Asked by: David Duguid (Conservative - Banff and Buchan)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on support for the seafood sector in Scotland.
Answered by John Lamont - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
This Government is committed to supporting our seafood sector, which as my hon Friend knows first hand, is at the heart of many rural communities in Scotland.
We have recently concluded successful quota negotiations for 2024; delivered a two-year extension to visa exemptions for Salmon well-boat crew; consulted on changes to medical certification for those already working at sea; and are supporting the industry following changes to immigration policy.
Asked by: Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat - North East Fife)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on bringing Afghan female medical students to Scotland.
Answered by John Lamont - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
My Department is working with the Home Office, the FCDO, the Scottish Government and Scottish Universities to support the efforts of the Norgrove Foundation.
This is a complex issue and discussions remain ongoing to determine what pathway might be available to the students.
Asked by: Deidre Brock (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh North and Leith)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the financial settlement for Scotland.
Answered by John Lamont - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Despite what we hear from the SNP, the Scottish Government is well-funded.
As a consequence of the decisions made by this UK Government, the Block Grant is now at record levels, with an additional £2.4 billion across three fiscal events.
Scotland receives around 25% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the United Kingdom.
That translates into around £8.5 billion more per year on average.
Asked by: Amy Callaghan (Scottish National Party - East Dunbartonshire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the financial settlement for Scotland.
Answered by John Lamont - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Despite what we hear from the SNP, the Scottish Government is well-funded.
As a consequence of the decisions made by this UK Government, the Block Grant is now at record levels, with an additional £2.4 billion across three fiscal events.
Scotland receives around 25% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in other parts of the United Kingdom.
That translates into around £8.5 billion more per year on average.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many equalities impact assessments his Department completed in each of the last five years for which data is available.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Under the Public Sector Equality Duty (the Duty) all public authorities, including Government departments, are required by law to ensure that they have due regard to certain equality considerations when carrying out their functions. While ‘equality impact assessments’ may be produced, there is no legal requirement for duty assessments to be recorded in a specific format. We do not centrally monitor assessments in this area but are confident that we are meeting the Duty in our decision-making processes.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many employees were in his Department in each year since 1997; what the budget was for his Department in the same period; and how much his Department spent on communications in the same period.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office and Office for the Advocate General publish an annual report and accounts which contains the information requested. The latest version can be found at Scotland Office Annual Report 2022-23. Prior year annual reports of The Scotland Office and Office for the Advocate General are available online or can be obtained from the Library of the House.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department spent on external recruitment consultants in the (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office has not spent any money on recruitment consultants in the last three years.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much their Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
We do not routinely publish this data, as has been the case under successive administrations. All Business Units within the Scotland Office have a responsibility to keep official hospitality costs as low as possible and demonstrate good value for money.
Details of ministerial and senior official hospitality are published on a quarterly basis, and are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, which spending programmes their Department devolves for administration to (a) local government in England and (b) other local spending bodies; and what the budget is of each such programme for each year for which budgets are agreed.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
None. The Scotland Office does not devolve any spending to England.
The government has set itself a mission that, by 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal, with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution, with a simplified, long-term funding settlement. At Spring Budget, the government announced the trailblazer devolution deals with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and West Midlands Combined Authorities (WMCA), which included a commitment to introduce single funding settlements at the next Spending Review for these MCAs. At Autumn Statement, the government published a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GMCA and WMCA, setting out how the single settlements will work. The government also announced an ambitious new ‘level 4’ of the devolution framework, including a single transport funding settlement for eligible institutions, and a ‘consolidated’ pot at the next multi-year SR covering two DLUHC investment themes – local growth and place, and housing and regeneration. Following successful delivery of the ‘consolidated’ pot, and learning from the trailblazers, Level 4 institutions will then become eligible to receive a single settlement from the subsequent multi-year Spending Review. Details of major funding programmes, including those administered by local government or other local bodies, are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the guidance by the Central Digital and Data Office entitled Guidance on the Legacy IT Risk Assessment Framework, published on 29 September 2023, how many red-rated IT systems are used by their Department.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
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.
Queries regarding the information technology system should be directed to the Cabinet Office.