Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions she has had with (a) Hertfordshire County Council and (b) the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service on safety at Traveller sites in the context of the fire at Redbourn’s Ver Meadows Travellers site on 12 July 2025.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The government continues to be updated on the recovery plan following the incident via the Recovery Coordinating Group (RCG) which includes representatives from Hertfordshire County Council, St Albans District Council and the fire and rescue service.
An independent fire investigation, requested by Hertfordshire County Council, will be shared in due course, and we will carefully consider any findings.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on the impact of 10% tariffs on UK exports to the USA on the Scottish economy; and what steps he is taking with the Scottish Government to help mitigate that impact.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The US market is Scotland's second largest export market for goods, worth £4bn in 2024. In response to US tariffs, the government launched a Request for Input on the 3 April to gather feedback directly from stakeholders across the whole of the UK that could be affected by our possible response options.
On 8 May, the UK concluded a landmark economic deal with the US, saving thousands of jobs, protecting key British industries, and helping drive economic growth. DBT Ministers and officials engaged regularly with the Devolved Governments on US tariffs during the progress of the talks with the US and continue to do so.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to improve asylum claim processing times.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office continues to invest in a programme of transformation and business improvement, including innovative methods to speed up asylum decision making and improve the quality and consistency of our work.
The latest quarter saw the second highest three-month period for people receiving initial decisions since comparable records began in 2002, and more than double (+116%) those in the three months before the election (April to June 2024).
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to bring forward legislative proposals on the employment status of joint or sole directors who receive their income from both dividends and a salary.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
An individual’s employment status is determined by the facts and circumstances of the engagement between the worker and engager. This is based on case law.
HMRC takes steps to ensure individuals are correctly treated as employees, or as self-employed, where they should be. HMRC provides extensive guidance to support organisations and individuals understand and determine employment status for tax.
The Government acknowledges that differences in tax treatment between employees, the self-employed and those working through a company structure can lead to individuals paying different amounts of tax while doing very similar work.
Rates of dividend tax are lower than the main rates of income tax, partly to recognise the fact that corporation tax may have been charged on the profits that are then distributed in the form of dividends
The off-payroll working rules, also known as IR35, have been in place for 25 years. They are designed to ensure that individuals working like employees but through their own company, usually a personal service company (PSC), pay broadly the same income tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs) as those who are directly employed.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his Department has made an assessment of changes in the market share of e-bikes imported from China out of all e-bikes sold in the UK since 6 February 2025.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
UK bicycle manufacturers play a key role in supporting our green growth ambitions. The Government’s Industrial and Trade Strategies are designed to support innovation, sustainability, and skills development, to help businesses grow, create new jobs, and compete internationally.
The independent Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) assessed the market share of e-bikes imported from China as part of its recent anti-dumping review. Following the TRA's recommendation, anti-dumping measures on Chinese folding e-bikes were extended on 6 February 2025. The TRA will continue to assess the effectiveness of these measures, including any changes in market share.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps the Government is taking to strengthen the UK’s ability to protect its satellite infrastructure from (a) cyber attacks, (b) jamming and (c) other forms of hostile interference.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Protecting the UK's satellites and related ground infrastructure is a Defence priority. The Strategic Defence Review affirms that satellite communication and data relays are fundamental to the Armed Forces’ ability to understand the battlespace, exchange information, and make and communicate decisions in real time.
Our ongoing work in this area focuses on improving space awareness, asset security, and system resilience, whilst incorporating relevant lessons from the conflict in Ukraine and from our Allies and international partners.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the ongoing UK–US trade negotiations (a) in July 2025 and (b) at other times on (i) manufacturers and (ii) exporters in Scotland; and what steps he is taking to ensure that (A) automotive manufacturing and (B) other sectors with a significant presence in Falkirk are included in any future trade agreement.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
We are currently implementing the first phase of the UK-US Economic Prosperity Deal. The deal protects manufacturing through the removal of tariffs for aerospace goods and reducing tariffs for automotive, alongside the implementation of a new quota. The US was the 2nd largest goods export market for Scotland in 2024.
We will continue our extensive engagement with businesses from across the UK, including those in Scotland, throughout these remaining negotiations.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has collected data on the share of e-bike sales comprising models imported from China.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is responsible for the collection and publication of data on imports and exports of goods to and from the UK which includes data on imports of e-bikes. HMRC releases this information monthly, as a National Statistic called the Overseas Trade in Goods Statistics (OTS), which is available via their dedicated website (www.uktradeinfo.com).
From this website, it is possible to build your own data tables based upon bespoke search criteria. HMRC does not hold information on what percentage of sales in the UK are made up of e-bikes that were imported from China.
Classification codes (according to the Harmonised System) are available to assist you in accessing published trade statistics data in the UK Global Tariff. Goods moving to and from the UK are identified by commodity codes. These are publicly available from the UK Trade Tariff at https://www.gov.uk/trade-tariff. E-bikes are most likely classified within commodity codes 87116010 and 87116090.
If you need help or support in constructing a table from the data on uktradeinfo, please contact uktradeinfo@hmrc.gov.uk.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the impact assessment on the Universal Credit and Personal Independent Payment Bill, published on 30 June 2025, how many of those moved into relative or absolute poverty are due solely to changes of the Universal Credit Health Element.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
No assessment has been made on this basis. The Poverty Impact assessment published ahead of the Bill Committee Stage shows a 50,000 reduction in the number of people below the poverty line.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to suspend arms export licences to Israel for use in the West Bank.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
One of our first acts in government was to review and suspend export licences that could be used by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza, as announced to Parliament. We have successfully implemented that suspension and continue to refuse all relevant licence applications. Subject to the specific measures taken to protect the global F-35 programme, we are clear there are no export licences currently being used by the IDF in military operations in Gaza or the West Bank.