Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on the media campaign to ensure consumers are informed about the end of the Radio Teleswitch Service.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
None. The public information campaign on the closure of the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) is a matter for Ofgem.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of level of consumer information via (a) television and (b) other media outlets by (i) Ofgem and (ii) energy companies of the Radio Teleswitch (RTS) switch off; and whether he has considered the potential merits of instructing Ofgem to increase their media campaign to ensure consumers are aware of the importance of updating obsolete RTS meters.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department agrees that extensive public communications on RTS must be sustained. I continue to meet with Ofgem on a fortnightly basis where the progress of the phase out is discussed, including assessment of communications to consumers.
Suppliers should have already contacted all RTS customers. In advance of any phase out activity in their area, they will contact affected households and businesses, through multiple methods, including door-knocking where necessary, to inform them well ahead of time to arrange a replacement. We expect suppliers to take sufficient action to have confidence that consumers are aware of the consequences of not replacing their RTS meter.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on private finance initiatives in each of the last five years.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Details of Ministry of Defence Private Finance Initiatives are published on PFI and PF2 projects: 2024 Summary Data - GOV.UK
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to help reduce the time taken to process compensation claims by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority; and if she will introduce measures to help ensure timely decisions for people awaiting compensation.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the 2012 Scheme) does not prescribe a time limit for applications to be decided.
The majority of applications are decided within 12 months. Each application must be considered on its own facts and assessed based on the information available. In almost all cases, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) needs to get information from third parties such as the police and medical authorities to assess applications.
Some applications will by necessity take longer to decide. This could be where information is not available due to ongoing criminal proceedings, where CICA needs time to assess the long-term impacts of complex injuries (e.g. brain injuries), or where there is an application for loss of earnings which requires at least 28 weeks of loss. CICA has continued to uplift staff numbers in line with funding and identify operational efficiencies to ensure applications are decided as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will meet with the families involved in the Chinook Justice Campaign.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident and my thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died. We have received a pre-action protocol letter from the Chinook Justice Campaign and are considering our response. It would therefore be inappropriate to comment further.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the Centre for Media Monitoring's review of the BBC's reporting on the conflict in Gaza, published on 16 June 2025.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Government has not carried out a formal assessment of the potential implications of this report for its policy.
The Government’s position is that editorial decisions are ultimately for the BBC, and that its editorial independence from Government is vital. This principle protects the BBC from political interference so that it can report impartially, hold all politicians to account and be a trusted source of information for everyone.
The BBC’s duty to provide accurate and impartial information is particularly important when it comes to coverage of highly sensitive issues such as the conflict in Gaza. As the external independent regulator of the BBC, Ofcom is responsible for ensuring BBC coverage is duly impartial and accurate under the Broadcasting Code and BBC Charter.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to extend his definition of national security to include (a) airport infrastructure, (b) broadband, (c) food, (d) energy and water infrastructure and (e) climate security.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The National Security Strategy 2025, published on 24 June, sets out the UK’s approach to national security. It states that we will enhance the resilience of our critical national infrastructure, as well as how we continue to address the challenges of a changing climate. The definition of national security used by the Government is necessarily broad to ensure an appropriate response to the evolving threats faced by the British people.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the planned increase of £13.4 billion in annual defence spending by the 2027-28 financial year includes previously announced funding of (a) £150 million for national security and (b) £4.5 billion for the Single Intelligence Account in the 2025-26 financial year.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Prime Minister announced in February 2025 that NATO-qualifying defence spending will increase to 2.6% in 2027. This will be achieved through an increase in funding from a reduction in the Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget from 0.5% to 0.3% Gross National Income, and, in line with practice among our allies, recognising the contribution of our intelligence and security services to the defence of our nation.
The inclusion of other departmental spending that falls under NATO qualifying defence spending definitions will continue to be periodically reviewed in line with NATO guidance.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 16 June 2025 to Question 59132 on Intelligence Services: Finance, whether the provision of 2.5% of GDP on defence spending includes spending on the increase to the Single Intelligence Account.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Prime Minister announced in February 2025 that NATO-qualifying defence spending will increase to 2.6% in 2027 through a reduction in ODA funding, and, in line with practice among our allies, recognising the contribution of our intelligence and security services to the defence of our nation. The SIA budget will be fully NATO qualifying from 27-28.
The inclusion of departmental spending that falls under NATO qualifying defence spending definitions will continue to be periodically reviewed in line with NATO guidance.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the deliverability of the X-Links project with Morocco.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is considering – without commitment – the viability and merits of the Xlinks Morocco-UK Power Project, a private sector-led proposal for a large-scale renewable energy project between the UK and Morocco.
As part of this consideration, we are actively assessing a range of issues including the project’s deliverability and technical viability, value for money, legal issues and the project’s alignment to wider government policy. This work continues at pace, and we will provide an update on our considerations in due course.