Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department spent on external recruitment consultants in the (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23 financial year.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office has not spent any money on recruitment consultants in the last three years.
Asked by: Jon Trickett (Labour - Hemsworth)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much their Department spent on hospitality in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
We do not routinely publish this data, as has been the case under successive administrations. All Business Units within the Scotland Office have a responsibility to keep official hospitality costs as low as possible and demonstrate good value for money.
Details of ministerial and senior official hospitality are published on a quarterly basis, and are available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham, Hodge Hill)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, which spending programmes their Department devolves for administration to (a) local government in England and (b) other local spending bodies; and what the budget is of each such programme for each year for which budgets are agreed.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
None. The Scotland Office does not devolve any spending to England.
The government has set itself a mission that, by 2030, every part of England that wants one will have a devolution deal, with powers at or approaching the highest level of devolution, with a simplified, long-term funding settlement. At Spring Budget, the government announced the trailblazer devolution deals with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and West Midlands Combined Authorities (WMCA), which included a commitment to introduce single funding settlements at the next Spending Review for these MCAs. At Autumn Statement, the government published a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GMCA and WMCA, setting out how the single settlements will work. The government also announced an ambitious new ‘level 4’ of the devolution framework, including a single transport funding settlement for eligible institutions, and a ‘consolidated’ pot at the next multi-year SR covering two DLUHC investment themes – local growth and place, and housing and regeneration. Following successful delivery of the ‘consolidated’ pot, and learning from the trailblazers, Level 4 institutions will then become eligible to receive a single settlement from the subsequent multi-year Spending Review. Details of major funding programmes, including those administered by local government or other local bodies, are available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the guidance by the Central Digital and Data Office entitled Guidance on the Legacy IT Risk Assessment Framework, published on 29 September 2023, how many red-rated IT systems are used by their Department.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office uses the information technology system provided and operated by the Cabinet Office, which has responsibility for all hardware and software procurement, administration, support maintenance, security, and integrity of the system.
Queries regarding the information technology system should be directed to the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much their Department spent on (a) current and (b) legacy IT infrastructure (i) in total and (ii) purchased in 2013 or earlier in each of the last three years.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office uses the information technology system provided and operated by the Cabinet Office, which has responsibility for all hardware and software procurement, administration, support maintenance, security, and integrity of the system.
Queries regarding the information technology system should be directed to the Cabinet Office.
Asked by: Marco Longhi (Conservative - Dudley North)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the Government’s guidance entitled Our Long-Term Plan for Towns on the Scottish economy.
Answered by John Lamont - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The UK Government will invest £140m over 10 years into seven Scottish towns that have been overlooked.
This will breathe new life into these communities and empower them to take back control of their future by tackling anti-social behaviour, regenerating high streets, and improving local transport.
This will greatly enhance the long-term economic growth of these towns.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what data their Department holds on the (a) number and (b) cost of replacing (i) laptops, (ii) mobile phones, (iii) memory sticks and (iv) external hard drives that have been (A) lost and (B) stolen in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office uses the information technology system provided and operated by the Cabinet Office, which has responsibility for all hardware and software procurement, administration, support maintenance, security, and integrity of the system.
The Cabinet Office response to this question includes any losses reported by the Scotland Office.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what proportion of civil servants on temporary contracts in his Department are women.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office has no civil servants on temporary contracts.
Asked by: Tommy Sheppard (Scottish National Party - Edinburgh East)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what proportion of SCS2 civil servants on full-time equivalent contracts in his Department are women.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office has only one SCS2 post which is not currently held by a woman.
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on his Department's provision of support for Scottish Ministers on planned overseas visits to promote the Scottish (a) economy and (b) culture.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
I have had frequent recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on his Department's provision of support for Scottish Ministers on planned overseas visits. I fully agree with the FCDO's current guidance which states that, when ministers from the devolved administrations are holding meetings with ministers from overseas governments (or positions of equivalent seniority e.g. EU Commissioner), a senior UK Government official is expected to attend.