Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 on Question 95787 on the Prime Minister, what is the estimated total departmental spend by his department to supporting the Minister for the Union in their role since the office was established.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Scotland Office does not provide any direct financial support to the Minister for the Union.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why they did not consider the rurality of locations as part of the place selection and allocation methodology for the Local Growth Fund.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK Government is providing targeted funding to the places in Scotland that need it most, while simultaneously delivering the largest Block Grant settlement for the Scottish Government in the whole history of devolution, which they can use to improve general funding settlements for local government services and priorities.
The Local Growth Fund is targeting five regions that contain the local authorities with the lowest Real Disposable Household Income per capita (RDHI) in Scotland, which is an established metric for measuring spatial disparities in living standards across the country. The local authorities in the Highlands and Islands had higher living standards and so did not meet the threshold for funding from this programme.
The Local Growth Fund is just one UK Government investment programme and the Highlands and Islands region is benefiting from more than £300m in other UK Government investments, including Community Regeneration Partnerships for Argyll & Bute, and the Western Isles; Local Regeneration Fund projects including the Fair Isle Ferry and Elgin Town Centre masterplan; the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport; Pride in Place Programme funding for Elgin, Sutherland, Orkney, and Lewis; and the completion of the four regional Growth Deals.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Highland and Islands region was not allocated funding from the Local Growth Fund.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK Government is providing targeted funding to the places in Scotland that need it most, while simultaneously delivering the largest Block Grant settlement for the Scottish Government in the whole history of devolution, which they can use to improve general funding settlements for local government services and priorities.
The Local Growth Fund is targeting five regions that contain the local authorities with the lowest Real Disposable Household Income per capita (RDHI) in Scotland, which is an established metric for measuring spatial disparities in living standards across the country. The local authorities in the Highlands and Islands had higher living standards and so did not meet the threshold for funding from this programme.
The Local Growth Fund is just one UK Government investment programme and the Highlands and Islands region is benefiting from more than £300m in other UK Government investments, including Community Regeneration Partnerships for Argyll & Bute, and the Western Isles; Local Regeneration Fund projects including the Fair Isle Ferry and Elgin Town Centre masterplan; the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport; Pride in Place Programme funding for Elgin, Sutherland, Orkney, and Lewis; and the completion of the four regional Growth Deals.
Asked by: Euan Stainbank (Labour - Falkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will publish the dates on which the joint UK Government and Scottish Government taskforce met to discuss the consultation on Alexander Dennis closing their Falkirk and Larbert sites.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Scotland Office has priorisited securing the future of Alexander Dennis in Falkirk and Larbert from the moment we were made aware that those sites were at risk.
The previous Secretary of State for Scotland, the Rt Hon Ian Murray MP, had discussions with the Deputy First Minister on 5 June and 21 July 2025, and my officials participated in numerous cross-government meetings throughout summer 2025. The Secretary of State for Scotland has continued this dialogue - most recently on 11 November with the Deputy First Minister - and we will continue to engage closely with the Scottish Government to safeguard these skilled jobs.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Scotland Office can confirm that the cost over the last five years of conducting feasibility studies is nil.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Digital identity policy is in development, with a dedicated team inside the Cabinet Office working to develop the proposals.
Costs in this spending review period will be met within the existing spending review settlements.
We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and inclusive system for the UK. No final decisions will be made until after the consultation.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential (a) implications for his policies and (b) impact for UK security of the Scottish Government’s Defence Sector Support Policy, set out to the Scottish Parliament on 3 September 2025.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Defence, national security, foreign affairs and export licensing are reserved matters, and keeping the British people safe is our number one priority. The UK Government continues to assess and manage risks to UK security through established cross-government processes such as the National Risk Register.
The Scottish Government's defence sector support policy will affect Scotland’s expanding defence industry by restricting support to many companies. It is the responsibility of the Scottish Government to explain its position, including how the policy will impact jobs, skills and investment in Scotland.
In the meantime, my department continues to work with the Ministry of Defence (MOD) to support the industry and the highly skilled jobs and investment that it generates. This includes progressing the development of the Defence Growth Deal in Scotland, in line with the UK’s growth, defence and security priorities.
Asked by: Elaine Stewart (Labour - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle child poverty in Scotland.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
Poverty scars the lives and life chances of our children.
Tackling child poverty is at the heart of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the very best start in life.
In December, we set out our ambitious and comprehensive Child Poverty Strategy. It sets out the steps we are taking to reduce child poverty in the short-term, as well as putting in place the building blocks we need to create long-term change across the UK. Our decision to lift the two-child cap alone will benefit 95,000 Scottish children.
Asked by: Lillian Jones (Labour - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support economic growth in Ayrshire.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK Government is investing more than £250 million in economic development and regeneration in Ayrshire including through the Regional Growth Deal, Pride in Place Programme, Local Growth Fund, and Local Regeneration Fund.
We are keen to see Ayrshire fully benefit from that investment. Spending in the Ayrshire Growth Deal is currently lower than expected and so my colleague, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, has written to local council leaders to stress the need for spending to increase significantly over the remaining lifetime of the Deal.
Asked by: Bradley Thomas (Conservative - Bromsgrove)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the time it will take to create 1,000 new jobs in the energy sector in Aberdeen.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
Great British Energy published their strategic plan at the end of last year and have committed to directly supporting more than 10,000 jobs by 2030 through GBE-backed and funded projects, including in areas historically dependent on oil and gas.
But of course, this job creation must happen in partnership with industry, and we are seeing major investments from Scottish Power, SSEN and others create hundreds of good quality clean energy jobs in Aberdeen and across Scotland.