Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many applications his Department has made to restore a company to the register under section 1029(2)(a) of the Companies Act 2006 since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Secretary of State made no applications to court for the restoration of a company pursuant to s.1029 of the Companies Act 2006 during the period in question. Within that period, in the context of a petition to wind up a company pursuant to s.124A of the Insolvency Act 1986, the Secretary of State did however request, and was granted, leave of the court to restore one company.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to support the development of (a) affordable and (b) accessible padel courts in (i) Falkirk and (ii) Britain.
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 majority of grassroots sport policy is devolved. Sportscotland, the national agency for sport in Scotland, receives funding from the Scottish Government to support more people to get active. The Secretary of State and I regularly meet with Scottish counterparts to discuss the importance of sport and tackling physical inactivity.
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.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to increase the number of (a) indoor and (b) covered tennis facilities in Falkirk.
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 majority of grassroots sport policy is devolved. Sportscotland, the national agency for sport in Scotland, receives funding from the Scottish Government to support more people to get active. The Secretary of State and I regularly meet with Scottish counterparts to discuss the importance of sport and tackling physical inactivity.
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.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what progress his Department has made on securing the £200 million National Wealth Fund allocation for Grangemouth.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The UK Government is working with our investment agencies and the Scottish Government to both proactively drive project development at Grangemouth and to assess all the enquiries we have received, to help ensure that they are suitable for National Wealth Fund investment at the earliest opportunity.
On 21 October, Minister Shanks and the Secretary of State for Scotland met with the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and the National Wealth Fund as part of the Grangemouth Investment Taskforce to discuss what actions we can take to progress investible propositions at Grangemouth. We continue to work at pace to ensure that this investment materialises as soon as possible.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of giving the Enforcement Conduct Board the power to (a) grant and (b) revoke EC2 certificates, in the context of its forthcoming response to the Regulation of the debt enforcement sector consultation.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to strengthening the regulation of enforcement firms and agents who use the Taking Control of Goods procedure in England and Wales. On 9 June 2025, we launched a consultation on proposals to introduce an independent statutory regulator for enforcement firms, when parliamentary time allows. The consultation also asked whether a regulator should have a role in certificating enforcement agents.
The consultation closed on 21 July 2025. We will publish the Government’s response in due course.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to publish a response to the Regulation of the debt enforcement sector consultation.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to strengthening the regulation of enforcement firms and agents who use the Taking Control of Goods procedure in England and Wales. On 9 June 2025, we launched a consultation on proposals to introduce an independent statutory regulator for enforcement firms, when parliamentary time allows. The consultation also asked whether a regulator should have a role in certificating enforcement agents.
The consultation closed on 21 July 2025. We will publish the Government’s response in due course.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Scotland.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Our Plan for Change is creating jobs, driving growth and delivering for Scotland.
Our recent trade mission to India, resulted in a raft of major new deals leading to more than 100 brand new jobs in Scotland.
This comes on the back of Norway’s decision to select Glasgow-built warships bringing billions of pounds into the Scottish economy securing thousands of jobs.
The Clean Energy Jobs Plan to train up the next generation of clean energy workers will recruit over 40,000 workers into clean energy jobs in Scotland by 2030.
And of course our focus as a Labour government is ensuring that people don’t only have access to work, but that work pays - and that’s why we have ensured a pay rise for 200,000 of the lowest paid Scots.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the devolved administrations on harmonising policy on ending the use of (a) cages and (b) close‑confinement systems in farming.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra regularly engages with the devolved Governments on a range of animal welfare issues.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of induction processes for new asylum seekers.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office recognises that individuals new to the UK and unfamiliar with the asylum process may have questions and uncertainties, and so it issues an information booklet to asylum claimants at the point of claim, which outlines the asylum process and the claimant’s responsibilities within it. The booklet (which is also available on GOV.UK) includes sections on legal advice, additional help and assistance, with links to relevant legal bodies and support organisations.
New and existing asylum seekers are also able to contact in their own language the asylum helpline run by Migrant Help. The helpline provides information about the asylum process including asylum support and adapting to life in the UK. Migrant Help services are also available face-to-face in initial accommodation.
All asylum processes, including those for new asylum seekers, are kept under review.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many inquests following deaths at work are in progress in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for coroner law and policy in England and Wales but does not collate real-time data on inquests in progress across the jurisdiction.
Annual Coroner Statistics for England and Wales are published at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coroners-statistics-2024. These include information on inquests opened and completed, but this is not broken down by setting.
The Ministry of Justice is not responsible for the coroner jurisdiction in Northern Ireland, which is instead overseen by the Northern Ireland Executive’s Department for Justice.