Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the average decision-making time for an Adult Dependent Relative visa application was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
Current processing times for Adult Dependent Relative applications applying for entry clearance to the UK are 12 weeks. Processing times for Adult Dependent Relative applications applying from within the UK are 8 weeks.
Further information on family visa processing times for applications made outside of the UK can be found here: Visa processing times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Information on family visa processing times for applications made from within the UK can be found here: Visa processing times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
NB: these links list Adult Dependant Relative applications as ‘Adult coming to be cared for by relative’.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women claimed statutory (a) maternity pay and (b) maternity allowance in Scotland in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Statutory Maternity Pay is delivered through HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), rather than the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Figures provided by HMRC on the number of new claims for Statutory Maternity Pay in Scotland in each financial year from 2019/20 to 2023/24 are shown in Table 1.
Table 1. The number of Statutory Maternity Pay spells starting in Scotland in financial year
Year | Number of Statutory Maternity Pay spells in Scotland starting in each financial year |
April 2019 - March 2020 | 27,600 |
April 2020 - March 2021 | 25,700 |
April 2021 - March 2022 | 27,500 |
April 2022 - March 2023 | 24,900 |
April 2023 - March 2024 | 24,900 |
Statistics on the number of Maternity Allowance spells starting in each quarter in Scotland from February 2010 to November 2023 are published and can be found at Maternity Allowance: quarterly statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The latest release covers September – November 2023 and data from March 2019 – November 2023 are shown in Table 2. These figures are based on a 5% sample of Maternity Allowance Claims and should be treated with caution. This is because a recent review determined that the available sample used to estimate the Maternity Allowance statistics at a regional level was too small to provide a sufficient level of confidence.
Table 2. The number of Maternity Allowance spells starting in Scotland in each quarter
Quarter | Number of Maternity Allowance spells in Scotland starting in each quarter |
September - November 2023 | 840 |
June - August 2023 | 880 |
March - May 2023 | 920 |
December 2022- February 2023 | 1,020 |
September - November 2022 | 880 |
June - August 2022 | 740 |
March - May 2022 | NA |
December 2021- February 2022 | 700 |
September - November 2021 | 1,000 |
June - August 2021 | 600 |
March - May 2021 | 760 |
December 2020- February 2021 | 780 |
September - November 2020 | 660 |
June - August 2020 | 840 |
March - May 2020 | 1,000 |
December 2019- February 2020 | 1,140 |
September - November 2019 | 920 |
June - August 2019 | 880 |
March - May 2019 | 900 |
Notes
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he plans to develop a new national strategy on atrocity prevention
Answered by Anneliese Dodds
The FCDO supports a comprehensive approach to mass atrocity prevention. However, we have no plans to develop a new national strategy at this time. Since 2022, the FCDO's conflict directorate has been strengthening monitoring capabilities to identify and escalate atrocity risks before they occur. We will continue to develop our capacity to respond to atrocity risks, drawing on expertise across HMG and beyond, including from civil society, academia and cooperation with bilateral partners and multilateral organisations.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much was spent on maternity pay in Scotland in each of the last five years.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Outturn for Maternity Pay consists of both Statutory Maternity Pay and Maternity Allowance, and is published by country in the Expenditure by country and region tables, last updated following Autumn Statement 2023.
Outturn for Scotland in the last five years available is as below
(Expenditure £ million, nominal terms)
| 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
Statutory Maternity Pay Scotland | 191.0 | 175.0 | 187.9 | 206.9 | 206.3 |
| 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
Maternity Allowance Scotland | 29.8 | 27.8 | 25.9 | 21.6 | 19.1 |
Maternity Allowance expenditure figures for Scotland are estimates using national and regional breakdowns from Official Statistics on Maternity Allowance benefit caseload and average amounts of benefit paid, applied to GB outturn expenditure totals.
Statutory Maternity Pay Expenditure figures for Scotland are estimates using national and regional breakdown of amounts of SMP paid to employees, applied to GB outturn expenditure totals.
Please note, these figures may change with the next publication of data, following Autumn Budget 2024.
We are not expecting to publish breakdowns of MA in Autumn 2024 as a new operational system to record MA cases is currently being developed. As such, Maternity Allowance statistics will be suspended from the quarterly statistics release on 13 August 2024 until data can be extracted from the new system. (Maternity Allowance: quarterly statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 30 July 2024 to Question 1887 on Tax Avoidance, when she plans to provide an update on her policy on the loan charge.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
I know that the loan charge is an extremely important issue for many members and their constituents.
I have met with campaigners to discuss the loan charge, and the Chancellor and I are considering this matter further. We will provide an update in due course.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to tackle the national supply shortage of Methylphenidate.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department monitors and manages medicine supply at a national level so that stocks remain available to meet regional and local demand. Information is not collected on a local level.
The Department has been working hard with industry and NHS England to help resolve supply issues with some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines, which are affecting the United Kingdom and other countries around the world. As a result of intensive work, some issues have been resolved and all strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.
We are continuing to work to resolve supply issues where they remain, for methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets. We are engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to further build capacity to support continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. We anticipate intermittent regional supply disruptions to continue, and we expect supply to improve in the UK from October 2024.
In parallel, the Department has worked with specialist clinicians, including those within the National Health Service, to develop management advice for NHS clinicians to consider prescribing available alternative brands of methylphenidate prolonged release tablets or available alternative ADHD medicines. We would expect ADHD service providers and specialists to follow our guidance, which includes offering rapid response to primary care teams seeking urgent advice or opinion for the management of patients, including those known to be at a higher risk of adverse impact because of these shortages.
To aid ADHD service providers and prescribers further we have widely disseminated our communications, and continually update a list of currently available and unavailable ADHD products on the Specialist Pharmacy Service website, helping ensure that those involved in the prescribing and dispensing of ADHD medications can make informed decisions with patients.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the possibility of arms supplied from the UK to Israel being used to be used to (a) commit and (b) facilitate serious violations of International humanitarian law in (i) the West Bank and (ii) Lebanon.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK's robust export licensing criteria state that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of International Humanitarian Law. Following the Government's decision on 2 September to suspend certain arms export licences to Israel for use in Gaza, there are currently no extant licences that we assess are for use in Lebanon or the West Bank, apart from the licences for the F-35 components which were exempted. We are clear that International Humanitarian Law must be upheld, and civilians protected.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS hospitals are required to record the number of occasions on which instrumental delivery of a baby creates lasting health problems for the mother.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department recognises the significant physical and psychological consequences of birth trauma and the devastating impact this has on women. The Government remains fully committed to improving the quality and consistency of care for women throughout pregnancy, birth, and the critical months that follow. National Health Service trusts in England submit data through the Maternity Services Data Set from the booking appointment through to discharge from maternity services, which is usually approximately 10 days after birth. This includes data on instrumental delivery complications including post-partum haemorrhage and severe perineal tears but, due to the time period covered by the data, does not capture lasting health problems arising from birth.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will undertake a review of the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
A consultation on proposed reforms to the CMS was published by the previous Government on 8 May 2024. The consultation includes exploration of removing Direct Pay and managing all CMS cases in one service to allow the CMS to tackle non-compliance faster. The consultation also explores how victims and survivors of domestic abuse can be better supported.
The Government extended the consultation to the 30 September 2024 to ensure full stakeholder engagement can take place, we will then consider the next steps for CMS.
Asked by: Melanie Ward (Labour - Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether she plans to commission a lessons learned review with local authorities following the late arrival of postal votes in the 2024 General Election.
Answered by Alex Norris - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Electoral Commission is the independent electoral regulator and will be reporting on the administration of the May elections and the recent General Election. This will include the proportion of individuals turned away for lack of accepted identification. We anticipate publication of their initial findings on voter ID later this month and their full election report later in the year.
In line with our manifesto commitments, we will carefully review the voter ID rules and evaluate how they impacted citizens during the General Election before bringing forward firm proposals for reform in due course. This will of course include full consideration of the Electoral Commission’s findings.
With regard to postal voting at the 2024 General Election, I refer my Hon Friend to the answer given to Question UIN 199 on 26 July 2024.