Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his planned timeline is for establishing the UK Energy Campus in Aberdeen; and over what period departmental roles will be transferred or created there.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Aberdeen was announced as one of DESNZ’s second headquarters in December 2023.
This commitment to the location underlines the importance of Aberdeen in our Net Zero planning.
As of May 2025, there were 100 staff members based in Aberdeen, comprising a wide variety of roles within the department. The ambition is to increase this number and for DESNZ to continue to grow in Aberdeen, with the creation of Great British Energy and the possibility of other Scotland-based Arm's Length Bodies also becoming part of the Energy Campus.
The establishment of a new Energy Campus in Aberdeen is part of the UK Government’s Plan for Change, aimed at fostering collaboration. By relocating skilled roles to the same town or city, government campuses bring together civil servants with diverse skills and expertise through a shared policy or delivery focus. This approach aims to address issues and improve services for working people across the country.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has indicated that further details on the Energy Campus will be set out in due course following the completion of the current Spending Review process.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many of his Department's jobs are based in Aberdeen; and how many additional Department roles will be based there once the UK has established its Energy Campus.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Aberdeen was announced as one of DESNZ’s second headquarters in December 2023.
This commitment to the location underlines the importance of Aberdeen in our Net Zero planning.
As of May 2025, there were 100 staff members based in Aberdeen, comprising a wide variety of roles within the department. The ambition is to increase this number and for DESNZ to continue to grow in Aberdeen, with the creation of Great British Energy and the possibility of other Scotland-based Arm's Length Bodies also becoming part of the Energy Campus.
The establishment of a new Energy Campus in Aberdeen is part of the UK Government’s Plan for Change, aimed at fostering collaboration. By relocating skilled roles to the same town or city, government campuses bring together civil servants with diverse skills and expertise through a shared policy or delivery focus. This approach aims to address issues and improve services for working people across the country.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has indicated that further details on the Energy Campus will be set out in due course following the completion of the current Spending Review process.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which departmental roles are based in Aberdeen; and what kinds of additional roles he expects to be located there following the establishment of the UK Energy Campus.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Aberdeen was announced as one of DESNZ’s second headquarters in December 2023.
This commitment to the location underlines the importance of Aberdeen in our Net Zero planning.
As of May 2025, there were 100 staff members based in Aberdeen, comprising a wide variety of roles within the department. The ambition is to increase this number and for DESNZ to continue to grow in Aberdeen, with the creation of Great British Energy and the possibility of other Scotland-based Arm's Length Bodies also becoming part of the Energy Campus.
The establishment of a new Energy Campus in Aberdeen is part of the UK Government’s Plan for Change, aimed at fostering collaboration. By relocating skilled roles to the same town or city, government campuses bring together civil servants with diverse skills and expertise through a shared policy or delivery focus. This approach aims to address issues and improve services for working people across the country.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has indicated that further details on the Energy Campus will be set out in due course following the completion of the current Spending Review process.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential long-term impact of the work ban for people seeking asylum on (a) mental health, (b) barriers to future employment and (c) integration into their new communities.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
While the wellbeing of those in the asylum system is important, it is also vital to continue cracking down on illegal working, and protect those employers and employees who will play by the rules from being undercut.
However, the Government provides specific support to migrant victims of VAWG through the Migrant Victims Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and works with sector leads on this group to ensure they are part of the broader strategy on VAWG.
Asylum seekers who have had their claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, can currently apply for permission to work in jobs on the Immigration Salary List (ISL). The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas.
The Home Office also continues to invest in a programme of transformation to speed up asylum decision making and therefore reduce the time people spend in the asylum system. This approach will ensure that genuine asylum seekers can be accepted quickly and gain access to the labour market, and those who are not can be removed to their home country.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a ban on employment for women seeking asylum on levels of vulnerability of those women to gender-based (a) violence and (b) exploitation; and what steps she is taking to tackle gender-based (i) violence and (ii) exploitation among these groups.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
While the wellbeing of those in the asylum system is important, it is also vital to continue cracking down on illegal working, and protect those employers and employees who will play by the rules from being undercut.
However, the Government provides specific support to migrant victims of VAWG through the Migrant Victims Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and works with sector leads on this group to ensure they are part of the broader strategy on VAWG.
Asylum seekers who have had their claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, can currently apply for permission to work in jobs on the Immigration Salary List (ISL). The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas.
The Home Office also continues to invest in a programme of transformation to speed up asylum decision making and therefore reduce the time people spend in the asylum system. This approach will ensure that genuine asylum seekers can be accepted quickly and gain access to the labour market, and those who are not can be removed to their home country.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the asylum system on the vulnerability to gender-based violence and exploitation of women seeking safety; and what steps she has taken to mitigate this impact.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
While the wellbeing of those in the asylum system is important, it is also vital to continue cracking down on illegal working, and protect those employers and employees who will play by the rules from being undercut.
However, the Government provides specific support to migrant victims of VAWG through the Migrant Victims Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and works with sector leads on this group to ensure they are part of the broader strategy on VAWG.
Asylum seekers who have had their claim outstanding for 12 months or more, through no fault of their own, can currently apply for permission to work in jobs on the Immigration Salary List (ISL). The Home Office keeps all aspects of the immigration and asylum system under regular review, and recently published a White Paper setting out the Government’s plans for reform in relation to the exploitation and abuse of migrant workers, and a wide range of other areas.
The Home Office also continues to invest in a programme of transformation to speed up asylum decision making and therefore reduce the time people spend in the asylum system. This approach will ensure that genuine asylum seekers can be accepted quickly and gain access to the labour market, and those who are not can be removed to their home country.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many posts there are for (a) press, (b) media and (c) other communications staff in her Department; and what the salary band is for each post.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the central Department for Education communications team, there are a total of 93.82 full-time equivalent (FTE) Government Communication Service professionals.
Of this total, 27.80 FTE are in the media discipline which covers press and media responsibilities. This is the latest available data from June 2024.
The department does not hold salary band information in the format requested. Our HR system holds positions based on team name and grade and not specific job titles with corresponding salary costs.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many posts there are for (a) press, (b) media and (c) other communications staff in his Department; and what the salary band is for each post.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra Group Communications is the first shared service communications team in Whitehall, merging 6 geographically dispersed communications teams from the core department and Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs). Alongside the department, the team works to the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Forestry Commission and Rural Payments Agency.
The teams work across all communications disciplines in support of the policy and operational priorities including a frontline team across the country providing a 24-hour communications response to incidents, working with local media and partners to give communities timely information they need to take action and prepare. This includes local and national media, planning, stakeholder engagement, digital communications and internal.
Defra Group Communications staff work in an agile way to 6 organisations, it is not possible to provide granular full-time equivalent figures for each part of the group.
The communications team employs professionals across all Civil Service grades, you can find more details on the salaries across Civil Service grades here - Civil Service Grades Explained - Defra Jobs - UK Government.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many decisions on statelessness applications made in 2024 were challenged through administrative review; how many of those reviews have been completed; and how many of those completed resulted in a grant of leave.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many rejections of statelessness applications submitted in 2024 have been followed by renewed applications.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.