Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Scottish Government has requested that agricultural and fisheries funding not be ringfenced and therefore subject to the Barnett Formula from 2024–25 onwards; and if so, whether they will publish any details relating to this request.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Cluny - Advocate General for Scotland
Agriculture and fisheries funding was added to the Scottish Government’s baseline funding from 2025-26. The funding is no longer ringfenced. The application of the Barnett formula and removal of the ringfence is in line with the Fiscal Framework agreed by both the UK and Scottish Governments. This decision respects the key principle of devolution, granting the Scottish Government full flexibility to determine its spending priorities.
The Scottish Government has received the biggest settlement in the history of devolution and can provide additional funding on this devolved issue if it so chooses.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether his Department was invited by the Office for National Statistics to provide input into its review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. All staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment for other Government departments, who remain the employers.
As information relating to the demographics of staff is held by the employing departments, the Scotland Office is not able to provide evidence into the review of the ethnicity harmonised standard.
Correspondence Mar. 10 2026
Committee: Scottish Affairs Committee (Department: Scotland Office)Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to paragraph 88 of the UK Government Resilience Action Plan, how many meetings Ministers in their Department have attended related to the Home Defence Programme.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Secretary of State for Scotland has regular discussions with officials, external experts and ministerial colleagues on a range of national security, defence and resilience issues.
The Home Defence Programme was established in August 2024 to provide defence, security and resilience planning, focused on aligning military and civil effort in the event of a period of crisis and international hostilities affecting the UK. It is informed by and reflects the recommendations from government strategies, including the Strategic Defence Review, National Security Strategy and Resilience Action Plan.
The Scotland Office is actively supporting this by working closely with other UK Government Departments to ensure effective delivery in Scotland and coordination with the Scottish Government where responsibilities for resilience are devolved.
Asked by: Graeme Downie (Labour - Dunfermline and Dollar)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether his Department has held recent discussions with the Scottish Government on a Section 104 order to bring relevant components of the Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 into force.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
Scotland Office and Scottish Government officials meet regularly to discuss Scotland Act Orders. My officials have engaged Scottish Government officials to discuss a proposed Section 104 order under the Scotland Act 1998 in consequence of the Trusts and Succession (Scotland) Act 2024 and will continue to liaise with their counterparts on the matter.
Asked by: Katrina Murray (Labour - Cumbernauld and Kirkintilloch)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has made representations to the Scottish Government on support for listed places of worship in Scotland, including Sacred Heart Parish Church in Cumbernauld, that have been unable to access equivalent funding to that available in England.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
We want to see Scotland's building and cultural heritage protected for future generations. Whilst heritage policy is a devolved matter, both Scotland Office and Department for Culture, Media and Sport Ministers are due to discuss this matter with officials from the Church of Scotland in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether (a) his Department and (b) the arms length bodies sponsored by his Department are compliant with the Supreme Court ruling in the case of For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025].
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Government has set out our expectation that all duty bearers, including Departments and arms length bodies, follow the law as clarified by the Supreme Court ruling and seek specialist legal advice where necessary. The Prime Minister has underlined this recently.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission has submitted a draft Code of Practice on services, public functions and associations to Ministers, and the Government is reviewing it with the care it deserves. This will provide further guidance to duty bearers.
Correspondence Mar. 04 2026
Committee: Scottish Affairs Committee (Department: Scotland Office)Oral Evidence Mar. 04 2026
Inquiry: GB Energy and the net zero transition