Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase trade and business co-operation between Scotland and a) Newcastle-under-Lyme and b) Staffordshire.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
A well‑functioning UK internal market is vital to economic growth across all parts of the country, with trade between the four nations worth around £129 billion and particularly important for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Government therefore carried out an expanded review of the UK Internal Market Act, engaging closely with businesses and other stakeholders. We are also now delivering our ambitious Industrial Strategy. We want to ensure that Scottish businesses are able to trade freely with the rest of the UK without encountering any unnecessary trade barriers.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many full-time equivalent staff in his Department have been employed for the purpose of making social media content in each of the past three years.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Due to the difficulty of disaggregating the number of staff who are employed to produce social media content from staff who are employed to work on broader digital communications, it is not possible to report exact figures in response to this question.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many and what proportion of civil servants in his Department are (a) on temporary contract and (b) consultants.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Scotland Office does not have any civil servants that are on temporary contracts, nor does it employ any consultants.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by her Department within the required timescale in (i) May 2025, (ii) June 2025, (iii) July 2025, (iv) August 2025, (v) September 2025, (vi) October 2025 and (vii) November 2025.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).
The information requested is shown below:
| Ordinary Written PQs | Named Day PQs |
May 2025 | 100% | 100% |
June 2025 | 100% | 100% |
July 2025 | 100% | 100% |
August 2025 | Nil | Nil |
September 2025 | 100% | 100% |
October 2025 | 100% | 0% |
November 2025 | 100% | 100% |
The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.
Asked by: Danny Kruger (Reform UK - East Wiltshire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill on NHS staff working in other parts of the UK who may be treating Scottish resident patients; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using section 35 of the Scotland Act 1997 in relation to this Bill.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The UK Government is neutral on the matter of assisted dying. During the Bill’s passage through the Scottish Parliament, the question of whether it is within competence is a matter for the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament.
While assisted dying is devolved, it interacts with some areas which are reserved. The Scottish Government considered that certain areas of the Bill are beyond the powers of the Scottish Parliament and requested the UK Government take action to address these. After discussions with the Scottish Government we have agreed to make a limited and temporary, technical, change to the Scotland Act 1998 through a Section 30 Scotland Act Order. This change will allow the Scottish Parliament to provide for the approval and regulation of substances and devices to be used in an assisted dying regime in Scotland, should it wish to do so. This order has been laid and is available for Parliamentarians to scrutinise.
Asked by: Danny Kruger (Reform UK - East Wiltshire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether his Department has issued guidance to the Scottish Parliament on its legislative competence in the context of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The UK Government is neutral on the matter of assisted dying. During the Bill’s passage through the Scottish Parliament, the question of whether it is within competence is a matter for the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament.
While assisted dying is devolved, it interacts with some areas which are reserved. The Scottish Government considered that certain areas of the Bill are beyond the powers of the Scottish Parliament and requested the UK Government take action to address these. After discussions with the Scottish Government we have agreed to make a limited and temporary, technical, change to the Scotland Act 1998 through a Section 30 Scotland Act Order. This change will allow the Scottish Parliament to provide for the approval and regulation of substances and devices to be used in an assisted dying regime in Scotland, should it wish to do so. This order has been laid and is available for Parliamentarians to scrutinise.
Asked by: Brian Leishman (Labour - Alloa and Grangemouth)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what is the specific purpose is of the Government's £14.5 million funding for Granngemouth; whether this funding is expected to be allocated to technologies identified in the Project Willow scope; and whether this funding will align with (a) existing Grangemouth investment workstreams and (b) Scottish Government funding.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The UK and Scottish Governments are working together to progress all investment at Grangemouth. To support this, on 11 December we announced the first project to benefit from this £14.5m funding, the Scottish biotech company MiAlgae, which will receive a total of £3 million from both governments to develop an innovative new project on the Grangemouth site, using byproducts from whisky distillation. This investment is expected to support around 310 jobs over the next five years.
This is the first of a number of projects we are working to bring to the site, though at this moment in time, we cannot provide further information on future allocations of funding due to commercial sensitivities. On 17 December we went further, committing £120 million in support for the ethylene plant at Grangemouth. The UK Government remains firmly committed to delivering a successful low-carbon future for Grangemouth.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) annual remuneration, (d) time commitment and (e) expected end date is for each direct ministerial appointment in his Department.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Scotland Office does not have any Direct Ministerial Appointments.
Asked by: Stephen Flynn (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen South)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to Written Statement HCWS867, whether the devolution settlement would prevent the Scottish Government from taking any of the same actions in Scotland.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
We are working closely with the Devolved Governments on a range of issues related to the deployment of digital infrastructure. This includes improving access and collaborating to deliver Project Gigabit - the UK Government’s nationwide programme to deliver gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises that are not included in suppliers' commercial plans. In addition, the UK Government is supporting the Scottish Government’s Reaching 100% programme, which aims to ensure homes and businesses across Scotland have access to faster broadband.
Asked by: Liam Byrne (Labour - Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the policy papers entitled Spending Review 2025, published on 30 June 2025, and Budget 2025, published on 28 November 2025, what their Department’s capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) will be in each year of the Spending Review period; how much capital funding has been allocated to each of their Department’s programmes; and how much and what proportion of the capital DEL allocation remains unallocated in each year.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Departments capital Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL) over the Spending Review is shown below:
Financial Year | £M |
2025-26* | 0.500 |
2026-27 | 0.050 |
2027-28 | 0.050 |
2028-29 | 0.050 |
2029-30 | 0.050 |
The Department does not have any capital programmes. The capital DEL is to cover the purchase of office equipment.
*The 2025-26 Capital DEL includes £0.450m for a change in valuation of the Departments building leases resulting from a technical accounting adjustment in line with HM Treasury Consolidated Budgeting guidance.