Written questions by Stainbank.

What steps her Department is taking to help ensure that people based in the UK, including people granted asylum, are protected from politically-motivated red notices.

The Government views any allegation of misuse of INTERPOL’s systems very seriously and works closely with INTERPOL to ensure the legitimacy of the Red Notice system.Any State that is found to be wilfully abusing and misusing the INTERPOL system should be held to account to the fullest extent. This is even more important for any states that are already under corrective measures.The Home Office works with INTERPOL and the National Crime Agency (NCA), which acts as the UK’s National Central Bureau (NCB) for INTERPOL, to monitor the effectiveness of existing safeguards.We encourage INTERPOL to uphold international human rights obligations and we won’t hesitate to recommend further reforms to INTERPOL as necessary.

With reference to his statement on Pensions on 29 of January 2026, what new evidence did his Department's officials present to him in his re-consideration of the decision regarding state pension age changes that was not considered on or before 11 of November 2025.

The Secretary of State has taken a new decision, and the process has been thorough. We have looked at information previously considered and conducted new searches as part of an extensive review of relevant historical documents. In addition to the 2007 Automatic Pension Forecast Evaluation, other evidence relating to letter effectiveness and State Pension age awareness was provided to the Secretary of State. This included survey evidence on Combined Pension Forecasts, and additional State Pension age awareness evidence from the late 2000s. The decision document, which is available on gov.uk, includes some references to the evidence that was considered. The DWP research reports referenced are also publicly available in the National Archive.

Whether per capita share of asylum accommodation across regions is a criteria in deciding asylum hotel closure priority.

Hotel closure will be prioritised based on a wide range of criteria. The hotel exit plan will continue to be carefully managed to ensure that all supported asylum seekers are accommodated in suitable alternative accommodation. The department operates a Full Dispersal model which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is equitably and fairly spread out across the country, meaning that a small number of local authorities are not unduly burdened.

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Capita's performance on the delivery of the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

In November 2023, the Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita. This was under the previous government. The Scheme transferred to Capita on 1 December 2025. We are aware that Capita’s current performance is having a detrimental impact on some members. We are working urgently with Capita to resolve these issues, and to ensure that civil servants, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve. We have established a cross-departmental team to work with Capita to develop and implement a recovery plan. Alongside this, Capita is increasing staffing in key areas, to increase processing times in relation to new retirements and support for members, particularly those impacted by delays.

When the examination and shortlisting exercise for the deployment of the National Wealth Fund in Grangemouth will be concluded.

The NWF is actively considering all the available investment opportunities in Grangemouth. The NWF is responsible for approval of specific investments, in line with its regular governance and investment processes, including Board approval where appropriate.

What steps she is taking to help ensure that new asylum seeker accommodation is equitably dispersed between the regions and nations of the United Kingdom.

The department operates a Full Dispersal model which works to ensure that asylum accommodation is equitably and fairly spread out across regions and nations of the United Kingdom, meaning that a small number of local authorities are not unduly burdened.To facilitate this, we have developed Asylum Accommodation Plans in partnership with Local Government which set out our approach to the procurement and occupancy of Dispersal Accommodation across the UK.The Plans are underpinned by an indexing model which weights three key overarching factors. Indexing provides a flexible, transparent evidence-based for the dispersal of the national asylum-seeking population to ensure equity remains at the core. The overarching factors are:The current housing market and viabilitySocial factors including pressures on local servicesExisting population including extant Home Office cohortsThese three factors ensure the plans are evidence- based and strike a balance between equity and availability, as well as for the first time considering various pressures in local areas which we have worked on with The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The plans and indexing are reviewed regularly to ensure the plans are flexible to changing external factors.

Whether his Department is taking steps towards a compensation scheme for delays to first pension payments and lump sums caused by the transition between MyCSP to Capita of the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

The Cabinet Office awarded the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme to Capita in November 2023 under the previous government. The issues and delays facing a number of civil servants and pension scheme members in receiving their pension quotes are unacceptable. I want to reassure you that this Government has taken firm action to help put things right as soon as possible. We have agreed a clear recovery plan with Capita, which includes specific milestones and accountability targets for delivery. For priority cases, we have deployed additional resources and improved communication with affected colleagues, so that staff, both former and serving, receive the quality of service and support they deserve. Existing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) have been enhanced and strengthened to deliver improved performance and higher penalties for failure, including financial penalties. These have already applied in respect to Capita's performance with recent issues and delays in administering the Civil Service Pension Scheme. Capita prioritised the most urgent cases and by the end of February, all death in service cases were either settled or progressed to the final stage or awaiting a member response. The same position was reached for ill health retirement applications by mid-March. Capita has made lump sum payments to 8,747 members, the majority of whom have retired but are not yet receiving their pension, and are on track to bring these members into regular pension payments by the end of April. To provide immediate financial support to those who may need it, arrangements are in place for interest-free bridging loans typically up to £5,000 or £10,000 in exceptional cases to most recent retirees facing payment delays. This is alongside interim lump sum payments being made to provide immediate funds to retiring members. The pension scheme continues to make monthly pension payments to approximately 730,000 existing pensioner members on time. Interest will be paid on delayed benefits to avoid financial loss by members. In addition, the existing statutory complaints process evaluates claims for financial losses, as well as distress and inconvenience caused, on a case-by-case basis to determine whether compensation is due. This ensures that any retiree who provides evidence of extra costs, such as bank penalties or interest charges caused by the delay, is fairly assessed. This process is run in accordance with the standards set by the Pensions Ombudsman. The latest position of the Civil Service Pension Recovery Plan Update is available at this weblink: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-pension-recovery-plan-updates

When she plans to publish the Ten-year pipeline of projected bus orders.

My Department is planning to publish the ten-year pipeline of projected orders shortly.

What discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on ensuring economic and skills impacts for communities in Scotland hosting nationally significant energy infrastructure, including grid reinforcement and subsea transmission projects.

The department engages regularly with the Scottish Government to maximise the positive impacts from energy infrastructure investments on local economies and skills. Engagement is both at the ministerial and official level through formal fora such as the Interministerial Group on Net Zero, Energy & Climate Change, Grangemouth Investment Taskforce and ad-hoc when useful. This includes coordinated work on workforce needs such as our joint approach and funding on reskilling Grangemouth employees; coordinating work between the governments on ensuring developers provide community benefits and discussions on network connections.

What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of compensatory funding to further education institutions for the increase in Employer National Insurance contributions on colleges.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only. To recognise the increase to employers’ National Insurance contributions, we made approximately £155 million available in 2025/26 to support further education institutions and other mainstream settings that receive annual funding allocations from the department for the provision of post-16 education. This funding was made available via the Post-16 National Insurance contributions grant in September 2025. All decisions related to the 2026/27 financial year are being considered and information will be provided in due course.

What assessment his Department has made of the level of the gender pension gap within the civil service pension scheme.

The gender pension gap can be measured in different ways. In order to answer this question, we have used the difference in average pension in payment for men and women, expressed as a percentage of the average pension for men. Based on the latest data available, from 2024, the gap has reduced from 47% in 2016 to 42%. We fully expect this position to continue to improve as the equality employment legislation reduces historical differences in both the gap in pay and pensions accruing. The Cabinet Office will be commissioning the Government Actuary’s Department to carry out further analysis of the current position and will then consider next steps.

If he will publish the dates on which the joint UK Government and Scottish Government taskforce met to discuss the consultation on Alexander Dennis closing their Falkirk and Larbert sites.

The Scotland Office has priorisited securing the future of Alexander Dennis in Falkirk and Larbert from the moment we were made aware that those sites were at risk.The previous Secretary of State for Scotland, the Rt Hon Ian Murray MP, had discussions with the Deputy First Minister on 5 June and 21 July 2025, and my officials participated in numerous cross-government meetings throughout summer 2025. The Secretary of State for Scotland has continued this dialogue - most recently on 11 November with the Deputy First Minister - and we will continue to engage closely with the Scottish Government to safeguard these skilled jobs.

What estimate she has made of the potential increased revenue due to recent changes to the tax classification of double cap pickups in 2026-27 financial year.

The estimated amount of tax in 2026/27 that will be raised from double cab pick-up vehicles being treated as cars, comprised of increased Company Car Tax revenue and reduced Capital Allowances, has been estimated as follows:Exchequer Impact (£m)2026-27 235 This figure is based on Autumn Budget 2024 basis and is subject to uncertainty typically around the behavioural response.

What percentage of asylum seekers received initial decisions in quarter 4 of 2025 (October to December) compared to quarter 2 2024 (April to June).

The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on initial decisions of asylum claims is published in table Asy_D02 of the ‘Asylum claims and initial decisions datasets’. The latest data relates to the year ending September 2025.Data for the year ending December 2025, which will include Quarter 4 of 2025, will be published on 26 February 2026.

What estimate she has made of the average compliance cost to sole traders of the transition to digital income tax in the 2026-27 financial year.

HMRC’s latest published assessment of the potential impact of MTD for Income Tax across different taxpayer groups is available at: Extension of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment to sole traders and landlords - GOV.UK The government has worked with stakeholders to understand costs and benefits impacts, and with the software industry to ensure a wide range of low cost and free software is available for those with the simplest affairs.

What steps HMRC is taking to improve the responsiveness and consistency of its telephone customer service.

Improving day-to-day performance is a key priority for HMRC. HMRC are investing in new technology to improve their telephony services. Last year, they launched procurement for a new Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) platform which will significantly enhance the customer experience. They are also expanding their digital services. HMRC online services and the HMRC app are convenient to access and receive high customer satisfaction ratings. As more people use HMRC digital services, HMRC’s customer service advisers are freed up to support those who are digitally excluded, have complex tax affairs, or find themselves in vulnerable circumstances. HMRC’s Transformation Roadmap sets out further steps to improve the customer experience for taxpayers, agents, and businesses. The Roadmap can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-transformation-roadmap

What assessment his Department has made of the impact of UK Government measures to reduce child poverty on children in Scotland; and how he is working with the Scottish Government to complement devolved policies and support progress towards Scotland’s statutory child poverty targets.

We estimate that removing the two-child limit alongside other measures in the Child Poverty Strategy, published on 5 December, will lift 550,000 children out of poverty across the whole of the UK, leading to the largest expected reduction in child poverty over a Parliament since comparable records began.Removing the two-child limit from April 2026 will alone reduce child poverty across the UK by 450,000 in the final year of parliament and could benefit 95,000 children living in households in Scotland impacted by the policy. We have published the UK wide impacts for the Child Poverty Strategy here: Child Poverty Strategy: Impact on low income poverty levels and children gaining in the UK: December 2025. We are committed to continued collaboration with the Devolved Governments to tackle child poverty across the UK. As set out in our Monitoring and Evaluation Framework, published alongside the Child Poverty Strategy, we will continue to work closely with them to consider how best to feed into their own findings to track progress at both the local and national level.

What progress her Department has made on the development of the new Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy; and how her Department is working with devolved governments, including the Scottish Government, to ensure effective coordination on prevention, perpetrator interventions and data sharing.

“Freedom from Violence and Abuse: a cross-government strategy to build a safer society for women and girls”, was published on 18 December 2025. It sets out the strategic direction and concrete actions to prevent violence and abuse, pursue perpetrators, and support victims, and to deliver our unprecedented commitment to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in a decade.We have engaged with the Welsh Government, Scottish Government, and Northern Ireland Executive in the development of the Strategy.Each Devolved Government has its own strategy, and ours has been informed by best practices drawn from the approaches of all three jurisdictions, including Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy to prevent and eradicate VAWG, the Northern Ireland Ending VAWG Strategic Framework, and Wales’s Strategy for Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence. We are committed to sharing learning and best practice to make our work complementary, and this includes sharing data. VAWG is a national and international emergency, and we will continue working with all devolved governments to ensure a coordinated UK-wide response.

What assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Defence Industrial Strategy on employment and skills in Scotland; and what steps are being taken to ensure defence procurement supports jobs and economic growth across all parts of the United Kingdom.

The Defence Industrial Strategy is already having a significant impact on employment and skills in Scotland. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) spent more than £2.1 billion with industry in Scotland in the last financial year alone, backing almost 12,000 skilled jobs and highlighting Scotland as a backbone for defence of the UK - from the home to our nuclear deterrent, to boasting a long-term pipeline of major international military shipbuilding. This is illustrated by the deal to supply Norway with Type 26 frigates, the biggest ever warship export deal by value, that will support 4,000 jobs across the UK supply chain, including more than 2,000 at BAE Systems’ Glasgow shipyards. The Scotland Defence Growth Deal and the defence industry skills package that was also announced in the Defence Industrial Strategy will support even more employment and skills opportunities in Scotland. The Defence Industrial Strategy sets out our commitment to revamp our procurement framework, delivering a comprehensive review of defence contracting to incentivise productivity and improve delivery. This includes our new segmented approach to procurement that is enabling the MOD to tailor its acquisition processes to the type of capability, supplier and risk involved, as well as measures aimed at making it easier for SMEs to do business with the MOD. All of these initiatives will have benefits for jobs and economic growth across the UK, including in Scotland.

What discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government regarding the availability and UK-wide supply of flu and RSV vaccines this winter; and what steps are being taken at a UK level to support devolved administrations in managing winter pressures related to respiratory illness.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works closely with flu vaccine manufacturers and suppliers to maintain high level oversight of the overall United Kingdom supply of flu vaccine for adults. This enables early identification and mitigation of potential risks to programme delivery, such as constraints in dose availability or delays to deliveries.The UKHSA procures the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine and the live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV), which is the primary vaccine used in the children’s flu programme, on a UK wide basis. As such, the UKHSA liaises regularly with all devolved nations, including the Scottish administration, on procurement activities and supply arrangements for these vaccines.Both the RSV vaccine and LAIV are available for Scottish Health Boards to order via the UKHSA’s online ordering platform, ImmForm, ensuring consistent access across the UK.Ensuring timely and reliable access to flu and RSV vaccines is a key part of reducing the burden of respiratory illness over the winter period, helping to limit avoidable hospital admissions and support health systems, including those in devolved administrations, in managing winter pressures.