Written questions by Stainbank.

What assessment he has made of the potential merits of increasing the Access to Work cap for people who require BSL interpreters to remain in full time work.

The cap was introduced in 2015 to enable Access to Work to continue to provide tailored support for those with the most significant needs and at the same time grow the overall number of customers receiving support from the scheme. The cap was introduced that year, set at 1.5 times the national average salary. This was revised upwards to twice the national average salary in 2018, based in part on the recognition of needs of deaf customers, particularly British Sign Language users. Since its introduction in 2015 the cap has been increased annually in line with average earnings. The cap was originally introduced at £40,800 in 2015/16, and it now stands at £69,620.

How many applications his Department has made to restore a company to the register under section 1029(2)(a) of the Companies Act 2006 since 5 July 2024.

The Secretary of State made no applications to court for the restoration of a company pursuant to s.1029 of the Companies Act 2006 during the period in question. Within that period, in the context of a petition to wind up a company pursuant to s.124A of the Insolvency Act 1986, the Secretary of State did however request, and was granted, leave of the court to restore one company.

Whether he has considered establishing a cross-Governmental oversight body to monitor Departmental compliance with the legal aid elements of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.

The Bill expands the scope of legal aid, allowing bereaved families to access legal help and advocacy for inquests whenever a public authority is an Interested Person without means testing. By bringing advocacy into scope, the Bill removes the requirement for families to navigate the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) process to access representation at these inquests. The legal aid provisions will be enshrined in law and administered by the Legal Aid Agency. Therefore, a cross-government oversight body to monitor compliance has not been considered during the Bill’s development.

How many enforcement agents certificated under the Certification of Enforcement Agents Regulations 2014 have had their certificates (a) cancelled and (b) suspended by a judge under Regulation 11 in each of year between 2020 and 2024.

The Ministry of Justice does not routinely publish operational data on how many enforcement agents certificated under the Certification of Enforcement Agent Regulations 2014 have had their certificates cancelled or suspended by a judge under Regulation 11 of the Regulations. The public register of certificated enforcement agents is updated to reflect the cancellation of a certificate, but it does not record the reason for the cancellation.In 2024, the average processing time for certification of potential enforcement agents at the County Court was 27.62 days. This figure reflects the time taken from submission of an application to the granting of a certificate.

What the average waiting time was for certification of potential enforcement agents at the County Court in the latest period for which data is available.

The Ministry of Justice does not routinely publish operational data on how many enforcement agents certificated under the Certification of Enforcement Agent Regulations 2014 have had their certificates cancelled or suspended by a judge under Regulation 11 of the Regulations. The public register of certificated enforcement agents is updated to reflect the cancellation of a certificate, but it does not record the reason for the cancellation.In 2024, the average processing time for certification of potential enforcement agents at the County Court was 27.62 days. This figure reflects the time taken from submission of an application to the granting of a certificate.

What progress his Department has made on securing the £200 million National Wealth Fund allocation for Grangemouth.

The UK Government is working with our investment agencies and the Scottish Government to both proactively drive project development at Grangemouth and to assess all the enquiries we have received, to help ensure that they are suitable for National Wealth Fund investment at the earliest opportunity. On 21 October, Minister Shanks and the Secretary of State for Scotland met with the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and the National Wealth Fund as part of the Grangemouth Investment Taskforce to discuss what actions we can take to progress investible propositions at Grangemouth. We continue to work at pace to ensure that this investment materialises as soon as possible.

Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to support the development of (a) affordable and (b) accessible padel courts in (i) Falkirk and (ii) Britain.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.The majority of grassroots sport policy is devolved. Sportscotland, the national agency for sport in Scotland, receives funding from the Scottish Government to support more people to get active. The Secretary of State and I regularly meet with Scottish counterparts to discuss the importance of sport and tackling physical inactivity.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

Media and Sport, whether she plans to increase the number of (a) indoor and (b) covered tennis facilities in Falkirk.

The Government is determined to ensure that everyone has access to quality sport and physical activity opportunities. That is why we have committed another £400 million to transform facilities across the whole of the UK following the Spending Review. We are now working closely with sporting bodies and local leaders to establish what communities need and will then set out further plans. I have met with the Lawn Tennis Association, the National Governing Body for tennis and padel, along with representatives from other sports, to discuss this.The majority of grassroots sport policy is devolved. Sportscotland, the national agency for sport in Scotland, receives funding from the Scottish Government to support more people to get active. The Secretary of State and I regularly meet with Scottish counterparts to discuss the importance of sport and tackling physical inactivity.The Government provides the majority of support for grassroots sport in England through Sport England, which annually invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding. This includes long term investment in the Lawn Tennis Association, which receives up to £10.2 million for five years from 2022 to 2027 to invest in community tennis and padel initiatives that will benefit as many people as possible.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of giving the Enforcement Conduct Board the power to (a) grant and (b) revoke EC2 certificates, in the context of its forthcoming response to the Regulation of the debt enforcement sector consultation.

The Government is committed to strengthening the regulation of enforcement firms and agents who use the Taking Control of Goods procedure in England and Wales. On 9 June 2025, we launched a consultation on proposals to introduce an independent statutory regulator for enforcement firms, when parliamentary time allows. The consultation also asked whether a regulator should have a role in certificating enforcement agents. The consultation closed on 21 July 2025. We will publish the Government’s response in due course.

When his Department plans to publish a response to the Regulation of the debt enforcement sector consultation.

The Government is committed to strengthening the regulation of enforcement firms and agents who use the Taking Control of Goods procedure in England and Wales. On 9 June 2025, we launched a consultation on proposals to introduce an independent statutory regulator for enforcement firms, when parliamentary time allows. The consultation also asked whether a regulator should have a role in certificating enforcement agents. The consultation closed on 21 July 2025. We will publish the Government’s response in due course.

Whether she plans to maintain the UK’s Digital Services Tax until an international agreement on the taxation of multinational digital companies delivers at least an equivalent revenue outcome for the UK.

The Digital Services Tax is an interim solution to widely held concerns with the international corporate tax framework, and the UK remains committed to remove it once a global solution on the reallocation of taxing rights is in place.As the Chancellor has previously said, we will continue to make sure that businesses pay their fair share of tax, including businesses in the digital sector.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with the devolved administrations on harmonising policy on ending the use of (a) cages and (b) close‑confinement systems in farming.

Defra regularly engages with the devolved Governments on a range of animal welfare issues.

What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Scotland.

Our Plan for Change is creating jobs, driving growth and delivering for Scotland.Our recent trade mission to India, resulted in a raft of major new deals leading to more than 100 brand new jobs in Scotland.This comes on the back of Norway’s decision to select Glasgow-built warships bringing billions of pounds into the Scottish economy securing thousands of jobs.The Clean Energy Jobs Plan to train up the next generation of clean energy workers will recruit over 40,000 workers into clean energy jobs in Scotland by 2030.And of course our focus as a Labour government is ensuring that people don’t only have access to work, but that work pays - and that’s why we have ensured a pay rise for 200,000 of the lowest paid Scots.

What assessment she has made of the adequacy of induction processes for new asylum seekers.

The Home Office recognises that individuals new to the UK and unfamiliar with the asylum process may have questions and uncertainties, and so it issues an information booklet to asylum claimants at the point of claim, which outlines the asylum process and the claimant’s responsibilities within it. The booklet (which is also available on GOV.UK) includes sections on legal advice, additional help and assistance, with links to relevant legal bodies and support organisations. New and existing asylum seekers are also able to contact in their own language the asylum helpline run by Migrant Help. The helpline provides information about the asylum process including asylum support and adapting to life in the UK. Migrant Help services are also available face-to-face in initial accommodation. All asylum processes, including those for new asylum seekers, are kept under review.

Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make ecocide a criminal offence.

The UK has strong laws in place to protect the environment. Contravention of many of these is a criminal offence. Convictions are sought to punish significant or persistent environmental offending.

What assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the application of the Litigation and Settlement Strategy on settlements made following disguised renumeration schemes.

The Government commissioned an independent review of the loan charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers. The Government will respond by Autumn Budget 2025. The Litigation and Settlement Strategy (LSS) ensures that HMRC applies the law fairly and consistently. The LSS applies as much to the resolution of a dispute with a multinational corporation as it does to small business customers or individuals. This ensures every taxpayer, no matter who they are, pays the tax due under the law. Central to the LSS is that HMRC will not settle a dispute by agreement for an amount which is less than it would reasonably expect to obtain from litigation.

Whether the Government have reviewed the underspend on the Equitable Life Payment Scheme.

Under the previous Conservative Government, the Equitable Life Payment Scheme was wound down and closed in 2016. The only remaining part of the Payment Scheme in operation is the annual payments made to eligible With-Profit-Annuitants and the Scheme is on track to distribute the remainder of the £1.5 billion as planned. There are no plans to reopen any decisions relating to the Payment Scheme or review the £1.5 billion funding allocation previously made to it. Further guidance on the status of the Payment Scheme after closure is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equitable-life-payment-scheme#closure-of-the-scheme.

When her Department plans to publish the integrated public transport strategy.

As committed to in the Government’s manifesto, we will be publishing a long-term strategy for transport to set out the Department’s vision for domestic transport across England. We intend to publish the Strategy towards the end of this year.

What steps his Department is taking to ensure the long-term competitiveness of the bus manufacturing sector.

The Government is committed to strengthening the long-term competitiveness of the UK bus manufacturing sector and accelerating the shift to zero-emission vehicles. This includes reforms to bus procurement, supporting the work of the DfT UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panels, and a £15 billion investment over five years to improve local transport in the North and Midlands, supporting sector growth and new zero-emission buses. Through DRIVE35, we are providing funding to support R&D and commercial scaling of zero-emission vehicles, creating skilled jobs and attracting private investment for sustained sector success.

What recent discussions her Department has had with the Scottish Government on extending the provisions of the Bus Services Bill to Scotland.

Policy responsibility for transport in Scotland is devolved to the Scottish Government. Any decisions on adopting measures in the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill relating to devolved matters are for them to make. These constitute the vast majority of Bill measures. Department for Transport officials have engaged with Scottish Government counterparts to discuss measures in the Bill throughout its passage. As a result of this engagement, an amendment was made in the House of Commons extending the powers to prohibit the use of new non-zero emission buses from no earlier than 2030 to the Bill. The Government is also committed to working with and sharing best practice with the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales as bus reform is carried out in England.