging with the Scottish Government and Police Scotland to explore what more can be done to better empower Scottish Trading Standards Officers in dealing with criminality, specifically in ensuring that they have comparable powers to their counterparts in England and Wales in measures such as Closure Orders.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
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 potential merits for reducing the normal pension age for ambulance workers under the NHS Pension Scheme to bring it into line with the retirement age for police and fire service workers.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Police and fire service workers generally pay higher pension contributions than ambulance staff. Giving ambulance workers the same normal pension age as police and fire service workers would require higher contributions from all NHS Pension Scheme members, and there are currently no plans for such a change.
Under flexible retirement options, ambulance workers can retire before normal pension age with an actuarially reduced pension or access the Early Retirement Reduction Buy Out option to retire up to three years earlier without a reduction, with costs that may be shared with their employers.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
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 risks to patients arising from the promotion and sale online of ivermectin and other unlicensed or unproven products as treatments for cancer; and what steps the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is taking to prevent the promotion and sale of such products.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) recognises the risks associated with the promotion and sale of ivermectin and other unauthorised or unproven products as treatments for cancer. Ivermectin is not authorised in the United Kingdom for the treatment or prevention of cancer, and claims that it can treat, prevent or cure cancer may mislead patients and risk them delaying or foregoing proven medical treatment.
The MHRA takes robust enforcement action against the illegal promotion, advertising and supply of unauthorised medicines, including online. Through its Criminal Enforcement Unit, the MHRA investigates suspected breaches of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, and has the power to seize illicit medicines and, where appropriate, pursue prosecution.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that the UK's protected bilateral ODA allocation for Palestine is reaching people in Gaza and the West Bank.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I draw the Hon. Member's attention to the Foreign Secretary's statement on 8 September. We continue to call on the Government of Israel to immediately lift restrictions and allow essential aid including medical supplies and fuel to reach those in desperate need, in line with international humanitarian law and as stipulated in the 20-Point Plan. We have protected our budget for Palestine and will be prioritising health, nutrition and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) through our integrated humanitarian programmes. We will continue to raise this with the Government of Israel. I saw our work with the Egyptian Red Crescent directly in Egypt last month, including the wider challenges facing humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the value of child maintenance arrears that the Child Maintenance Service has been unable to recover in each of the last five years; and what steps he is taking to improve recovery of those arrears.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
DWP publishes Child Maintenance Service official statistics every three months. Table 4 of the latest national tables shows the amount of unpaid maintenance due through Collect and Pay in each quarter from January 2015 to March 2026, while table 5 shows the cumulative amount due since the CMS began and the proportion remaining unpaid. 7% of the total maintenance due through Collect and Pay since the CMS began remains to be collected. All arrears are treated as collectable unless the receiving parent and/ or child in Scotland, asks CMS to cease action, or in limited circumstances where recovery is not possible.
As arrears are not owed to the Department but to the receiving parent, CMS does not classify debt as uncollectable and has not estimated the value of arrears that cannot be recovered.
CMS continues to pursue unpaid maintenance of all ages and takes enforcement action where appropriate based on a paying parent's ability to pay, which may vary over time. To improve recovery of arrears, CMS uses all available enforcement powers where necessary, including action through Service partners such as Enforcement Agents and, if necessary, to initiate sanctions through HMCTS to secure payment of outstanding child maintenance and ensure children receive the financial support to which they are entitled.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the Online Safety Act 2023 in protecting adults with serious long-term health conditions from harmful health misinformation online, including misleading claims of clinical expertise or endorsement and claims that unproven treatments can prevent the need for dialysis or transplantation.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)
The Online Safety Act requires all in-scope companies to tackle illegal disinformation content. It also requires the largest 'category one' platforms to uphold their Terms of Service. This means that if the platform says it prohibits harmful misleading health content, they will need to address such content. These services will also need to offer user empowerment tools to further help adults protect against harmful content. Ofcom, the independent regulator, is currently consulting on these new duties which should be in force in 2027.
The Government and Ofcom’s media literacy work is also empowering users with the skills and knowledge to think critical about the information they encounter online.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the enforcement of regulations prohibiting modification of a motor vehicle exhaust system so as to increase noise; and whether she plans to introduce further measures to prevent the sale, fitting and use of excessively noisy exhaust modifications.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport conducted research in 2019 on approaches to measurement of excessive vehicle noise and its enforcement. Barriers to effective enforcement that were identified included a lack of resource, specialised measurement equipment and guidance on best practice.
The research identified automated roadside noise cameras as a potential technology to address this issue. Trials of prototype technology were subsequently conducted, with results published in March 2024. Overall, the trials demonstrated that noise cameras had the potential to be used for enforcement, but only when accompanied by human review of the recorded evidence, which was likely to lower the cost effectiveness of deploying the technology in many circumstances.
The DVSA’s Market Surveillance Unit undertakes targeted enforcement activities focused on vehicle alterations and the fit and supply of vehicle parts, including silencers, to check for compliance. Successful prosecutions have been brought against companies providing illegal modifications that impact vehicle noise. The police also have powers to deal with noisy vehicles on an ongoing basis.
The Department has no current plans to introduce further measures to prevent the sale, fitting and use of excessively noisy exhaust modifications, but will continue to work with the DVSA to ensure enforcement approaches remain effective for addressing non-compliant products and vehicle alterations.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to help improve humanitarian conditions in fragile and conflict-affected states.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are prioritising our country and regional Official Development Assistance where humanitarian needs are most acute – to reach those in greatest need and reduce the harm caused by violence and atrocities. We expect to spend £1.4 billion a year over the next three years in places facing the highest humanitarian need. We have protected funding for Sudan and Palestine at £146 million and £127 million a year respectively. And we are driving reform of the humanitarian system to be more prioritised, locally led, efficient and effective. This includes a central focus on protection of civilians and humanitarian access.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on the consultation on the location of the West of Scotland Defence Technical Excellence College; and whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of Glasgow Clyde College's Cardonald Campus as a potential site.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
On 12 March 2026, alongside the launch of the Scotland Defence Growth Deal, we announced a £10 million investment to support the creation of two Defence Technical Excellence Colleges, including one in the West of Scotland. The colleges are being developed in partnership with Colleges Scotland.
We remain in consultation with Colleges Scotland about the priorities, resources and location of the colleges.
We are also awaiting a response from the Scottish Government regarding match-funding the UK Government’s £10 million investment. We hope discussions on securing match funding for Scotland’s second Defence Technical Excellence College can start soon.
Asked by: Zubir Ahmed (Labour - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure that the AI Adoption Plan for professional and business services reaches small and medium-sized businesses in deprived constituencies such as Glasgow South West.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring the UK is the fastest AI adopting country in the G7, and to making sure the benefits are felt in every part of the country.
The Government has committed more than £200 million to help companies in Britain adopt AI, including through an expansion of Innovate UK’s BridgeAI programme. In June, the Government published the AI Champions’ AI Adoption plans, including the Professional and Business Services AI Adoption Plan, which sets out recommendations to accelerate AI adoption across the sector, including encouraging adoption amongst SMEs. The Government is continuing to work with the AI Champions to help turn these plans into action.