Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the Answer from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to the Question from the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine on 16 April 2024, Official Report, column 156, when that meeting will be facilitated.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Officials in my office have been in contact the hon. Member to arrange a meeting to discuss the ongoing Green Deal complaints in her constituency.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what safe and legal routes to the UK are available for (a) refugees and (b) asylum seekers as of 8 May 2024.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
We operate global refugee resettlement schemes, including the UK Resettlement Scheme (UKRS), the Mandate Resettlement Scheme and community sponsorship. We also run Displaced Talent Mobility Initiatives which help displaced populations to access a Skilled Worker visa.
We have country specific schemes which were established in response to international crises in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Hong Kong.
For asylum seekers, there is no provision within our Immigration Rules that allows a person to travel to the UK to seek asylum or temporary refuge. Those in need of immediate protection should take the fastest route to safety and claim asylum in the first safe country they reach.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many small and medium sized enterprises were unsuccessful in securing research and development tax relief (a) in 2024 to date and (b) between 1 January and 2 May 2019.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
HMRC publish R&D statistics annually, the latest publication can be found on Gov.uk at Research and Development Tax Credits Statistics: September 2023.
Previous statistics are archived and can be found at The National Archives website.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies on deciding asylum applications of the conflict in Gaza.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Asylum claims made by claimants from Gaza, as is the case with all asylum claims lodged in the UK and admitted to the UK asylum system, have an individual assessment made against the background of relevant case law, policy guidance and the latest available country of origin information.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether his Department has had discussions with cellular network providers in Gaza on the adequacy of telecommunication services in that region.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
We are deeply concerned about the severely damaged telecommunications and internet networks in Gaza, which are causing repeated near total communications blackouts. This is limiting the ability of Palestinians in Gaza to communicate and greatly hampers the humanitarian response. Officials are in regular contact with Paltel, the leading telecommunications company in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs). We recognise the strenuous efforts of Paltel's staff in Gaza to make repairs and maintain services, at great risk to themselves. The Foreign Secretary's Representative for Humanitarian Affairs in the OPTs is working intensively to address the blockages preventing more aid reaching and being delivered across Gaza.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will reinstate the role of Food Surplus and Waste Champion.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
There are no plans to appoint a food waste prevention champion at this time. The objectives set for the champion are now being taken forward by ministers, officials and our delivery partner the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP). The latter includes championing waste reduction through high profile ambassadors in the hospitality sector and well known figures to present Food Waste Action Week.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 28 November 2023 to Question 3498 on Pension Credit: Applications, what steps his Department is taking to modernise the Pension Credit application process.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Citizens currently have the choice of three routes to make an application to Pension Credit, online, by phone or by paper. Through our Service Modernisation Programme, DWP aims to further improve the process of claiming Pension Credit based on user research with customers and their representatives.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to his Department's news story entitled Action to reduce food waste announced, published on 1 October 2018, how the funding to tackle food waste was spent.
Answered by Robbie Moore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The £15m food waste prevention pilot fund announced in October 2018 was a ring-fenced one-off pilot. Funds were made available in the 2019/2020 financial year. The last scheduled payment was paid in 2022. Awards were made to small and large redistribution organisations for infrastructure to increase their capacity and capability and for Covid-19 emergency surplus food grants. There was also valorising food grants, funding for a Target Measure Act (TMA) field force, citizen behaviour change research, educational resources for schools and support for the hospitality sector. Further information can be found here: Food grants | WRAP.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the application process for Pension Credit; and if he will take steps to help increase the accuracy of decisions made on Pensions Credit applications.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department regularly looks at the effectiveness of its Pension Credit claims processes. A Quality Framework is used to assess the accuracy of Pension Credit decisions and this informs operational learning and continuous improvement. Pension Credit is being modernised and user research is integral to our design for modernising the Pension Credit application processes to ensure the effectiveness and accuracy of Pension Credit application processes.
Asked by: Anne McLaughlin (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Afghan people under which schemes his Department plans to transfer from Pakistan in the next 12 weeks.
Answered by James Heappey
Many factors govern the flow of relocation, but we are grateful to the Government of Pakistan for their support on this important matter and we are endeavouring to bring as many eligible Afghans as possible to the UK, as quickly as possible.