Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he is encouraging employees in his Department's Scottish offices to attend in person.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
The Government renewed its commitment to the 60% office attendance expectation on 24 October, emphasising the importance of collaboration through face-to-face interactions. This applies to all of the department's offices, including our offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve (a) recruitment and (b) retention within the army reserve.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government inherited a recruitment crisis, with targets being missed every year for the past 14 years, and is taking decisive action to get recruitment back on track. This has included the largest pay rise to personnel in decades and scrapping 100 outdated policies that slow recruitment down.
Improving recruitment and retention levels is one of the Army’s top priorities, supported by defence.
Measures in place to increase recruitment into the Army Reserves include a sustained digital and physical marketing campaign; an increased focus on professional training and upskilling courses; and improved financial incentives.
A retention strategy has been launched to address barriers to retention through a holistic set of financial and policy initiatives spanning the entire employee lifecycle.
Further announcements will be made in due course, in line with the future Strategic Defence Review.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Windsor Framework on the economy of the west coast of Scotland.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The UK internal market and trade between the UK’s four nations is worth around £129bn.
The Windsor Framework ensures Northern Ireland’s businesses have unfettered access to their most important market in Great Britain, including the west coast of Scotland, and the UK internal market system is helping to smooth the flow of trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to help veterans experiencing PTSD find (a) retraining and (b) employment opportunities.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This is a Government of service that will always stand up for those who serve our country. I am leading work across Government and with Civil Society to look at the best ways to ensure veterans and their families get access to the health and employment support they need.
Healthcare, including provision for veterans with mental health and wellbeing needs, is devolved in Scotland. I have met and continue to regularly engage with the Minister responsible for veterans in the Scottish Government. I also work closely with the Scottish Veterans’ Commissioner, who continues to work on improving outcomes for veterans in Scotland. I am committed to regular engagement and am focused to providing the best support to veterans throughout the United Kingdom.
A range of cross-Government employment support is also available to veterans and their families after their time in service. This includes the Ministry of Defence-hosted Career Transition Partnership which is the initial point of resettlement provisions for veterans leaving military service, with directly provided support usually available for two years before and two years after leaving service.
The Government is expanding UK-wide career support for the armed forces community, ensuring support for all veterans, regardless of when they left service. The careers advice service Op ASCEND offer will include a broader range of job support for veterans, helping more into employment and boosting growth under this Government’s Plan for Change. This service will work with industry bodies to make sure businesses are set up to make the most of the talents veterans have to offer, showing how the Government is renewing the contract with those who serve and have served.
We are committed to delivering and expansion of NHS Talking Therapies, increasing the number of sessions available, and increasing the number of people completing a course of treatment by 384,000 by 2028-29.
NHS mental health services are available to support the mental health of people who have experienced trauma in their past or who might have post traumatic stress disorder. They can access evidence-based mental health treatment via their general practitioner or by self-referring to their local NHS Talking Therapies service - details on how to do so are available at: NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression - NHS (www.nhs.uk).
People with complex PTSD may be offered therapies used to treat it, such as trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy or eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing. They will also be offered treatment for other problems they may have, such as depression.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support army reserve units in Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Department recognises the invaluable contributions made by the Army Reserves to Defence. Ensuring they have adequate support remains both a priority of mine, and the Ministry of Defence.
Paisley is home to the 102 Field Squadron, a subordinate of the 71 Engineer regiment, an Army Reserve regiment of the Royal Engineers.
The 102 Squadron is supported in the same way as all elements of the Army Reserve, including in terms of equipment and medical and welfare support. Engagement with local employers helps to secure their support for their reservists, delivered through the Lowland Reserve Forces and Cadets Association and 51 Infantry Brigade.
Opportunities for high quality, role-related training is directed and delivered by 71 Engineer Regiment to ensure that 102 Squadron is prepared for its military role, whilst also providing personal development opportunities for those that take part in the training.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle antisocial behaviour and crime in town centres.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB) is a top priority for this Government and a key part of our Safer Streets Mission.
The Government’s Plan for Change, announced by the Prime Minister on 5 December, included our plan to reduce ASB. This will include a dedicated lead officer in every police force in England and Wales working with communities to develop a local ASB action plan. We are also going to bring back neighbourhood policing, ensuring thousands of additional officers are out patrolling in our town centres and communities to make the streets safer.
These officers will be equipped with tougher powers, such as the Respect Order, which will be introduced in the forthcoming Crime and Policing Bill, to crack down on ASB and crimes blighting our high streets and town centres.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that private landowners uphold environmental standards on (a) biodiversity protection, (b) water quality and (c) land management responsibilities.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The environment and farming are devolved matters, this response covers England only.
There are a wide range of regulations that protect biodiversity, water and other parts of the environment in England from potential harms caused by land management activities. For example, The Reduction and Prevention of Agricultural Diffuse Pollution (England) Regulations 2018 places restrictions on agricultural practices to reduce and prevent diffuse water pollution. The Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024 puts hedgerow management practices into law.
Land management regulations are enforced by a number of authorities, including the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Rural Payments Agency and the Forestry Commission. Defra is taking action to improve regulation that applies to farmers and other land managers, this includes an expanded Farm Advisory Service, better guidance and an increased number of advice-led inspections.
However, we know existing regulation can hold back businesses. We also know farmers do not always understand the purpose of regulation and they find it time consuming, with compliance difficult to demonstrate. This is why I have asked my officials to review farm regulation, focussing on how it can be more coherent, less time consuming and easier to understand. I have also asked all Defra regulators how they are supporting growth.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) encourage investment in startups and (b) support entrepreneurs in Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
We will publish our Small Business Strategy later this year with a clear ambition to promote startups and encourage entrepreneurship, built around the new Business Growth Service.
Existing support includes Help to Grow: Management - UK, providing practical ways to enhance small business productivity and growth, and the British Business Bank’s Investment Fund for Scotland. This commits £150 million to deliver loans and debt finance, ranging from £25,000 to £2 million and equity investment up to £5 million, for new and growing businesses across rural, coastal and urban Scottish areas.
Start Up Loans are also available in Scotland, helping new and early-stage businesses access affordable finance and mentoring support.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of removing levy funding for Level 7 apprenticeships on the Government’s commitment to delivering 1.5 million new homes by 2030.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
My Department has been actively engaging with the Department for Education to discuss the proposed changes to the apprenticeship levy to understand the impact on housing delivery.
Asked by: Alison Taylor (Labour - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that there is adequate access to free-to-use cash machines in towns.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in vulnerable groups, and is committed to protecting access to cash for individuals and businesses.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced regulatory rules for access to cash in September 2024. Its rules require the reasonable provision of free withdrawal and deposit facilities for personal current accounts. The FCA also require the UK’s largest banks and building societies to assess the impact of a closure or material alteration of a relevant cash withdrawal or deposit facility, and put in place a new service if necessary.
Where a resident, community organisation or other interested party feels access to cash in their community is insufficient, they can submit a request for a cash access assessment. Further information about submitting a cash access request can be found at the following link: https://www.link.co.uk/helping-you-access-cash/request-access-to-cash