Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the average staffing complement is for a ministerial private office within their Department; what grades those staff are appointed at; what the typical remuneration and contracted working hours are for those posts; and what the staff turnover rate is.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Private Office in the Scotland Office has an average staffing complement of 12 staff and serves 2 Ministers, appointed from EO to Grade 6. Typical contracted hours for these posts are 37 hours a week, with additional private office allowance paid to qualifying staff for regular out of hours work.
AA | 0 |
AO | 0 |
EO | 3 |
HEO | 4 |
SEO | 3 |
G7 | 1 |
G6 | 1 |
| London | National | ||
| 2025/2026 pay range minima | 2025/2026 pay range maxima | 2025/2026 pay range minima | 2025/2026 pay range maxima |
AA | £26,618 | £25,012 | ||
AO | £30,109 | £25,582 | ||
EO | £33,551 | £35,564 | £29,303 | £31,061 |
HEO | £40,014 | £42,859 | £35,335 | £37,847 |
SEO | £49,325 | £53,081 | £42,914 | £46,182 |
G7 | £63,343 | £70,725 | £58,511 | £65,329 |
G6 | £75,674 | £85,257 | £71,381 | £80,419 |
In the last 12 months, there has been a turnover rate of 50% in Private Office.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many apprentices his Department recruited in 2025, compared to i) 2022 ii) 2023 and iii) 2024.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Scotland Office has not recruited any apprentices in the requested timeframe.
We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across the civil service to break down barriers to opportunity. The Scotland Office considers the use of apprenticeships for all relevant recruitment campaigns.
Correspondence Mar. 25 2026
Committee: Scottish Affairs Committee (Department: Scotland Office)Correspondence Mar. 25 2026
Committee: Scottish Affairs Committee (Department: Scotland Office)Correspondence Mar. 25 2026
Committee: Scottish Affairs Committee (Department: Scotland Office)Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increased defence industrial collaboration with Ukraine on Scotland's economy.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Defence Industrial Collaboration underscores our continued commitment to supporting Ukraine and strengthening long-term security in Europe. This strategic partnership offers significant opportunities for UK-Ukraine cooperation, and Scotland is well placed to both contribute to the effort and benefit from this collaboration, leveraging its strengths in defence, advanced manufacturing, digital technology, and the space sectors.
This collaboration will help to advance joint production and integration of UK funding for new R&D. Crucially, this will support Ukraine's resilience while simultaneously sustaining skilled jobs and investment across the Scottish supply chain.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on special severance payments in each of the last three years.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The total value of severance payments is set out in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts, which are available for the last three years.