Transport infrastructure plays an important role among island communities, supporting local economies and ensuring access to essential services. In Scotland, geographic barriers and limited transport options can restrict mobility and contribute to depopulation. This inquiry will examine the strategic case for permanent transport links—such as tunnels and bridges—between Scotland’s islands …
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what progress his Department has made on securing the £200 million National Wealth Fund allocation for Grangemouth.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
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.
Oral Evidence Oct. 29 2025
Inquiry: Industrial transition in ScotlandAsked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that critical services continue to run in the event of a major internet outage.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Government has a robust set of policies in place to ensure there are well-defined and tested incident management processes in place, and to ensure continuity of essential functions in the event of system or service failure.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology will publish the Government Cyber Action Plan this Winter, which will set out a clear approach for the Government and the Wider Public Sector to manage cyber security and resilience incidents.
The Scotland Office uses the information technology system provided and operated by the Cabinet Office, which has responsibility for all hardware and software procurement, administration, support maintenance, security, and integrity of the system.
We work closely with the Cabinet Office to understand the range of possible impacts from short to long term outage or disruption and to minimise the likelihood, impact, or time and cost of recovery. Measures to respond to major internet outages are built into our Business Continuity Planning...
Published - Tuesday 28th October 2025
Department: Scotland OfficeThis Order makes provision in consequence of the Education (Scotland) Act 2025 (“the 2025 Act”), which establishes Qualifications Scotland (in Gaelic, Teisteanasan Alba) and His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education in Scotland (in Gaelic, Àrd-Neach-sgrùdaidh an Rìgh airson Foghlam ann an Alba), and makes provision about their respective functions.
Oral Evidence Oct. 28 2025
Committee: Scottish Affairs Committee (Department: Scotland Office)Asked by: Gareth Snell (Labour (Co-op) - Stoke-on-Trent Central)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what proportion of (a) tableware and (b) crockery used in his Department is made by a British manufacturer.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and ensuring they have the best chance to win public contracts.
The new Procurement Act creates a simpler and more transparent system that will support British businesses bidding for work.
The Act also allows contracting authorities to set standards that recognise the quality and standard of UK businesses and products.
Alongside this, the National Procurement Policy Statement encourages contracting authorities to consider this government’s Industrial strategy and the sectors vital to our economic growth.
The Scotland Office has tableware and crockery for use at events which has been sourced over a number of years from various suppliers within the UK. Information on the country of manufacture is not available.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether funding will be made available to the Scottish Government under the Barnett Formula from the New Hospital Programme.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Since the election, the UK Government’s plan for change has delivered an extra £5.2 billion for the Scottish Government. In June 2025, the Spending Review announced an additional £9.1 billion in funding for the Scottish Government over the spending review period. This included almost £5.8 billion in Barnett consequentials as a result of additional UK Government funding for the Department of Health and Social Care.