Scotland Office

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. For example, only last month our delivery partner for this campaign, the National Literacy Trust, revealed that fewer than 1 in 10 teenage boys read daily for pleasure.

The National Year of Reading aims to engage new audiences, reshape public attitudes and embed lasting, meaningful change on attitudes to reading. It includes a major marketing campaign as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout 2026.

Let me emphasise that this is a UK-wide campaign, and we are working in collaboration with the Scottish Government and DC Thomson, The Scottish Book Trust and The Scottish Book and Information Council to deliver this important initiative in Scotland. ​​

The Secretary of State for Scotland has regular discussions with officials, external experts and ministerial colleagues on a range of issues, including national security, defence and resilience, and associated public communications.

As set out in the Strategic Defence Review, the national conversation will be a multi-year engagement designed to embed a whole-of-society approach, where Government, businesses, and the public all play a part in strengthening our resilience. This addresses the risks we face, including threats below and above the threshold of an armed attack.

The Scotland Office is actively supporting this work, including working closely with the Ministry of Defence on the development of a Defence Growth Deal in Scotland, alongside wider engagements with industry, local authorities and academia to support jobs, investment, and skills development in Scotland’s defence sector. The Secretary of State for Scotland also met with key trade partners as part of a defence-focused visit to Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.

The Scotland Office has no Directors with responsibility for human resources.

It may be helpful to explain that the Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly. All staff that join, do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government departments, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government. They remain the employers and provide HR services to their employees working in the Scotland Office.

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. For example, only this week our delivery partner for this campaign, the National Literacy Trust, revealed that fewer than 1 in 10 teenage boys read daily for pleasure.

The National Year of Reading aims to engage new audiences, reshape public attitudes and embed lasting, meaningful change on attitudes to reading. The campaign includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout 2026.

We are working in collaboration with the Scottish Government and lead delivery partners - DC Thomson, The Scottish Book Trust and The Scottish Book and Information Council - to deliver this important initiative in Scotland. ​​

The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. For example, only this week our delivery partner for this campaign, the National Literacy Trust, revealed that fewer than 1 in 10 teenage boys read daily for pleasure.

The National Year of Reading aims to engage new audiences, reshape public attitudes and embed lasting, meaningful change on attitudes to reading. The campaign includes a major physical and online marketing campaign, as well as exciting events, webinars, resources, and activities in communities, libraries, schools and early years settings throughout 2026.

We are working in collaboration with the Scottish Government and lead delivery partners - DC Thomson, The Scottish Book Trust and The Scottish Book and Information Council - to deliver this important initiative in Scotland. ​​

The agreement to establish a common SPS Zone will bring a number of benefits for the Scottish seafood sector, with 65% of all UK seafood by value exported to the EU.

The removal of the need for Export Health Certificates and border checks, for example, saves both time and money. This could save UK businesses up to £200 per consignment and is vital for fresh and live fish that needs to reach markets quickly.

We are determined that this will be a good deal for the Scottish fishing industry.

At the Budget, the Chancellor confirmed the introduction of Electric Vehicle Excise Duty from April 2028 - recognising that electric vehicles contribute to congestion and wear-and-tear on our roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty.

While those living in rural areas tend to drive more than those living in urban areas, they are also more likely to have a dedicated home charger for their electric vehicle - with the lowest charging costs.

Our electric vehicles consultation provides further detail on how the duty will work and seeks views on its implementation from stakeholders across the UK.

At the Budget, the Chancellor confirmed the introduction of Electric Vehicle Excise Duty from April 2028 - recognising that electric vehicles contribute to congestion and wear-and-tear on our roads but pay no equivalent to fuel duty.

While those living in rural areas tend to drive more than those living in urban areas, they are also more likely to have a dedicated home charger for their electric vehicle - with the lowest charging costs.

Our electric vehicles consultation provides further detail on how the duty will work and seeks views on its implementation from stakeholders across the UK.

International affairs are reserved under the Scotland Act, and it is essential that the UK speaks with one voice overseas.

FCDO guidance on the overseas activity of devolved government ministers only covers ministerial-level engagement. Accordingly, UK Government officials were not involved in this meeting, and, therefore, hold no information on it.

International affairs are reserved under the Scotland Act, and it is essential that the UK speaks with one voice overseas.

FCDO guidance on the overseas activity of devolved government ministers only covers ministerial-level engagement. Accordingly, UK Government officials were not involved in this meeting, and, therefore, hold no information on it.

The Government is committed to managing existing oil and gas fields responsibly for the entirety of their full lifespan. Oil and gas will remain an important part of the UK’s energy mix for decades to come.

We are also investing in our country's green energy future, and the likes of Scottish Power are creating up to 1400 jobs in Scotland through a £12 billion investment.

I refer you to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12 February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

The Scotland Office communications team currently has 16 posts, carrying out a wide range of communication functions.

There are currently five press/media posts.

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 North East Scotland region 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 North East region is benefiting from more than £200m in other investments, including the North East Scotland Investment Zone; Pride in Place Programme funding for Peterhead and Aberdeen; Local Regeneration Fund projects in Peterhead and Macduff; support for the Energy Transition Zone; and the completion of the Aberdeen City Region Deal.

Other rural areas of Scotland, including the Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland, are benefitting significantly from more than £400m in UK Government investment.

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 North East Scotland region 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 North East region is benefiting from more than £200m in other investments, including the North East Scotland Investment Zone; Pride in Place Programme funding for Peterhead and Aberdeen; Local Regeneration Fund projects in Peterhead and Macduff; support for the Energy Transition Zone; and the completion of the Aberdeen City Region Deal.

Other rural areas of Scotland, including the Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland, are benefitting significantly from more than £400m in UK Government investment.

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 North East Scotland region 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 North East region is benefiting from more than £200m in other investments, including the North East Scotland Investment Zone; Pride in Place Programme funding for Peterhead and Aberdeen; Local Regeneration Fund projects in Peterhead and Macduff; support for the Energy Transition Zone; and the completion of the Aberdeen City Region Deal.

Other rural areas of Scotland, including the Highlands and Islands and South of Scotland, are benefitting significantly from more than £400m in UK Government investment.

This Government has committed to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers. Scotland Office officials have been engaging regularly with Home Office officials, who had direct and regular communication with the Scottish Government, Highland Council and Police Scotland in advance of this announcement.

This Government has committed to ending the use of hotels for asylum seekers. The Scotland Office has been engaging with the Home Office regularly on the proposed use of Cameron Barracks. The Home Office continues to engage regularly with representatives from the Scottish Government, Highland Council, the NHS, Police, and local partners, including via Multi Agency Forums, to respond to the concerns of those most impacted by the site and to identify ways to keep them informed.

In preparation for the North Sea Summit, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero engaged with the UK energy industry, including Scottish companies, on the development of agreements and deliverables. Scottish Power and SSE were amongst the UK companies that attended the Summit in Hamburg on 26 January, where the Joint Declaration was signed.

The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly. All staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government departments, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government, who remain the employers.

Any matters relating to payroll are the responsibility of the employing departments.

The provision of school transport is the responsibility of local authorities in Scotland.

It is for Scottish Ministers and local authorities to consider the adequacy of the statutory walking distance and to determine the policy and operational aspects of home-to-school transport provision.

I note that the Scottish Government undertook a review of this policy and subsequent update of this matter in 2025.

The Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy set out the key policies which will together deliver decarbonisation of the sector, including the role of energy efficiency, port decarbonisation and fuel regulation alongside emission pricing through the UK Emissions Trading Scheme. Receipts from the UK ETS are used to fund the government’s spending priorities, including spending and subsidies supporting the Net Zero transition.

In September 2025, the UK Government announced £448m R&D funding for the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) between 2026 and 2030: the biggest government investment ever in our commercial maritime industry. The programme has already allocated £240m to the research and development of clean maritime solutions, with approximately 15% allocated in Scotland. Recently, I visited the Port of Aberdeen where new clean energy infrastructure has been installed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from berthed vessels, as part of its ambitious target to become a net zero harbour by 2040.

At Spending Reviews, devolved governments generally receive Barnett consequentials on changes in overall departmental settlements not on specific policies or programmes. Therefore, the UK Government cannot provide Barnett numbers on specific policy measures funded from within departmental settlements.

The Block Grant Transparency publication from October 2025 shows that the Scottish Government received an additional £930m for 2025/26 as a result of the additional funding for the Department for Health and Social Care.

The Scotland Office does not provide any direct financial support to the Minister for the Union.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Scotland Office can confirm that the cost over the last five years of conducting feasibility studies is nil.

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.

Energy infrastructure projects go through the proper planning process, which involves consulting communities.

Every wind turbine, solar panel and pylon built protects us from future energy shocks.

Installing new electricity infrastructure can mean having to make difficult decisions. But we should not lose sight of the fact that it’s the poorest in our society who are paying the price for expensive energy.

We are also looking at options for how communities can benefit from energy developments.

I want to pay a warm tribute to the extraordinary commitment and bravery of all mountain rescue teams, particularly volunteers across Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Responsibility for mountain rescue is devolved to the Scottish Government, who have been provided with the largest settlement in the history of devolution. They must answer to the Scottish people on how they are using this record funding.

While Police Scotland holds the statutory responsibility for search and rescue on land, one of the three RAF mountain rescue teams is based at RAF Lossiemouth. This crucial reserved military asset, under the UK Ministry of Defence, regularly works alongside civilian teams to save lives on Scotland’s mountains. It is crucial that the two Governments continue to work together saving lives on Scotland's mountains.

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.

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.

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.

The Department has spent the following on advertising and marketing over the last three financial years.

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.

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.

The Scotland Office does not have any civil servants that are on temporary contracts, nor does it employ any consultants.

The Government recognises the importance of the effective and timely handling of written parliamentary questions (PQs).

The information requested is shown below:

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.

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.

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.

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.

The Scotland Office does not have any Direct Ministerial Appointments.