Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made (a) a comparative assessment of the speed of processing asylum claims for (i) her Department's existing method and (ii) alternative methods and (b) an assessment of the efficiency of alternative methods taken by other nations.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
We have taken immediate action to speed up asylum processing whilst maintaining the integrity of the system. This includes simplifying guidance and streamlining processes. We have also introduced shorter, focussed interviews, making the interview process more efficient.
The asylum backlog of legacy cases had fallen by over 35,000 cases, between the end of November 2022 and the end of August 2023, and has continued to fall since the last publication of statistics.
Information on the legacy backlog is published online in the IMB_02 Tab of the data table regarding Statistics relating to the Illegal Migration Act - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk(opens in a new tab)). This data is provisional and has not been cleansed to remove duplicates.
In the year ending June 2023, there were 23,702 initial decisions made on asylum applications, 61% more than in the previous year. This is in part due to an increase in the number of asylum decision makers employed by the Home Office.
We are confident that with increased capacity and improved efficiency this will help deliver further significant output over the coming months.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 September 2023 to Question 199460 on Members: Correspondence, and with refence to the letter from the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Europe to the hon. Member for Falkirk relating to a bereaved constituent, ref MC2023/14846, dated 14 September 2023, what forms of liaising his Department undertakes with the Turkish Government on this topic; and whether he is taking (a) bilateral and (b) other steps to help prevent deaths following private medical procedures in that county.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Our Embassy in Ankara engages regularly with the Turkish authorities on the issue of medical tourism and the need for comprehensive advice for Britons seeking such treatment in Turkey. The Ambassador raised the subject with the Turkish Health Minister on 4 October. A delegation from the Department for Health and Social Care is due to visit Turkey in November to discuss medical tourism with the Turkish authorities. We keep our central online guidance up to date, as well as the FCDO Travel Advice for Turkey.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2023 to Question 196336 on Sports: Scotland and the stipulation that at least 40% of projects must benefit at least one other sport in addition to football on a sustained and regular basis, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) acceptability of the majority of funding being spent on astroturf pitches and (b) in that instance, the potential impact of that funding on (i) hockey and (ii) other sports that do not use fourth generation astroturf pitches.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
In Scotland, funding from the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme is delivered through the Scottish Football Association (SFA), with recipients chosen via an application process involving advice from a panel which includes Sport Scotland. At least 40% of the funding must go towards multi-sport projects, and the SFA works closely with Sport Scotland to deliver this funding.
4G pitches are not widely used - Department for Culture, Media and Sport investment is generally used to deliver third generation (3G) synthetic surfaces in line with industry standard.
As per guidance, competitive hockey cannot be played on 3G surfaces but those pitches can still be used for training purposes and for other sports e.g rugby (where shock-pads are installed).
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will respond to the email correspondence of 1 August 2023 from the office of the hon. Member for Falkirk relating to a bereaved constituent.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Leo Docherty, Minister of State for Europe responded to the letter in question on 14/09/2023.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what her Department's policy is on UK access to Erasmus+, in the context of the policies of the Irish Government on access to Erasmus+ in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robert Halfon
The department understands that the Irish Government has allocated funding to allow higher education students in Northern Ireland to access the Erasmus+ Programme.
The department looks forward to continuing its collaborative work with sector stakeholders and Northern Ireland Executive officials to ensure that students in Northern Ireland are able to benefit from the opportunities available to them through the UK Government’s Turing Scheme.
For academic year 2023/24, the Turing Scheme is allocating over £2.9 million to education providers in Northern Ireland to fund international placements for over 1,000 participants, more than half of whom are students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
The government does not intend to negotiate resuming participation in any aspect of Erasmus+ with the EU as a Programme Country.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the funding awarded to the Scottish Football Association through the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme, what guidance was issued to the Scottish Football Association on how the multisport portion of the funding should be used; how much and what proportion of the funding is expected to be spent exclusively on sports unrelated to football; and whether there are any other stipulations on the type of sports that can be supported through the programme.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Decisions on the allocation of funds under the Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme are devolved to relevant sporting bodies in respective parts of the UK, as they have appropriate expertise and understanding of local provision. Sport Scotland provides advice and guidance alongside the Scottish FA through the project selection process. Details on the Scottish FA’s approach are published here.
However, multi-sport benefit is a key pillar of the grassroots facilities programme and we stipulate that at least 40% of projects must benefit at least one other sport in addition to football, on a sustained and regular basis. There is no requirement for particular sports to be prioritised as part of this objective, and multi-sport plans are led by local need.
Projects are selected for a variety of reasons - some for their ability to deliver improved facilities in deprived areas, others may support multi-sport use, and/or increase participation among currently under-represented groups — such as women and girls or disabled players.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to make changes to the Erasmus programme.
Answered by Robert Halfon
Erasmus+ is the European Union's programme to support education, training, youth and sport in Europe. Any changes to the programme are therefore for the European Commission to determine, and not the UK Government.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department provides basic toiletries as standard to refugees in her Department's care.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
Basic toiletries are considered an essential need for asylum seekers in receipt of asylum support. These are either provided directly by our accommodation providers under the AASC contract, or individuals can purchase the items with their weekly subsistence rate, which is currently £45 for those in self-catered or dispersal accommodation. Part of this allowance is intended for toiletries.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department has taken to ensure the impartiality of Ofgem.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ofgem is established in statute as the independent regulator for gas and electricity markets in Great Britain. As the independent regulator, Ofgem takes its regulatory decisions independently and within its regulatory powers it is free to decide on the most appropriate regulatory approach to a particular issue.
The Government recently published its consultation on a Strategy and Policy Statement for Energy Policy in Great Britain. This document reinforces Ofgem’s independence as a regulator, while also providing guidance to Ofgem on delivering the Government’s energy priorities.
Asked by: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of stopping the importation of forage maize seed treated with bird repellent and fungicide on domestic production of forage maize for (a) the livestock industry, (b) the dairy industry and (c) the anaerobic digestion industry.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
From 1 January 2024, treated seeds can only be used if they are treated with Plant Protection Products authorised in GB. After we left the EU, transitional arrangements were put in place so that seeds treated with products authorised for use in the EU but not GB could continue to be imported, marketed and used. These arrangements come to an end on 31 December 2023. Industry has had the opportunity over the last 3 years to apply for the relevant GB authorisations, HSE has highlighted the actions that they need to take.