Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of levelling up funding on communities in Scotland.
Answered by John Lamont - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The UK Government is now investing more than £2.9 billion across Levelling Up initiatives in Scotland. That's the equivalent of £538 per person in Scotland.
I have personally seen how this funding is regenerating towns, creating jobs, and empowering communities to deliver directly on their ambitions.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much funding his Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office can confirm the following costs in respect of advertising costs over the last three financial years;
Year | Budget (£) | Actual (£) | Difference (£) |
2023-24 | 43,000 | 17,725 | 25,275 |
2022-23 | 50,000 | 49,893 | 107 |
2021-22 | 41,000 | 39,818 | 1,182 |
Total | 134,000 | 107,436 | 26,564 |
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department (a) paid in apprenticeship levy fees and (b) spent from its apprenticeship levy funds between September 2021 and August 2023.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly. The staff are employed by their parent departments primarily the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government. The payment of the apprenticeship levy and access to any funding generated is the responsibility of the employing parent departments.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much funding his Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office can confirm that it has incurred the following costs in relation to the subscriptions below over the last three financial years;
Subscription | FY 21-22 | FY 22-23 | FY 23-24 |
| £ | £ | £ |
Press and Journal | 60 | 60 | 60 |
The Courier | 60 | 60 | 60 |
The Financial Times | 278 | 319 | 319 |
The Herald | 80 | 80 | 80 |
The Spectator | 131 | 88 | 100 |
The Telegraph | 208 | 208 | 191 |
The Times | 312 | 312 | 260 |
The Scotsman | 100 | 0 | 130 |
Total | 1,229 | 1,127 | 1,200 |
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what subscriptions to (a) newspapers, (b) magazines and (c) online journals his Department has paid for in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office can confirm that it has had the following subscriptions in place over the last three financial years:
Press and Journal
The Courier
The Financial Times
The Herald
The Spectator
The Telegraph
The Times
The Scotsman
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many and what proportion of digital posts in his Department are vacant.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland does not currently have any digital vacancies.
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much funding his Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on software updates to legacy computer systems in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office has not had any funding budgeted for nor spent on software updates to legacy computer systems in the last three financial years. The Scotland Office does not have any legacy computer systems and the IT services for the department are provided by the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether any non-executive directors employed in his Department are non-domiciled.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Non-Executive Board Members’ personal data, including those relating to personal taxation or status, are protected by the UK General Data Protection Regulation. Collection of personal data on non-dom status is not routinely collected, and is generally not required for making public appointments. If any such data was held, it could only be published if doing so was in compliance with data protection law.
Non-Executive Board Members are not employees of the Scotland Office and act in an advisory capacity.
Data relating to public appointments are covered by the Public Appointments Privacy Statement found here: https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/privacy.
Asked by: Chris Stephens (Scottish National Party - Glasgow South West)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether all (a) buildings and (b) workplaces staff from their Department occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Yes; all buildings and workplaces that staff from the Scotland Office occupy have a suitable and sufficient risk assessment under Section 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will hold discussions with the Scottish Government on taking steps to help support the manufacture of (a) offshore patrol vessels and (b) wind turbines in the Highland region of Scotland.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK Government is committed to working constructively with the devolved administrations and I would be open to engaging with the Scottish Government on Maritime Patrol Vessels in the Highland region of Scotland. However, this is a devolved matter and I have not received any representations from Scottish Government Ministers.
With regard to the manufacture of Wind Turbines, the Government has announced the £960 million Green Industries Growth Accelerator to support manufacturing capacity, including for offshore wind. This will attract private investment, see the creation of high-skilled, well-paying jobs and ensure the UK stands ready to take the opportunity presented by the Net Zero Transition.
The Government works directly with the Scottish Government and industry through the Offshore Wind Industry Council. The Council is engaged in assessing the needs of the offshore wind supply chain, finding opportunities for its development, and the establishment of a long-term Industrial Growth Plan.