Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding will be allocated to (a) tennis and (b) padel in each year until 2028.

Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.

The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to reduce the amount of the UK International Aid Budget that is going towards in-donor refugee costs.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 6 November in response to Question 85799.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Statement on Asylum Policy of 17 of November, Official Report column 509, what the qualifying tests for family reunion for refugees applying through the work and study route will be.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

A refugee who is given core protection will have no automatic right to bring family to the UK. Refugees will be able to switch into a new, bespoke work and study route to access family reunion and settlement rights with new fees and conditions in accordance with the rules of that route. This will enable them to earn down their length of time before they can settle in the UK from 20 years.

The Government will set out the requirements and timelines in due course.

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 protect workers’ terms and conditions including through the implementation of short-time working arrangements in the construction industry.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Construction Industry Working Rule Agreement, collectively negotiated between employer organisations and trade unions to establish agreed terms and conditions, is a matter for the industry. This agreement provides a consistent framework for fair treatment of workers across the sector, supporting stability and clarity for both employers and employees.

Looking ahead, the Employment Rights Bill will modernise our employment rights legislation. It will provide a new baseline of security for workers including through day one protection from unfair dismissal, increasing protection from sexual harassment, strengthening Statutory Sick Pay and ending exploitative zero hours contacts and tackling fire and rehire.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Statement on Asylum Policy of 17 of November, Official Report column 509, how many failed asylum seekers are from a home country who is not a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights in each year for which information is available.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not publish data on the number of failed asylum seekers, including those with exhausted appeal rights, from countries that are not signatories to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Published asylum data is available in the Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release. The latest outcomes of asylum claims, as at July 2024, are in table Asy_D04 of the asylum detailed datasets. These figures should not be interpreted as the number of failed asylum seekers, as refusal outcomes may still be subject to review or appeal.

As appeals information is not included, it is not possible to determine from published data how many individuals have become failed asylum seekers. Data on cases subject to removal is available in table Asy_03 of the transparency data.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Statement on Asylum Policy of 17 of November, Official Report column 509, which international partners have raised similar concerns about the inability to apply the public interest to the Article 3 Absolute Right under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

A number of Council of Europe members have expressed concern over the interpretation and application of the ECHR in the context of migration. An open letter of nine Council of Europe countries of 22 May 2025 called for "discussion about how international conventions match the challenges of today". We agree on the importance of addressing these challenges together and the Deputy Prime Minister will meet with other Justice Ministers at the Council of Europe on 10 December to set out the UK position and advance work on the ECHR reform agenda.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of clause 52 of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to permit the denial of refugee status to asylum seekers who are serious offenders.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

Clause 52 ensures that convictions for Schedule 3 sexual offences will be assumed to be ‘particularly serious’ for the purpose of exclusion from the Refugee Convention. Not only have these individuals failed to respect the laws of the UK by committing heinous acts, but they have also undermined public confidence in the ability of the state to protect the public.

All crime causes harm to victims, communities, and society in general. By their very nature, sexual offences (especially those which warrant the imposition of the notification requirement) can have very serious impacts on victims and the overall fabric of society. Parliament has debated these issues and considered these offences to sit in a unique category, not least given the effect they have on victims and communities.

These individuals will be liable for removal at the earliest opportunity. Where removal is not possible due to our ECHR obligations, clause 52 will ensure that such individuals are not afforded the generous benefits of protection status in the UK.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Statement on Asylum Policy of 17 of November, Official Report column 509, what the threshold of (a) income and (b) assets will be before an asylum seeker is required to receive before they are asked to contribute to their support.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

These details are subject to further policy development which will be set out in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Statement on Asylum Policy of 17 of November, Official Report column 509, what the length of time for settlement for refugees who successfully apply through that route will be.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

These details are subject to further policy development which will be set out in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Statement on Asylum Policy of 17 of November, Official Report column 509, which means other than sponsorship will be opened up to new, capped, safe and legal routes for asylum seekers.

Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)

The UK has rightly played its part alongside other countries in response to crises such as Ukraine, Hong Kong and Afghanistan.

As set out in the policy statement, in addition to the sponsorship pathways, we are developing new capped safe and legal routes at pace for refugees and displaced people to access the UK for work and study purposes.

This approach remains flexible to respond to global crises, as demonstrated by recent extensions to the Ukraine scheme and targeted support for individuals affected by conflicts in Gaza.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the £200m National Wealth Fund allocation to Grangemouth could be used for Ministry of Defence projects.

Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

As set out in the Chancellor’s Statement of Strategic Priorities to the National Wealth Fund, it should consider the role it can play in supporting the delivery of the wider Industrial Strategy, including in defence.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Scottish Government on the rollout of universal thrombectomy services.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Department ministers regularly have discussions with colleagues across Government on issues of cross-border interest. There have been no specific meetings held recently on thrombectomy services.

Sahelis and National Lottery Community Fund support in Falkirk

Dr Irene Oldfather and the Scottish Advisory Forum on Europe