The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland supports the Secretary of State in promoting the best interests of Scotland within a stronger United Kingdom. It ensures Scottish interests are fully and effectively represented at the heart of the UK Government, and the UK Government’s responsibilities are fully and effectively represented in Scotland.
Oral Answers to Questions is a regularly scheduled appearance where the Secretary of State and junior minister will answer at the Dispatch Box questions from backbench MPs
Other Commons Chamber appearances can be:Westminster Hall debates are performed in response to backbench MPs or e-petitions asking for a Minister to address a detailed issue
Written Statements are made when a current event is not sufficiently significant to require an Oral Statement, but the House is required to be informed.
| Date | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Jul. 24 | Oral Questions | Oral Answers to Questions |
| Jun. 19 | Urgent Questions | Glasgow School of Art |
| Oct. 15 | Written Statements | Legislative Programme |
| Nov. 13 | Westminster Hall | Referendum on Scottish Independence |
| Date | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 05 | Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland departmental spend over £25,000: November 2019 | Transparency |
| Dec. 05 | Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland Procurement Card spend over £500: November 2019 | Transparency |
| Nov. 12 | Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland Procurement Card spend over £500: October 2019 | Transparency |
Written Questions are submitted by Members of Parliament and the House of Lords to receive information or updates from a Department.
Departments are required to respond in a timely fashion and provide a response or requested information. Written Questions can compel detailed and specific information to be produced, and are frequently used as the source of news stories about the work of a Department.
| Date | Title | Questioner |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Nov 2019, 12:46 p.m. | Scotland Office: Honours | Seema Malhotra |
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Question To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what proportion of staff in his Department in receipt of each category of Honour in (a) December 2018 and (b) June 2019 were (i) from ethnic minority backgrounds and (ii) female aged (A) under 30, (B) 31 to 40, (C) 41 to 50 and (D) aged over 50. Answer (Mr Alister Jack) The Government is committed to ensuring that the honours system is fully representative of UK society. The proportion of women and people from ethnic minorities receiving recognition on each honours list is available on GOV.UK as is a breakdown of ethnicities of recipients is published on the Ethnicity Facts and Figures website at: Information on ages is not correlated with other diversity factors. We also publish the proportion of honours by independent committee on GOV.UK. The numbers of honours recipients in the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland are very small and vary from year to year. Releasing the requested data would identify the individuals and they have given permission for their data to be used for statistical purposes only. |
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