Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to help ensure that the Border Force’s freight inspection targets at UK borders are met and what recent progress has been made on reaching these targets.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
Border Force have, and continue to, hit freight inspection targets and expect that this performance will be maintained throughout the remainder of the financial year.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the structures in place for the Fair Work Agency to collaborate with other Government departments to (a) prevent and (b) disrupt modern slavery.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Fair Work Agency will take on the full remit of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).
Collaborating with other government bodies will be crucial to the Fair Work Agency effectively enforcing employment rights. We have ensured it will be able to share information with specified bodies where disclosures are relevant to their statutory function.
The Government is committed to ensuring the Fair Work Agency has what it needs to do its job. The Bill therefore provides for the transfer of existing staff to ensure we retain the relevant expertise.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what plans he has for the future of the Fair Work Agency; what statutory duties it will assume from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority in responding to modern slavery and human trafficking; and what (a) resources, (b) staffing and (c) training he expects them to need.
Answered by Justin Madders
The Fair Work Agency will take on the full remit of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA).
Collaborating with other government bodies will be crucial to the Fair Work Agency effectively enforcing employment rights. We have ensured it will be able to share information with specified bodies where disclosures are relevant to their statutory function.
The Government is committed to ensuring the Fair Work Agency has what it needs to do its job. The Bill therefore provides for the transfer of existing staff to ensure we retain the relevant expertise.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Written Statement of 16 July 2025 on Call for Evidence – Identification of Victims of Modern Slavery, HCWS826, whether the call for evidence will consider the impact of the revised evidential requirements for reasonable grounds decisions on different groups and categories of potential modern slavery victims.
Answered by Jess Phillips - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Identification of Victims of Modern Slavery Call for Evidence launched on 16 July 2025. It invites views on an effective system where victims are recognised early and accurately so they can be protected and receive appropriate assistance and support towards their recovery from exploitation.
The Call for Evidence is structured around three themes:
1) Definitions of victims of modern slavery;
2) Initial identification of victims of modern slavery; and
3) Formal identification of victims of modern slavery.
The full list of questions in the Call for Evidence is available at Identification of victims of modern slavery - GOV.UK. The Call for Evidence includes questions on the National Referral Mechanism decision-making process, including Reasonable Grounds and Conclusive Grounds decisions.
The Call for Evidence will be open for a 12-week period, meaning submissions can be provided up until Wednesday 8 October 2025.
Insights gathered through the Call for Evidence and wider stakeholder engagement will inform longer-term policy development.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on improving childcare provision in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Fleur Anderson
This Labour government’s mission is to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child, at every stage across the UK.
Earlier this month, the Minister for Early Education and I met with NI Education Minister Givan in Belfast to discuss childcare and areas of shared learning between the two governments.
The NI Education Minister recently announced £55m for measures which will include an extension of the Childcare Subsidy Scheme to cover school-age children in Northern Ireland, which I welcome.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the proposed increase in defence spending on the economy in Wales.
Answered by Nia Griffith
At the Spring Statement, the Chancellor increased the defence budget by £2.2 billion in 2025-26. This will boost the Welsh economy and our thriving defence sector, where the Ministry of Defence is already supporting 7,700 jobs across the length and breadth of the country.
Earlier this month, I visited Qioptic and Wagtail in North Wales, just two of the wide range of companies in Wales who play a vital role in defending the UK.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent progress he has made with Cabinet colleagues on the green energy transition in Scotland.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
I have been working closely with my cabinet colleagues to achieve our clean energy Mission.
Scotland has a huge role to play, not least through GB Energy - headquartered in Aberdeen and backed with £8.3bn. It will work to deliver clean energy, lower bills, and bring the jobs of the future to all parts of Scotland.
This is on top of the largest ever Contracts for Difference round and the National Wealth Fund, which will mobilise billions into our world-leading clean energy industries.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many family visas were issued where the sponsoring (a) spouse or partner, (b) fiancé, fiancée or proposed civil partner, (c) child, (d) parent and (c) relative providing long-term care was resident in Scotland in 2023.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.
The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many work visas were issued for jobs in Scottish workplaces in Scotland in 2022.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.
The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.
Asked by: Chris Murray (Labour - Edinburgh East and Musselburgh)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many work visas were issued for jobs in Scottish workplaces in 2021.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Home Office publishes data on Family, Work, and Study visas granted in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. However, this information is not broken down by place of residence or UK region.
The published statistics can be found in the entry clearance visa data tables.
Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of each workbook. The latest data relates to 2024 Q2.