Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what meetings Ministers of his Department have had with Petrochina in each year since 2010.
Answered by David Mundell
Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published in the Department’s Quarterly Transparency returns, which are made publicly available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2017 to Question 67218, of the meetings he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and on what dates the subject of funding for the Ayrshire Growth Deal was discussed.
Answered by David Mundell
I regularly meet the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss a range of issues. In line with the practice of successive administrations details of ministerial discussions are not routinely disclosed.
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 meetings he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and officials from HM Treasury to discuss the Ayrshire Growth Deal.
Answered by David Mundell
I meet with the Chancellor regularly to discuss a range of issues, including UK Government investment in Scotland and how we can work with the Scottish Government to deliver improved economic performance.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November 2016 to Question 54983, for what reasons he has not provided information on funding from the public purse on enabling open cast restoration works to be undertaken within (a) Scotland and (b) East Ayrshire; what future funding provision the Government has for enabling such works; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by David Mundell
Further to my answer of 30 November on this issue, the UK Government has made clear that it is willing to work with those affected on options for addressing unrestored opencast mines in Scotland. Environmental liabilities are a devolved matter and the Scottish Government has lead responsibility on funding provision for these matters.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to his oral contribution of 23 November 2016, Official Report, columns 879-880, and the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20538, how many meetings he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss assistance for opencast coal restoration works within East Ayrshire; and on what dates those meetings were held.
Answered by David Mundell
Since the Opencast Restoration issue arose, I have raised this formally and informally on numerous occasions with Government colleagues, including with the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 2015, with whom responsibility for this policy sits. I last met with East Ayrshire Council in June this year to discuss progress with restoration.
BEIS officials have participated in the Scottish Government’s Coal Restoration Working Group which agreed a way forward for these sites. That Group publishes minutes and updates at:
https://beta.gov.scot/publications/coal-restoration-working-group-minutes-october-2016/
which include progress on restoration of sites in Ayrshire.
In addition, our UK Non Departmental Public Body, the Coal Authority, is continuing to offer to provide expert advice to Local Authorities.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to his oral contribution of 23 November 2016, Official Report, columns 879-880, what actions the Government has taken to enable opencast coal restoration within East Ayrshire; and where that restoration work has taken place.
Answered by David Mundell
Since the Opencast Restoration issue arose, I have raised this formally and informally on numerous occasions with Government colleagues, including with the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 2015, with whom responsibility for this policy sits. I last met with East Ayrshire Council in June this year to discuss progress with restoration.
BEIS officials have participated in the Scottish Government’s Coal Restoration Working Group which agreed a way forward for these sites. That Group publishes minutes and updates at:
https://beta.gov.scot/publications/coal-restoration-working-group-minutes-october-2016/
which include progress on restoration of sites in Ayrshire.
In addition, our UK Non Departmental Public Body, the Coal Authority, is continuing to offer to provide expert advice to Local Authorities.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to his oral contribution of 23 November 2016, Official Report, columns 879-80, how much the Government has spent on enabling open cast restoration works to be undertaken within (a) Scotland and (b) East Ayrshire.
Answered by David Mundell
Since the Opencast Restoration issue arose, I have raised this formally and informally on numerous occasions with Government colleagues, including with the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on 14 July 2015, with whom responsibility for this policy sits. I last met with East Ayrshire Council in June this year to discuss progress with restoration.
BEIS officials have participated in the Scottish Government’s Coal Restoration Working Group which agreed a way forward for these sites. That Group publishes minutes and updates at:
https://beta.gov.scot/publications/coal-restoration-working-group-minutes-october-2016/
which include progress on restoration of sites in Ayrshire.
In addition, our UK Non Departmental Public Body, the Coal Authority, is continuing to offer to provide expert advice to Local Authorities.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 12 October 2015 to Question 10602, on which dates he has held meetings with HM Treasury on the potential effects of a carbon price support exemption scheme in Scotland in the last year.
Answered by David Mundell
Since the Opencast Restoration issue arose I have raised this formally and informally on numerous occasions with Government colleagues. I can confirm that I met with the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury to discuss the Carbon Price Support Exemption Proposal specifically on 14 July 2015. I have not formally met with the Chancellor of the Exchequer to discuss this issue. In addition, Scotland Office officials have raised this matter with DECC and HM Treasury colleagues.
As the hon Member knows, I have taken a keen interest in this issue since it arose including attending the Industry Taskforce and meeting with him in his constituency office last year.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2015 to Question 13632, on what dates in September 2015 he met (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) other ministers in HM Treasury to discuss the potential effects in Scotland of a carbon price support exemption scheme.
Answered by David Mundell
As indicated in my previous answers on this issue, I have had a number of meetings and discussions this year, both formal and informal, on the important issue of opencast restoration and in particular the proposal for a carbon price support exemption. These have included discussions with colleagues from HM Treasury, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Scottish Government and Local Authorities.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 30 October 2015 to Question 13632, on what dates in June 2015 he met (a) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (b) other ministers in HM Treasury to discuss the potential effects in Scotland of a carbon price support exemption scheme.
Answered by David Mundell
As indicated in my previous answers on this issue, I have had a number of meetings and discussions this year, both formal and informal, on the important issue of opencast restoration and in particular the proposal for a carbon price support exemption. These have included discussions with colleagues from HM Treasury, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Scottish Government and Local Authorities.