John Grady

Small businesses in the hair and beauty sector play an important role in supporting jobs, high streets and local economies. We've introduced permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure properties and have provided £4.3bn to shield ratepayers from bill increases.

We continue to back employers who take on apprentices, by providing £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19 and employers are not required to pay National Insurance Contributions for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee's wage is below £50,270 a year). Additionally, the government pays the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care, when their employer has fewer than 50 employees.

I will continue to engage closely with the sector, including through the Personal Care Roundtables, to ensure the industry's long-term growth. This includes working with hair and beauty businesses as we bring forward a new High Streets Strategy later this year.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and crucial for the delivery of our Growth Mission. We will publish a new SME strategy later this year that will complement our Industrial and Trade Strategies as part of our approach to driving economic growth. The strategy will set out how the Government is looking to support SMEs to start and grow. We will provide a further update, including relevant economic evidence and analysis, later this year.

Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices at forecourts reflect fixed and variable costs, including international traded prices, distribution, staff and other forecourt costs. Vehicles powered by LPG benefit from a reduced fuel duty rate of 28.88 pence per litre (ppl) versus the main rate of 52.95 ppl. The Government’s Fuel Finder scheme will require all UK petrol filling stations to report if they stock LPG for consumer access. Motor LPG is subject to general consumer and competition law. The Government works with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to monitor competition in the market and address any evidence of anti-competitive behaviour.

This Government’s record £20.4 billion investment in R&D for 2025/26 will help people across the UK enjoy the benefits from an innovation-led economy.

My Hon Friend will be pleased to hear, as part of this, we are extending the Innovation Accelerators, including in the Glasgow City Region to grow its globally competitive innovation centre.

An example of one of the many innovative firms we are supporting in Glasgow is Spire Global who were recently awarded over £3.5 million for a unique weather forecasting data project.

The Government is investing £106 million in five new quantum hubs across the UK as part of the National Quantum Technologies Programme. One hub, the UK Hub for Quantum Enabled Position, Navigation and Timing (QEPNT), will be based in Glasgow, leveraging the city’s strengths in photonics and quantum.

These hubs aim to turn cutting-edge science into practical solutions, transforming sectors like healthcare and security, while fostering innovation and driving economic growth, including in Glasgow.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) operates a comprehensive package of measures to tackle unlicensed vehicles. These range from automatic number plate recognition cameras, wheelclamping and the removal and impounding of unlicensed vehicles.

The DVLA works closely with the police and local authorities to address such vehicles at local levels and to share intelligence. As well as any enforcement action that may be taken by the DVLA, the law also allows local authorities and police forces to work in partnership with the DVLA to tackle unlicensed vehicles by giving them the power to immobilise or impound unlicensed vehicles identified in their areas. These are known as devolved power partners.

The DVLA’s database highlights every unlicensed vehicle that is not subject to a Statutory Off-Road Notification (SORN) and automatically recognises when a keeper becomes non-compliant so that enforcement action can take place.

The DVLA’s wheelclamping contractor also provides ANPR services that provide enforcement coverage across every district in the UK. The DVLA also uses its own fleet to locate unlicensed vehicles and take direct action where appropriate. Members of the public can report unlicensed vehicles to the DVLA online at https://www.gov.uk/report-untaxed-vehicle .

The removal of abandoned vehicles is the responsibility of the relevant local authority. The police also have the powers to remove immediately any vehicle that is causing an obstruction, is likely to cause danger or is broken down or abandoned without lawful authority.

The DWP encourages employers to provide feedback to unsuccessful job applicants wherever possible. This includes asking employers to adapt their recruitment processes so they can identify applicants and share outcome information with Employer Adviser teams, enabling Work Coaches to support individuals to strengthen future applications. Where employers are unable to provide structured feedback, Jobcentre Plus continues to seek voluntary comments, using this insight to enhance employability support and address any barriers identified. The National Careers Service also works closely with individuals, providing tailored careers guidance and feedback to help them improve the quality of future applications

Ahead of vacancies going live, the Department also works with employers to help Work Coaches and Employer Advisers better understand recruitment processes and what employers are looking for in applications. This enables them to support jobseekers to be better prepared before applying for roles.

The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the Department for Education to support the availability of a diverse range of training routes into health and care careers including prosthetics and orthotics. While the Government is committed to ensuring sustainable training pathways for the future supply of prosthetics and orthotists, higher education institutions are independent providers and are responsible for making their own decisions about course delivery and viability.

The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England remain committed to working with stakeholders through NHS England’s small and vulnerable professions programme, to help maintain and strengthen training and education pathways for pre-registration learners. This work has been supported recently with a meeting between myself and the British Association of Prosthetics and Orthotics to discuss strengthening a sustainable training and workforce pipeline.

The Department of Health and Social Care works closely with the Department for Education to support the availability of a diverse range of training routes into health and care careers including prosthetics and orthotics. While the Government is committed to ensuring sustainable training pathways for the future supply of prosthetics and orthotists, higher education institutions are independent providers and are responsible for making their own decisions about course delivery and viability.

The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England remain committed to working with stakeholders through NHS England’s small and vulnerable professions programme, to help maintain and strengthen training and education pathways for pre-registration learners. This work has been supported recently with a meeting between myself and the British Association of Prosthetics and Orthotics to discuss strengthening a sustainable training and workforce pipeline.

No assessment has been made by the Department of the effectiveness of the Portfolio Pathway route to professional registration for overseas qualified specialist medical practitioners and general practitioners or the availability of portfolio assessors. The Department does not hold application or qualification data about this route.

The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of medical practitioners, or doctors, in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for setting standards that must be met by both domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to their registers to ensure registrants are safe to practise.

As the independent regulator, it is for the GMC to monitor the operational effectiveness of its routes to registration, and to determine the qualifications and experience that it will accept. The GMC publishes data on applications to its Portfolio Pathway at the following link:

https://www.gmc-uk.org/about/what-we-do-and-why/data-and-research/statistics-and-reports/doctors-specialist-applications-and-certificates

No assessment has been made by the Department of the effectiveness of the Portfolio Pathway route to professional registration for overseas qualified specialist medical practitioners and general practitioners or the availability of portfolio assessors. The Department does not hold application or qualification data about this route.

The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of medical practitioners, or doctors, in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for setting standards that must be met by both domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to their registers to ensure registrants are safe to practise.

As the independent regulator, it is for the GMC to monitor the operational effectiveness of its routes to registration, and to determine the qualifications and experience that it will accept. The GMC publishes data on applications to its Portfolio Pathway at the following link:

https://www.gmc-uk.org/about/what-we-do-and-why/data-and-research/statistics-and-reports/doctors-specialist-applications-and-certificates

No assessment has been made by the Department of the effectiveness of the Portfolio Pathway route to professional registration for overseas qualified specialist medical practitioners and general practitioners or the availability of portfolio assessors. The Department does not hold application or qualification data about this route.

The General Medical Council (GMC) is the independent regulator of medical practitioners, or doctors, in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for setting standards that must be met by both domestic and international applicants wishing to be added to their registers to ensure registrants are safe to practise.

As the independent regulator, it is for the GMC to monitor the operational effectiveness of its routes to registration, and to determine the qualifications and experience that it will accept. The GMC publishes data on applications to its Portfolio Pathway at the following link:

https://www.gmc-uk.org/about/what-we-do-and-why/data-and-research/statistics-and-reports/doctors-specialist-applications-and-certificates

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 11 March to Question 116086.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given on 11 March to Question 116086.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 20 November in response to Question 91653.

The UK is working closely with our international partners and parties across Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to uphold the Dayton Peace Agreement, rule of law and rights of all BiH citizens, including Bosniaks in Republika Srpska. In July, the Foreign Secretary spoke with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy about safeguarding BiH's stability, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have regular coordination meetings with Quint counterparts. On 9 October, I held a joint meeting with the Foreign Ministers of BiH and Serbia.

The UK is working closely with our international partners and parties across Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to uphold the Dayton Peace Agreement, rule of law and rights of all BiH citizens, including Bosniaks in Republika Srpska. In July, the Foreign Secretary spoke with the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy about safeguarding BiH's stability, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office officials have regular coordination meetings with Quint counterparts. On 9 October, I held a joint meeting with the Foreign Ministers of BiH and Serbia.

Data on the amount of Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) paid to Scottish companies is held by HMRC on the basis of the company’s registered office address. The amount of TTR paid in relation to the last two complete tax years is as follows.