Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits for children's participation in swimming of removing VAT from the price of children's swimming lessons.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The standard rate of VAT applies to most goods and services. Exceptions have always been strictly limited by legal and fiscal considerations.
Swimming lessons provided by local authorities may be exempt from VAT, as are swimming lessons and other supplies of education made by specified eligible, non-profit making bodies. The Government has no plans to change this.
Going further would impose additional pressure on the public finances, to which VAT makes a significant contribution. Nevertheless, the Government keeps all taxes under review.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing (a) Official Development Assistance to Malawi, (b) funding for programmes to build climate change resilience and (c) Official Development Assistance to 0.7 per cent of GDP.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
The FCDO's Official Development Assistance (ODA) allocations are set out in my [Andrew Mitchell] Written Ministerial Statement of 30 March. We plan to publish full breakdowns of the allocations, including by country, in the FCDO Annual Report and Accounts 2022 to 2023. Allocations are regularly reviewed to respond to changing global needs to ensure ODA is being used most effectively.
We remain committed to doubling our International Climate Finance to £11.6 billion between 2021/22 and 2025/26 and to balancing our funding between mitigation and adaptation. This will include programmes that seek to build the resilience of those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
The Government is committed to returning to spending to 0.7 per cent of gross national income (GNI) on ODA as soon as the fiscal situation allows. We will return to spending 0.7 per cent of GNI on ODA when, on a sustainable basis, the government is no longer borrowing for day-to-day spending and when underlying debt is falling.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to his oral contribution of 29 March 2023, Official Report, column 1000, what progress he has made on organising a meeting with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on cancer vaccine trials.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
I have raised this request with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. I understand the Minister of State for Health and Social Care is in the process of writing to the Shadow Secretary of State for Health in relation to the named constituent.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, when his Department plans to publish the Seventh Annual Report on the implementation of the Scotland Act 2016.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Officials in my Department have been working closely with their colleagues across the UK Government and Scottish Government to prepare the Seventh Annual Report on the Implementation of the Scotland Act 2016.
I expect this report to be published by the end of May. I will write to you with a copy of the report when it is published.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to help maintain the number of free-to-use cash machines.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is currently taking legislation to protect access to cash across the UK through Parliament as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022. The legislation will establish the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities.
With regards to the provision of free-to-use ATMs, LINK (the scheme that runs the UK's largest ATM network) has made commitments to protect the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs and is held to account against these commitments by the Payment Systems Regulator. According to LINK data for February 2023, there were 39,500 free-to-use ATMs across the UK. Further information is available at: https://www.link.co.uk/initiatives/financial-inclusion-monthly-report/
Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions he has had with LINK on the numbers of free-to-use cash machines.
Answered by Andrew Griffith - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The government is currently taking legislation to protect access to cash across the UK through Parliament as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022. The legislation will establish the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities.
With regards to the provision of free-to-use ATMs, LINK (the scheme that runs the UK's largest ATM network) has made commitments to protect the broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs and is held to account against these commitments by the Payment Systems Regulator. According to LINK data for February 2023, there were 39,500 free-to-use ATMs across the UK. Further information is available at: https://www.link.co.uk/initiatives/financial-inclusion-monthly-report/
Treasury Ministers have meetings with a wide variety of organisations as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at:
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many meetings of (a) officials and (b) Ministers in his Department with the Scottish Government on Section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 have (i) been scheduled and (ii) taken place since 1 January 2023; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Following my decision to exercise section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 with regard to the Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill, I met with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government on 24 January. I made clear it is now for the Scottish Government to bring forward a bill that addresses the adverse effects set out in the order and accompanying Statement of Reasons. The Scotland Act 1998 specifically provides for a reconsideration stage in the Scottish Parliament for these circumstances. I made a statement in the House on 17 January setting out the UK Government’s position, which remains unchanged.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the provision of funding for the refurbishment of the Kings Theatre in Edinburgh.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Ministers and officials from this department have attended a number of meetings with counterparts from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, regarding the future of the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh.
The UK Government appreciates the historical and cultural importance of this remarkable building. However, as culture is a devolved matter, any further funding campaign would need to be led by the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many meetings the Scotland Office had with the Scottish Government on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland Bill) prior to the Section 35 order being invoked.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK Government raised a number of concerns relating to the impact of the Scottish Government’s proposals with the Scottish Government, in advance of the legislation passing in the Scottish Parliament. UK government officials engaged with their Scottish counterparts through the Bill’s passage. The Minister for Women and Equalities wrote to and met with the Cabinet Secretary while the Bill was still in the Scottish Parliament, outlining her concerns with the GRR Bill as it stood. It is now for the Scottish Government to bring forward a bill that addresses the adverse effects as set out in the Statement of Reasons. The Scotland Act 1998 specifically provides for a reconsideration stage in the Scottish Parliament for these circumstances.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether the Government has received written amendments from the Scottish Government on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill; and what discussions the Government has had with the Scottish Government on devolved legislative competence in relation to that Bill..
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Following the Supreme Court judgement, I confirmed to the Deputy First Minister John Swinney that my officials, and those in the Office of the Advocate General for Scotland, were ready to engage further in relation to the work by the Scottish Government on amendments to bring their Bill within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.
UKG officials have been looking at Scottish Government proposals which are intended to comply with the judgement.
It has always been the responsibility of the Scottish Government to determine how they will comply with the requirements of the Supreme Court judgement. The Scottish Government have yet to formally set out how they plan to proceed.