Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Yes; all buildings and workplaces that staff from the Scotland Office occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will hold discussions with the Scottish Government on taking steps to help support the manufacture of (a) offshore patrol vessels and (b) wind turbines in the Highland region of Scotland.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK Government is committed to working constructively with the devolved administrations and I would be open to engaging with the Scottish Government on Maritime Patrol Vessels in the Highland region of Scotland. However, this is a devolved matter and I have not received any representations from Scottish Government Ministers.
With regard to the manufacture of Wind Turbines, the Government has announced the £960 million Green Industries Growth Accelerator to support manufacturing capacity, including for offshore wind. This will attract private investment, see the creation of high-skilled, well-paying jobs and ensure the UK stands ready to take the opportunity presented by the Net Zero Transition.
The Government works directly with the Scottish Government and industry through the Offshore Wind Industry Council. The Council is engaged in assessing the needs of the offshore wind supply chain, finding opportunities for its development, and the establishment of a long-term Industrial Growth Plan.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, which policies under each arms length body reporting to their Department fall within the scope of the Environmental principles policy statement, published on 31 January 2023.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The duty does not require us to maintain a comprehensive list of policies within scope of the duty. The duty applies to all policies made from 1 November 2023, whether developed by a central department or an arm’s length body, which are:
The environmental principles policy statement provides further information on what is considered policy in scope of the duty. Examples include strategies and frameworks.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department spent on public information campaigns promoting Government policies in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 financial years; and how much it has spent on such campaigns in the 2023-24 financial year as of 29 January 2024.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Office has spent the following on social media platforms to support UK Government policies and information campaigns in Scotland:
Year | Amount (£) |
23-24 (to date) | 17,725 |
22-23 | 49,893 |
21-22 | 39,818 |
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on communications staff in the (a) 2022-23 financial year and (b) 2023-24 financial year as of 29 January 2024.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Expenditure on communications staffing costs, including employer’s pensions and national insurance contributions, but excluding any VAT where applicable, was:
Year | Amount (£) |
23-24 (to end Dec 23) | 1,081,263 |
22-23 | 1,166,270 |
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on special advisers in the (a) 2022-23 financial year and (b) 2023-24 financial year as of 29 January 2024.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The information requested can be found in the Scotland Office and Office for the Advocate General annual report and accounts for financial year 2022-23. This can be accessed using the following link Scotland Office Annual Report 2022-23. The figures for the current financial year 2023-24 will be published in the department’s next annual report and accounts for financial year 2023-24 and laid in parliament by the set deadlines later this calendar year.
In addition to any salary costs, the department has incurred the following travel and subsistence costs in relation to Special Advisors during financial year 2022-23.
Financial Year | Travel & Subsistence (£) |
2022-23 | 61,857 |
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many ministerial red boxes belonging to his Department have been reported (a) lost and (b) stolen in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office has not had any ministerial red boxes reported lost or stolen in the last three years. The departmental security unit records and investigates each reported loss from the Department. If appropriate, the police are invited to undertake further inquiries.Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on infected blood compensation payments.
Answered by John Lamont - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Government is committed to working with the Devolved Governments, where appropriate, to explore what options are available to develop an effective response to the inquiry's recommendations that delivers across the UK.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what targets his Department has set to help achieve the Government's commitments on net zero.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Government set out how we would meet our commitments in the Net Zero Strategy in 2021, which included a detailed breakdown of actions required across all sectors of the economy. This was updated in 2023 through the publication of 'Powering Up Britain'.
The UK has halved its emissions, ahead of every other major economy, and we have grown our economy by over 70% since 1990. The UK over-achieved against the first and second carbon budgets, and the latest projections show that we are on track to meet the third.
We have one of the most ambitious decarbonisation targets in the world, and we have set more stretching targets for 2030 than most countries. We plan to cut emissions by 68% by 2030, which is more than the EU, Japan or the United States.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on communications in each year since 1997.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office is resourced to deliver the communications functions expected and required of a government department in its own right and on behalf of the UK Government in Scotland with a wide range of functions. These include external affairs, marketing, digital and social media, media, internal and strategic communication.
The figures for 2022-23 reflect changes made to bring the Office into line with wider UKG departmental reporting practice which saw visits and engagement staff included in the communications division.
The Office does not hold directly comparable figures for each year since the Office was established in 1999. The Office’s Annual Reports are available online.
Expenditure on staffing costs, including employer’s pensions and national insurance contributions, but excluding any VAT where applicable, to deliver these functions for the last full financial year and available years was:
Year | Staff costs (£) |
2022-23 | 1,166,270 |
2021-22 | 944,645 |
2020-21 | 906,177 |
2019-20 | 870,159 |
2018-19 | 819, 640 |
2017-18 | 710,337 |
2016-17 | 757,868 |
2015-16 | 426,223 |
2014-15 | 348,895 |
2013-14 | 241,636 |
2012-13 | 180,954 |
2011-12 | 169,373 |
2010-11 | 108, 439 |
2009-10 | 144,084 |
2008-09 | 115,356 |
2007-08 | 113,236 |