Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has sought assurances from the Scottish Government that no public funds, civil service staff time or other official resources are being used to support the SNP’s Choose Scotland campaign for Scottish independence.
Answered by Melanie Ward - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The people of Scotland deserve governments that are focused on delivering for them. This Government does not support independence or another referendum. We are focused on protecting and respecting devolution and delivering better outcomes, including through the offer of joint work on further decentralisation within Scotland that the Prime Minister made to the First Minister on 16 October.
The UK Government strongly believes in the need to uphold the reputation and impartiality of the civil service in Scotland. The Scottish Government’s Permanent Secretary, who is a UK home Civil Servant, is the Accountable Officer for the Scottish Government, and responsible for ensuring that the requirements of the Civil Service Code are met, including on the use of Civil Service time.
More widely, the Civil Service code also states that civil servants have an obligation to make sure public money and other resources are used properly and efficiently, and so any spending by the Scottish Government would need to be approached in that context.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what are the (a) legal and (b) constitutional remedies available if a Scottish Government international hub was found to be undertaking functions reserved to the UK Government under Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998.
Answered by Melanie Ward - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Under the Scotland Act 1998, international relations remain a matter reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government is entitled to promote its trade and economic interests abroad and the UK Government believes this is most effectively achieved by working through the UK’s extensive diplomatic footprint to ensure we are speaking with one voice on the international stage.
The Scottish Government international hubs are hosted by the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) at Embassies, Consulates and High Commissions across the world, and benefit from UK Government accreditation and FCDO Services. All UK officials on platform must act in accordance with the Scotland Act and are accountable to the Head of Mission.
The Scotland Office and FCDO closely monitor this issue and remain committed to upholding the areas of reserved competence, while working with the Scottish Government to deliver on the priorities of the people of Scotland.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what guidance his Department has issued on international engagement by devolved administrations under Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998; and what assessment he has made of trends in the level of activities of the Scottish Government’s international hubs.
Answered by Uma Kumaran - Assistant Whip
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) regularly issues detailed guidance on international engagement by Devolved Governments, including to our Embassies and High Commissions, to ensure that the UK Government's reservation on foreign affairs is protected. The FCDO monitors international activity undertaken by the Devolved Governments, including the Scottish Government. The majority of Scottish Government overseas staff are located on the FCDO platform, enabling close working and co-operation.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the potential impact of a new nuclear power station at Torness on employment opportunities in the civil nuclear sector in the area.
Answered by Melanie Ward - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The UK Government remains fully committed to supporting the civil nuclear sector as a core component of our clean power mission, driving energy security, reindustrialisation, and regional economic growth.
Great British Energy - Nuclear’s recent technical study showed that Scotland possesses land areas with high potential for new nuclear development, including around Torness. Such projects have the capacity to deliver billions of pounds in investment and create thousands of high-quality, long-term skilled jobs.
However, the Scottish Government's opposition to new civil nuclear projects currently prevents these opportunities from being realised in Scotland. I highlighted the potential economic and employment benefits of a future for nuclear power generation at Torness in a recent Westminster Hall Debate about nuclear power in Scotland, and urged the Scottish Government to work with the UK Government on this important issue. UK Ministers engage regularly with their Scottish Government counterparts and remain open to discussions with them on deploying new nuclear technologies, to ensure Scottish workers and supply chains do not miss out on the skilled and secure jobs the nuclear industry provides.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of new nuclear development at (i) Torness and (ii) Hunterston on civil nuclear employment in Scotland.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy - Nuclear’s study of Scotland's potential for new nuclear, published on 30 June, indicates that Scotland has land areas with high potential for new nuclear development in the future. The assessment found high potential in the area around Torness, with the area around Hunterston also showing technical potential.
New nuclear projects can deliver billions of pounds of investment and thousands of high-quality jobs to a region. UK Ministers remain open to discussions with the Scottish Government on deploying new nuclear technologies in Scotland.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the potential impact of NATS systems failures in 2026 on the economy in Scotland including tourism, businesses connectivity and the Highland and Islands.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are still in the process of understanding the impact of NATS outages across the UK, including in Scotland. However, we recognise that disruption to air services can have consequences for passengers, businesses and regional connectivity, including for communities that rely on aviation links.
The Secretary of State has commissioned the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to lead an independent investigation of the NATS outage on 8 September, which will also consider the technical issue that occurred in Prestwick on 21 September. The review will examine the causes of the incidents, broader questions relating to NATS' resilience, capital investment and modernisation plans, and the effectiveness of the CAA's regulatory oversight, helping to identify any lessons needed to strengthen the resilience of the UK air traffic management system.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the hierarchy is for loadshedding or supply curtailment in the event of a National Gas Supply Emergency; and what recent assessment she has made of the potential implications of that hierarchy for electricity generation and domestic consumption.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great Britain has a highly resilient energy system and has never seen the declaration of a Network Gas Supply Emergency.
The procedures for Gas and Electricity Emergencies are set out in detail in DESNZ's Downstream Gas and Electricity National Emergency Plan, which is reviewed on a regular basis. National Gas Transmission have a range of tools to balance the system, and 'Load Shedding' of gas connections is a carefully considered process only required when all other commercial and emergency mechanisms have failed. To mitigate impacts as far as possible in the event of loadshedding, the most critical customers have supplies prioritised for as long as practicable and domestic consumers are disconnected only as a last resort.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his department undertook constituency-level modelling to estimate trends in the level of support for constituencies from the £53 million emergency support package to help with rising heating oil costs.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The Government acted quickly to provide £53m in timely, targeted support to low-income households struggling with the rising price of heating oil and at risk of losing access to heating and hot water.
Funding in England was allocated in a way that accounts for both a Local Authority’s Index of Multiple Deprivation level and the number of households using heating oil, using the 2021 census data.
For Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, instead of the usual Barnett Formulas funding levels were determined by their relative proportion of households using heating oil as their primary heating source across each nation, reflecting their unique reliance on heating oil. It is for Devolved Administrations to take decisions on how that is delivered.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what guidance has his Department issued to pensions schemes on contacting members whose pre-retirement fund suffered crystallised losses following the use of leveraged Liability–Driven investment strategies during the gilt market disruption of September 2022.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes provide a predetermined level of pension and/or other benefits. Employers are responsible for funding the pensions and other benefits promised by their DB schemes and, although contributions are paid into the scheme and the scheme funds are invested, the level of pension and other benefits due does not depend on the performance of those investments.
The Department did not issue any guidance to pension schemes in relation to gilt market movements in September 2022. Guidance is regularly issued by the Pensions Regulator on topics, including detailed guidance on Liability-Driven Investment published on 24 April 2023.
Rising gilt yields have contributed to a funding surplus across much of the DB landscape, with the Pensions Regulator’s Annual Funding Statement indicating that around 90% of schemes are in surplus on a Technical Provisions basis.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to visit Aberdeen to meet representatives of the oil and gas sector.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
The Secretary of State visited Aberdeen on the 23rd of July as one of her first engagements.
Aberdeen remains central to the UK's home-grown energy sector and North Sea oil and gas will continue to play an important role in the UK's energy mix for years to come.