Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
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 ensure that an adequate number of speciality training posts are available to ensure that NHS needs are met.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it.
We will ensure that the number of medical specialty training places meets the demands of the National Health Service in the future. NHS England will work with stakeholders to ensure that any growth is sustainable and focused in the service areas where need is greatest.
To reform the NHS and make it fit for the future, we have launched a 10-Year Health Plan as part of the Government’s five long-term missions. Ensuring we have the right people, in the right places, with the right skills will be central to this vision. We will publish a refreshed Long Term Workforce Plan to deliver the transformed health service we will build over the next decade, and treat patients on time again.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what plans she has to provide urban nesting habitats for small birds within housebuilding targets.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 22080 on 15 January 2025.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of trends in the level of students not reclaiming overpaid income tax.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The amount of income tax a student pays depends upon their total taxable income, including employment income. The standard income tax personal allowance for the 2025 to 2026 tax year is £12,570, which means that most students do not pay tax on the first £12,570 of their total taxable income.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold data in its income tax accounting systems that identifies students.
Students pay income tax through the PAYE system or through a Self Assessment tax return. After the end of the tax year, HMRC carry out an end of year reconciliation on all customers in PAYE in order to identify any overpayments or underpayments. Where tax has been overpaid, this will be automatically repaid to individuals, including students.
For individuals, including students, who submit a Self Assessment tax return, HMRC will process the return and any overpaid tax will automatically be repaid to the individual. Where an individual files their Self Assessment return online, they can request a repayment through their HMRC online account.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of increases in benefit in kind rates for used electric vehicle leasing via salary sacrifice schemes on levels of electric vehicle sales.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget, the Government announced new Company Car Tax rates for the years 2028-29 and 2029-30, which increase for both electric vehicles (EVs) and petrol/diesel vehicles, while still maintaining generous incentives to support EV take-up.
The Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published alongside Budget set out the expected economic, equalities and other impacts, and highlighted that overall the measure was expected to encourage the take-up of zero emission vehicles.
The Government recognises that the Company Car Tax regime and the salary sacrifice exemption for ultra-low and zero emission vehicles continues to play an important role in the EV transition. The Government needs to balance these incentives against responsible management of public finances to ensure we have sufficient revenue to fund essential public services. A company car is a valuable benefit and therefore needs to be taxed appropriately.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the benefit in kind rates for new electric vehicles on sales of new electric vehicles.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
At Autumn Budget, the Government announced new Company Car Tax rates for the years 2028-29 and 2029-30, which increase for both electric vehicles (EVs) and petrol/diesel vehicles, while still maintaining generous incentives to support EV take-up.
The Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published alongside Budget set out the expected economic, equalities and other impacts, and highlighted that overall the measure was expected to encourage the take-up of zero emission vehicles.
The Government recognises that the Company Car Tax regime and the salary sacrifice exemption for ultra-low and zero emission vehicles continues to play an important role in the EV transition. The Government needs to balance these incentives against responsible management of public finances to ensure we have sufficient revenue to fund essential public services. A company car is a valuable benefit and therefore needs to be taxed appropriately.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the graduate route visa scheme on levels of innovation.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to making the UK the destination of choice for top international talent, who have an important impact on innovation and entrepreneurship in the UK. Their impact is particularly noticeable in the UK’s leading startup ecosystem; a quarter of Tech Nation-endorsed Global Talent Visa (GTV) holders are founders, and 39% of the UK’s fastest growing start-ups have at least one foreign born co-founder. In addition to providing a pipeline of entrepreneurs, international talent contributes significantly to innovation in key growth-driving sectors, and makes up 37% of higher education research staff.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the planned reduction to ODA spending on the UK's commitment to the Agenda 2030 leaving-no-one- behind principle.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Reducing the overall size of our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do. Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used are being worked through as part of the ongoing Spending Review, based on various factors including impact assessments. The UK remains committed to Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as the underlying principle to leave no one behind. We will continue to work with partners at home and internationally to accelerate progress towards the SDGs.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he will consider reallocating proposed capital financing for British International Investment to aid spending.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
All development funding, including for British International Investment, will be considered as part of the ongoing multi-year spending review and subsequent resource allocation round.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Foreign Secretary launches expert reviews to strengthen UK’s global impact and expertise, published on 9 September 2024, when he plans to publish the findings of the three reviews.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The reviews' reports take the form of unpublished independent advice to the Foreign Secretary. A decision on how best to communicate the independent reviews' findings will be taken in due course by the Foreign Secretary.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the economic benefits generated by the (a) Video Games Tax Relief and (b) Video Games Expenditure Credit; and if she will take steps to reform tax incentives.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC), which provides a generous tax credit of 34 per cent on UK video games development costs.
A report published by the BFI in 2021 found that VGEC, previously known as the Video Games Tax Relief (VGTR), supported increased spend in the UK by 22.8% between 2017-2019.