Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits of the development of a Regional Defence and Security Cluster in Scotland; and what progress has been made following early-stage discussions with potential partners in Scotland.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Strategic Defence Review 2025 emphasised a cross-government initiative to develop regional clusters across the devolved nations. Regional Defence and Security Clusters, supported by the Ministry of Defence, are already bringing benefit across England, and lessons learned from the development of these clusters could also be applied to the development of defence and security clusters in Scotland.
Initial and outline discussions have taken place with several stakeholders within Scotland in relation to a Defence and Security Cluster. These are progressing but remain early-stage at this moment in time. Expectations are that these will continue over the coming months. Until such times, there are currently a number of clusters and cluster-like organisations in Scotland that overlap defence such as the Scottish Government’s Innovation Centres, Space Scotland, West of Scotland Space Cluster, and Scottish Maritime Cluster.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on the Scottish allocation of the New Defence Growth Deals announced in September 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Industrial Strategy committed £250 million to fund all five Defence Growth Deals across the UK. Work is ongoing to understand how the £250 million Defence Growth Deal fund will be allocated across the five locations.
We continue to work with key stakeholders, including government, industry and academia, to identify opportunities for Scotland Defence Growth Deal investment.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with the Scottish Government on establishing a Defence Technical Excellence College in Scotland.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As part of the Defence Industrial Strategy, £20 million was allocated to skills initiatives in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Through the Scottish Defence Growth Deal framework, we are currently engaging with a wide range of stakeholders including government, industry and academia to understand the key skills gaps for Scotland’s defence sector and how this funding should best be used to address them. This includes exploring the concept of a Scottish Defence Technical Excellence College.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many projects have been (a) funded by the UKDI Defence and security accelerator and (b) of these how many were based in Scotland.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As of the end of January 2026, a total of 1,715 Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) projects had been funded, with 146 of these awarded to businesses or projects in Scotland, amounting to a total value of £30.6 million.
Please note that, as of 2 February 2026, the DASA brand has been retired. All responsibilities and activities previously undertaken by DASA now fall under the remit of UK Defence Innovation (UKDI).
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many UK nationals died in Thailand in each of the last three years; and what the causes were of those deaths.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Consular staff have provided support in the following cases where a British national has died in Thailand in each of the last three years.
Deaths - Thailand | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
Assisted death / euthanasia | 0 | <5 | 0 |
Cause still to be confirmed | 161 | 180 | 203 |
Infection / disease | 31 | 172 | 167 |
Injury | 25 | 25 | 26 |
Murder / manslaughter | <5 | <5 | <5 |
Natural causes | 154 | 244 | 296 |
Other | 229 | 74 | 73 |
Suicide / self-harm | 10 | 12 | 7 |
The data is based on the cases that are reported to us by the local authorities, families or others. We record the cause of death based on what we are told, and Consular staff are unable to independently investigate the cause of deaths. There will also be cases where we may not be informed of a death.
Where the figures are 5 or fewer (but more than one), we do not publish a breakdown of the numbers, as this risks identifying the individuals involved. To release this data would contravene one of the data protection principles, and sections 40(2) and 40(3) of the Freedom of Information Act apply.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her oral contribution of 26 November 2025 on Financial Statement and Budget, Official Report, column 388, what (a) meetings, (b) correspondence and (c) other discussions did she have with Mr Sarwar to arrive at the £820 million uplift to Scotland's Block Grant prior to the Autumn Budget 2025.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government listens to a wide range of representations to help shape the Budget, including from Scottish Labour.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her oral contribution of 26 November 2025 on Financial Statement and Budget, Official Report, column 388, if she will confirm whether her £820m allocation to Scotland's Block Grant is as a function of Barnett Consequentials following her finalisation of UK Government Expenditure in England.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The £820 million additional funding for the Scottish Government referenced is a result of the operation of the Barnett formula.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many foreign Catholic priests have been denied a visa for the UK since July 2024.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office does not hold data, in a reportable format, on how many foreign Catholic priests have been refused UK visas since July 2024.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if his Department will introduce a ban on cages for laying hens in the UK.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The recently published animal welfare strategy sets out that ending the use of cages and crates is a key priority for this Government.
As announced on 12 January 2026, a consultation on a proposal to ban the keeping of laying hens, pullets and breeder layers in cages has been launched and will close on 9 March 2026.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Companies House identity verification reforms announced on 16th October, what assessment his Department has made on whether a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) was undertaken for the rollout of these reforms; and whether the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was consulted.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Companies House carried out Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) regarding Identity Verification, including the use of GOV.UK One Login and Authorised Corporate Service Providers.
In accordance with Article 36(4) of the UK GDPR, a formal consultation was undertaken with the Information Commissioner's Officer during the formulation of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.