Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what professional development courses are made available to staff of his Department; and what the cost to the public purse is of each such course.

The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly; all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other public sector bodies.

All staff have access to a wide range of professional development courses through their parent employers learning and development teams, and through Civil Service Learning. The Scotland Office does not hold any information about the cost to the public purse of these courses. Further to this, other professional development opportunities may be available on the external marketplace. The cost to the public purse of such external training varies, dependant on provider, location and course content.