Written questions by Stainbank.

What discussions he had with the Scottish Government on the future of Grangemouth oil refinery prior to September 2024.

As per my answer on 8 October 2024, since taking office in July 2024, the Secretary of State and I have taken joint action with the Scottish Government to urgently engage with the company and its shareholders. This included discussions with PetroChina and INEOS, the shareholders. Details of Ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance.

How many meetings were held between Petroineos and the UK Government on the future of Grangemouth oil refinery between December 2019 and September 2024.

As per my answer on 8 October 2024, since taking office in July 2024, the Secretary of State and I have taken joint action with the Scottish Government to urgently engage with the company and its shareholders. This included discussions with PetroChina and INEOS, the shareholders. Details of Ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Government taking a transitional stake in the Grangemouth oil refinery.

Before July, there was no overall plan for the future of the Grangemouth refinery. Within weeks, we worked with the Scottish Government to put together a £100m package to support the community and invest in the local workforce, along with tailored support to secure good, alternative jobs. We launched Project Willow to find an industrial future for the site – identifying nine low-carbon and renewable energy business models that could create 800 jobs by 2040. We are ready to take these forward as co-investment projects with the private sector. Backed by £200 million from the National Wealth Fund, our investment agencies are working to find investors for these proposals and other low carbon and clean energy proposals in the Grangemouth area. After the refinery closes, Grangemouth will supply Scotland with imported fuel. We have rigorously assessed Petroineos’ import terminal model to ensure it will provide energy security and resilience for Scotland, and we will continue monitoring to ensure long term confidence for Scottish consumers and businesses.

If his Department will take steps to support small businesses following the introduction of US tariffs.

We remain committed to discussions with the US on a wider economic deal that works for both countries but this Government will do what is necessary to defend the UK’s national interest. On 3 April, we launched a Request for Input from businesses, offering them a chance to influence the design of a possible UK response. We continue to support businesses of all sizes to grow and export globally, including to the US. Through Great.gov.uk, businesses will be able to access export support programmes including the Export Academy, International Markets Network, Growth Hubs and Help to Grow: Management scheme.

Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to renew funding for the Park Tennis Project.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. The Park Tennis Court Programme was a joint investment between the UK Government and Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) that started in 2022 and concluded in 2024. All future funding of sports facilities will be considered as part of the Spending Review.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help improve the availability of indoors tennis courts to the public.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of background, should have access to and benefit from quality sport and physical activity opportunities. The Government provides the majority of funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. Sport England’s work focuses on increasing participation in sport, including tennis, at grassroots level to give more and better opportunities to all. Sport England provides long term investment to the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis in Britain, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years to invest in community tennis initiatives that will benefit everyone.

What proportion of funding forecast to be raised by the Digital Services Tax between 2025-26 and 2029-30 will be generated by US resident companies.

HMRC do not hold the information requested as the forecast is produced at an aggregated level, rather than for individual companies.

What estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of reducing the headline rate of Digital Services Tax by the end of this Parliament.

The Digital Services Tax (DST) is an interim tax measure to ensure that digital services providers pay UK tax on digital services that reflects the value they derive from UK users. The UK remains committed to reaching a global solution on the taxation of the digital economy through Pillar 1 of the G20-OECD Inclusive Framework project. It is UK’s intention to repeal our Digital Services Tax (DST) when this international solution is in place.The OBR’s latest Economic and Fiscal Outlook publication sets out forecasts of Digital Services Tax revenues.

If she will make an estimate of the potential impact of applying VAT to unredeemed deposits in the deposit return scheme on revenues to the Exchequer.

The Government is currently considering the VAT treatment of deposits charged under deposit return schemes. Should VAT be applied to unreturned deposits HMRC expect the impact on exchequer receipts to be negligible.

Communities and Local Government, whether she is taking steps with her counterpart in the Scottish government to help mitigate the impact of the closure of Rural Housing Scotland on (a) housing and (b) infrastructure in rural Scotland.

Officials from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government regularly meet with officials from the Scottish Government to discuss a range of policy matters and interests.

Food and Rural Affairs whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of exempting businesses in the hospitality sector from charges under Extended Producer Responsibility.

Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging obligates brands and packaging producers to pay the costs of managing household packaging waste. Therefore, no assessment has been made of the merits of exempting all businesses in the hospitality sector. This is because a wide range of hospitality businesses operate take away business models, where food, and primarily non-alcoholic drinks, are taken away by consumers and disposed of off premises. There is also packaging used in the hospitality sector which can be evidenced as not ending up in household bins. Under the current regulations producers can exempt this packaging from being classed as household packaging. Since autumn 2024, the Government has been working with stakeholders to make an assessment of whether amendments to the regulations or the guidance can be made to further help producers in exempting packaging.

Whether non-Syrian nationals displaced by the Syrian civil war seeking asylum have had their claims paused following the general pause of Syrian asylum claims from December 2024.

Following the fall of the Assad regime, the Home Office withdrew the Country Policy Information Notes and guidance relating to Syria and has temporarily paused all asylum interviews and decisions. The pause also applies those who have previously been habitually resident in Syria. The pause is being kept under constant review and when there is a clear basis upon which to make decisions, we will resume the processing of them.

What information her Department holds on people who have been deported.

Statistics on the returns of foreign national offenders (FNOs) by nationality and destination are published on a quarterly basis. These returns are published in the Returns Detailed Datasets, and are currently available to the end of December 2024, which are available at: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.In addition, a note providing an overview of the number of people who have been returned from the UK since 5 July 2024 was published on 31 March 2025, and can be found here: Returns from the UK from 5 July 2024 to 22 March 2025 - GOV.UK.3,594 FNOs were returned in this period, which is an increase of 16% compared to 3,101 FNO returns in the same period 12 months prior (FNO returns include both enforced and voluntary returns).Figures on deportations, which are a subset of enforced returns, are not separately available.We are committed to delivering justice for victims and safer streets for our communities. Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will pursue their deportation.

What information her Department holds on the average time taken to process an asylum claim after July 2024.

The specific data requested is not currently available from published statistics and could only be collated and verified for the purposes of answering this question at disproportionate cost.However, the Home Office does publish data on the number of asylum claims awaiting an initial decision by duration. This data can be found at table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum and resettlement summary tables’.Additionally, data on the percentage of applications processed within six months is published in table ASY_D03 of the ‘Immigration and Protection’ data of the Migration Transparency Data collection.We are restoring order to the asylum system so that every part – border security, case processing, appeals and returns – operates swiftly.As a result, asylum decision making increased by 52% in the last three months of 2024.The Home Office continues to take action to speed up asylum processing whilst maintaining the integrity of the system.

What guidance her Department has issued to refugees on the process of applying for indefinite leave to remain.

Guidance setting out the rules on settlement protection for refugees is available on GOV.UK at: Settlement protection.

What proportion of refugees received indefinite leave to remain in the latest period for which data is available.

The Home Office publishes statistics relating to indefinite leave to remain and asylum in the Immigration system statistics publication.Data on the number grants of Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) to refugees, is published in table Se_D01 of the Settlement detailed datasets. The latest data relates to 2023. In addition, information on the number of ILR grants to refugees, including persons given ELR (Exceptional Leave to Remain), HP (Human Protection) or DL (Discretionary leave) is published in table Se_D02 of the Settlement detailed datasets for which latest data relates to 2024.

What criteria she plans to use in applying her discretionary powers to give an exception to the current ban on citizenship being granted to an asylum seeker who has arrived irregularly.

We have strengthened measures to make it clear that anyone who enters the UK illegally or who arrives without a required valid entry clearance or electronic valid authorisation having made a dangerous journey, including small boat arrivals, faces having a British citizenship application refused. The change applies to citizenship applications made from 10 February 2025, regardless of the time that has passed since the illegal entry took place.However, citizenship applications have always been, and will continue to be, considered on a case-by-case basis considering all positive and negative factors. The Secretary of State may choose to apply discretion to grant citizenship on an exceptional basis where there are particularly exceptional, compelling, or mitigating circumstances and where necessary to comply with our international obligations.

What the average non-salary recruitment cost is for a civil servant in her Department at Executive Officer grade.

The Average non salary recruitment cost for a civil servant at Executive Officer grade is £1,202.60.

What steps her Department is taking to protect (a) low-paid civil servants and (b) civil servants affected by recent increases to Skilled Worker visa salary thresholds who might be at risk of losing their right to live and work in the UK.

Part (a)The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will implement, where applicable, the new National Living Wage rate of £12.21 per hour with effect from 1 April 2025. DWP annual salaries will reflect this new hourly rate regardless of age and working pattern.DWP offers a comprehensive range of employee benefits, including enhanced discounts that make both essential and leisure purchases more affordable for our colleagues. Our Cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme promotes health and sustainability by making commuting more cost effective. Employees can also apply for salary advances to assist with budgeting, covering expenses like travel, rentals deposits, bike and safety equipment. We are committed to continuously enhancing our benefits offer, including the launch of a colleague dental insurance scheme next month. Part (b) Whilst employees who have a current time limited work visa should have an expectation that they may be unable to work beyond the date their visa expires, we realise this situation in relation to potential sponsorship via a skilled worker visa is extremely unsettling for those affected. DWP takes the welfare of its staff very seriously and continue to provide a range of support to colleagues employed on time limited visas who may be impacted by the uplift to salary thresholds introduced in April 2024. This support includes ensuring they understand their responsibilities in establishing whether they will be eligible to apply for other visas to enable them to remain in employment with DWP and signposting to wider employee assistance support that is available to them via departmental contracts.

What her planned timetable is for the introduction of legislation to enable the Revenue Certainty Mechanism.

The government is working at pace to deliver a revenue certainty mechanism for the UK Sustainable Aviation Fuel industry. The government has confirmed that it will introduce the SAF Revenue Support Bill in the first session of Parliament and we expect the legislation for a revenue certainty mechanism to be in place by the end of 2026. We will continue to monitor the estimated delivery date and work with industry to deliver an effective revenue certainty mechanism as soon as possible.