Scotland Office

The conversation on National Defence was a recommendation in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which the Government accepted. The MOD is the lead department for delivering the SDR, with support from the Cabinet Office, and particularly from the National Security Secretariat.

This will be a multi-year, cross-departmental effort designed to deliver on the whole-of-society approach to national security and defence allowing Government, the private sector and public to play their part in strengthening the UK’s resilience to any potential future shocks. This work addresses the risks and threats the UK faces, including those below and above the threshold of an armed attack.

The Scotland Office is actively supporting this by working closely with the MOD, as well as on the development of a Defence Growth Deal in Scotland and wider engagement with industry, local authorities and academia to support jobs, investment, and skills development in Scotland’s defence sector.

Whilst heritage policy is a devolved matter, we recognise the importance of places of worship to Scotland’s communities. Scotland Office Ministers have had a number of discussions with Scottish Government Ministers covering a range of topics. Additionally, Ministers from both Scotland Office and Department for Culture, Media & Sport Ministers are due to discuss this matter with officials from the Church of Scotland in the coming weeks.

The Resilience Action Plan sets out the Government’s strategic approach to how we will strengthen our domestic resilience and invest to protect the nation. Scotland Office officials regularly attend meetings to discuss the implementation of the Resilience Action Plan as well as matters of national security and defence.

The Scotland Office is actively contributing to this work and is working closely with other UK Government Departments to ensure effective delivery in Scotland, as well as coordination with the Scottish Government where responsibilities for resilience are devolved.

Agriculture and fisheries funding was added to the Scottish Government’s baseline funding from 2025-26. The funding is no longer ringfenced. The application of the Barnett formula and removal of the ringfence is in line with the Fiscal Framework agreed by both the UK and Scottish Governments. This decision respects the key principle of devolution, granting the Scottish Government full flexibility to determine its spending priorities.

The Scottish Government has received the biggest settlement in the history of devolution and can provide additional funding on this devolved issue if it so chooses.

The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment for other Government departments, who remain the employers.

As information relating to the demographics of staff is held by the employing departments, the Scotland Office is not able to provide evidence into the review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.

The Secretary of State for Scotland has regular discussions with officials, external experts and ministerial colleagues on a range of national security, defence and resilience issues.

The Home Defence Programme was established in August 2024 to provide defence, security and resilience planning, focused on aligning military and civil effort in the event of a period of crisis and international hostilities affecting the UK. It is informed by and reflects the recommendations from government strategies, including the Strategic Defence Review, National Security Strategy and Resilience Action Plan.

The Scotland Office is actively supporting this by working closely with other UK Government Departments to ensure effective delivery in Scotland and coordination with the Scottish Government where responsibilities for resilience are devolved.

Scotland Office and Scottish Government officials meet regularly to discuss Scotland Act Orders. My officials have engaged Scottish Government officials to discuss a proposed Section 104 order under the Scotland Act 1998 in consequence of the Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 and will continue to liaise with their counterparts on the matter.

We want to see Scotland's building and cultural heritage protected for future generations. Whilst heritage policy is a devolved matter, both Scotland Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport Ministers are due to discuss this matter with officials from the Church of Scotland in the coming weeks.

The Government has set out our expectation that all duty bearers, including Departments and arms length bodies, follow the law as clarified by the Supreme Court ruling and seek specialist legal advice where necessary. The Prime Minister has underlined this recently.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has submitted a draft Code of Practice on services, public functions and associations to Ministers, and the Government is reviewing it with the care it deserves. This will provide further guidance to duty bearers.

Ministers are supported by officials to participate in proceedings in accordance with the established practices of the House of Commons.

The total expenditure on press and communications, including staffing costs, for financial year 2024/25 was £1.944m.

Departmental spend on communications staff for financial year 2024-25 was £1.744m, including all on-costs such as pension contributions, national insurance and VAT.

The total Communications budget for the financial year 2025-26 is £1.949m.

In the financial year 2024-25, the total amount spent on social media advertising and promotion was £2,806.

The social media marketing budget for the financial year 2025-26 was £10,000.

The Department has spent the following on advertising:

Please note, budgets for financial year 2026-27 will be agreed at the beginning of the next financial year.

The Scotland Office has 30 policy posts which are spread across the following salary bands:

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. For example, only last month our delivery partner for this campaign, the National Literacy Trust, revealed that fewer than 1 in 10 teenage boys read daily for pleasure.

The National Year of Reading aims to engage new audiences, reshape public attitudes and embed lasting, meaningful change on attitudes to reading. It includes a major marketing campaign as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout 2026.

Let me emphasise that this is a UK-wide campaign, and we are working in collaboration with the Scottish Government and DC Thomson, The Scottish Book Trust and The Scottish Book and Information Council to deliver this important initiative in Scotland. ​​

The Secretary of State for Scotland has regular discussions with officials, external experts and ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including national security, defence and resilience, and associated public communications.

As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, the national conversation will be a multi-year engagement designed to embed a whole-of-society approach, where Government, businesses, and the public all play a part in strengthening our resilience. This addresses the risks we face, including threats below and above the threshold of an armed attack.

The Scotland Office is actively supporting this work, including working closely with the Ministry of Defence on the development of a Defence Growth Deal in Scotland, alongside wider engagements with industry, local authorities and academia to support jobs, investment, and skills development in Scotland’s defence sector. The Secretary of State for Scotland also met with key trade partners as part of a defence-focused visit to Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

The Scotland Office has no Directors with responsibility for human resources.

It may be helpful to explain that the Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly. All staff that join, do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government departments, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government. They remain the employers and provide HR services to their employees working in the Scotland Office.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. For example, only this week our delivery partner for this campaign, the National Literacy Trust, revealed that fewer than 1 in 10 teenage boys read daily for pleasure.

The National Year of Reading aims to engage new audiences, reshape public attitudes and embed lasting, meaningful change on attitudes to reading. The campaign includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout 2026.

We are working in collaboration with the Scottish Government and lead delivery partners - DC Thomson, The Scottish Book Trust and The Scottish Book and Information Council - to deliver this important initiative in Scotland. ​​

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. For example, only this week our delivery partner for this campaign, the National Literacy Trust, revealed that fewer than 1 in 10 teenage boys read daily for pleasure.

The National Year of Reading aims to engage new audiences, reshape public attitudes and embed lasting, meaningful change on attitudes to reading. The campaign includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout 2026.

We are working in collaboration with the Scottish Government and lead delivery partners - DC Thomson, The Scottish Book Trust and The Scottish Book and Information Council - to deliver this important initiative in Scotland. ​​

The agreement to establish a common SPS Zone will bring a number of benefits for the Scottish seafood sector, with 65% of all UK seafood by value exported to the EU.

The removal of the need for Export Health Certificates and border checks, for example, saves both time and money. This could save UK businesses up to £200 per consignment and is vital for fresh and live fish that needs to reach markets quickly.

We are determined that this will be a good deal for the Scottish fishing industry.

At the Budget, the Chancellor confirmed the introduction of Electric Vehicle Excise Duty from April 2028 - recognising that electric vehicles contribute to congestion and wear-and-tear on our roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty.

While those living in rural areas tend to drive more than those living in urban areas, they are also more likely to have a dedicated home charger for their electric vehicle - with the lowest charging costs.

Our electric vehicles consultation provides further detail on how the duty will work and seeks views on its implementation from stakeholders across the UK.

At the Budget, the Chancellor confirmed the introduction of Electric Vehicle Excise Duty from April 2028 - recognising that electric vehicles contribute to congestion and wear-and-tear on our roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty.

While those living in rural areas tend to drive more than those living in urban areas, they are also more likely to have a dedicated home charger for their electric vehicle - with the lowest charging costs.

Our electric vehicles consultation provides further detail on how the duty will work and seeks views on its implementation from stakeholders across the UK.

International affairs are reserved under the Scotland Act, and it is essential that the UK speaks with one voice overseas.

FCDO guidance on the overseas activity of devolved government ministers only covers ministerial-level engagement. Accordingly, UK Government officials were not involved in this meeting, and, therefore, hold no information on it.

International affairs are reserved under the Scotland Act, and it is essential that the UK speaks with one voice overseas.

FCDO guidance on the overseas activity of devolved government ministers only covers ministerial-level engagement. Accordingly, UK Government officials were not involved in this meeting, and, therefore, hold no information on it.

The Government is committed to managing existing oil and gas fields responsibly for the entirety of their full lifespan. Oil and gas will remain an important part of the UK’s energy mix for decades to come.

We are also investing in our country's green energy future, and the likes of Scottish Power are creating up to 1400 jobs in Scotland through a £12 billion investment.

I refer you to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12 February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

The Scotland Office communications team currently has 16 posts, carrying out a wide range of communication functions.

There are currently five press/media posts.

The UK Government is providing targeted funding to the places in Scotland that need it most, while simultaneously delivering the largest Block Grant settlement for the Scottish Government in the whole history of devolution, which they can use to improve general funding settlements for local government services and priorities.

The Local Growth Fund is targeting five regions that contain the local authorities with the lowest Real Disposable Household Income per capita (RDHI) in Scotland, which is an established metric for measuring spatial disparities in living standards across the country. The local authorities in the North East Scotland region had higher living standards and so did not meet the threshold for funding from this programme.

The Local Growth Fund is just one UK Government investment programme and the North East region is benefiting from more than £200m in other investments, including the North East Scotland Investment Zone; Pride in Place Programme funding for Peterhead and Aberdeen; Local Regeneration Fund projects in Peterhead and Macduff; support for the Energy Transition Zone; and the completion of the Aberdeen City Region Deal.

Other rural areas of Scotland, including the Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland, are benefitting significantly from more than £400m in UK Government investment.

The UK Government is providing targeted funding to the places in Scotland that need it most, while simultaneously delivering the largest Block Grant settlement for the Scottish Government in the whole history of devolution, which they can use to improve general funding settlements for local government services and priorities.

The Local Growth Fund is targeting five regions that contain the local authorities with the lowest Real Disposable Household Income per capita (RDHI) in Scotland, which is an established metric for measuring spatial disparities in living standards across the country. The local authorities in the North East Scotland region had higher living standards and so did not meet the threshold for funding from this programme.

The Local Growth Fund is just one UK Government investment programme and the North East region is benefiting from more than £200m in other investments, including the North East Scotland Investment Zone; Pride in Place Programme funding for Peterhead and Aberdeen; Local Regeneration Fund projects in Peterhead and Macduff; support for the Energy Transition Zone; and the completion of the Aberdeen City Region Deal.

Other rural areas of Scotland, including the Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland, are benefitting significantly from more than £400m in UK Government investment.

The UK Government is providing targeted funding to the places in Scotland that need it most, while simultaneously delivering the largest Block Grant settlement for the Scottish Government in the whole history of devolution, which they can use to improve general funding settlements for local government services and priorities.

The Local Growth Fund is targeting five regions that contain the local authorities with the lowest Real Disposable Household Income per capita (RDHI) in Scotland, which is an established metric for measuring spatial disparities in living standards across the country. The local authorities in the North East Scotland region had higher living standards and so did not meet the threshold for funding from this programme.

The Local Growth Fund is just one UK Government investment programme and the North East region is benefiting from more than £200m in other investments, including the North East Scotland Investment Zone; Pride in Place Programme funding for Peterhead and Aberdeen; Local Regeneration Fund projects in Peterhead and Macduff; support for the Energy Transition Zone; and the completion of the Aberdeen City Region Deal.

Other rural areas of Scotland, including the Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland, are benefitting significantly from more than £400m in UK Government investment.

This Government has committed to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers. Scotland Office officials have been engaging regularly with Home Office officials, who had direct and regular communication with the Scottish Government, Highland Council and Police Scotland in advance of this announcement.

This Government has committed to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers. The Scotland Office has been engaging with the Home Office regularly on the proposed use of Cameron Barracks. The Home Office continues to engage regularly with representatives from the Scottish Government, Highland Council, the NHS, Police, and local partners, including via Multi Agency Forums, to respond to the concerns of those most impacted by the site and to identify ways to keep them informed.

In preparation for the North Sea Summit, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero engaged with the UK energy industry, including Scottish companies, on the development of agreements and deliverables. Scottish Power and SSE were amongst the UK companies that attended the Summit in Hamburg on 26 January, where the Joint Declaration was signed.

The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly. All staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government departments, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government, who remain the employers.

Any matters relating to payroll are the responsibility of the employing departments.

The provision of school transport is the responsibility of local authorities in Scotland.

It is for Scottish Ministers and local authorities to consider the adequacy of the statutory walking distance and to determine the policy and operational aspects of home-to-school transport provision.

I note that the Scottish Government undertook a review of this policy and subsequent update of this matter in 2025.

The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy set out the key policies which will together deliver decarbonisation of the sector, including the role of energy efficiency, port decarbonisation and fuel regulation alongside emission pricing through the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. Receipts from the UK ETS are used to fund the government’s spending priorities, including spending and subsidies supporting the Net Zero transition.

In September 2025, the UK Government announced £448m R&D funding for the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) between 2026 and 2030: the biggest government investment ever in our commercial maritime industry. The programme has already allocated £240m to the research and development of clean maritime solutions, with approximately 15% allocated in Scotland. Recently, I visited the Port of Aberdeen where new clean energy infrastructure has been installed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from berthed vessels, as part of its ambitious target to become a net zero harbour by 2040.

At Spending Reviews, devolved governments generally receive Barnett consequentials on changes in overall departmental settlements not on specific policies or programmes. Therefore, the UK Government cannot provide Barnett numbers on specific policy measures funded from within departmental settlements.

The Block Grant Transparency publication from October 2025 shows that the Scottish Government received an additional £930m for 2025/26 as a result of the additional funding for the Department for Health and Social Care.

The Scotland Office does not provide any direct financial support to the Minister for the Union.

The UK Government is providing targeted funding to the places in Scotland that need it most, while simultaneously delivering the largest Block Grant settlement for the Scottish Government in the whole history of devolution, which they can use to improve general funding settlements for local government services and priorities.

The Local Growth Fund is targeting five regions that contain the local authorities with the lowest Real Disposable Household Income per capita (RDHI) in Scotland, which is an established metric for measuring spatial disparities in living standards across the country. The local authorities in the Highlands and Islands had higher living standards and so did not meet the threshold for funding from this programme.

The Local Growth Fund is just one UK Government investment programme and the Highlands and Islands region is benefiting from more than £300m in other UK Government investments, including Community Regeneration Partnerships for Argyll & Bute, and the Western Isles; Local Regeneration Fund projects including the Fair Isle Ferry and Elgin Town Centre masterplan; the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport; Pride in Place Programme funding for Elgin, Sutherland, Orkney, and Lewis; and the completion of the four regional Growth Deals.

The UK Government is providing targeted funding to the places in Scotland that need it most, while simultaneously delivering the largest Block Grant settlement for the Scottish Government in the whole history of devolution, which they can use to improve general funding settlements for local government services and priorities.

The Local Growth Fund is targeting five regions that contain the local authorities with the lowest Real Disposable Household Income per capita (RDHI) in Scotland, which is an established metric for measuring spatial disparities in living standards across the country. The local authorities in the Highlands and Islands had higher living standards and so did not meet the threshold for funding from this programme.

The Local Growth Fund is just one UK Government investment programme and the Highlands and Islands region is benefiting from more than £300m in other UK Government investments, including Community Regeneration Partnerships for Argyll & Bute, and the Western Isles; Local Regeneration Fund projects including the Fair Isle Ferry and Elgin Town Centre masterplan; the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport; Pride in Place Programme funding for Elgin, Sutherland, Orkney, and Lewis; and the completion of the four regional Growth Deals.

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.

Digital identity policy is in development, with a dedicated team inside the Cabinet Office working to develop the proposals.

Costs in this spending review period will be met within the existing spending review settlements.

We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and inclusive system for the UK. No final decisions will be made until after the consultation.

The Scotland Office can confirm that the cost over the last five years of conducting feasibility studies is nil.

Defence, national security, foreign affairs and export licensing are reserved matters, and keeping the British people safe is our number one priority. The UK Government continues to assess and manage risks to UK security through established cross-government processes such as the National Risk Register.

The Scottish Government's defence sector support policy will affect Scotland’s expanding defence industry by restricting support to many companies. It is the responsibility of the Scottish Government to explain its position, including how the policy will impact jobs, skills and investment in Scotland.

In the meantime, my department continues to work with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to support the industry and the highly skilled jobs and investment that it generates. This includes progressing the development of the Defence Growth Deal in Scotland, in line with the UK’s growth, defence and security priorities.