Scotland Office Alert Sample


Alert Sample

View the Parallel Parliament page for the Scotland Office

Information between 4th March 2024 - 14th March 2024

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Calendar
Monday 11th March 2024 9:30 a.m.
Scottish Affairs Committee - Oral evidence
Subject: Intergovernmental relations: 25 years since the Scotland Act 1998
At 10:00am: Oral evidence
Rt Hon Angus Robertson MSP - Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture at Scottish Government
View calendar
Monday 18th March 2024 2:30 p.m.
Scottish Affairs Committee - Oral evidence
Subject: Scotland's space sector
At 3:00pm: Oral evidence
Tom Walkinshaw - CEO at Alba Orbital
Steve Greenland - Managing Director at Craft Prospect Ltd
At 4:00pm: Oral evidence
Allan Cannon - CEO at Krucial
Sarah Middlemiss - Chief Operating Officer at Ecometrica
View calendar
Wednesday 13th March 2024
Scotland Office
Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Conservative - Life peer)

Statement - Main Chamber
Subject: Update on Foreign National Offenders, Prisons and Probation
View calendar
Wednesday 20th March 2024
Scotland Office
Lord Stewart of Dirleton (Conservative - Life peer)

Legislation - Main Chamber
Subject: Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill – consideration of Commons amendments
Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill 2023-24 View calendar


Parliamentary Debates
World Book Day
27 speeches (11,168 words)
Wednesday 6th March 2024 - Westminster Hall
Scotland Office
Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill
173 speeches (27,128 words)
Report stage
Wednesday 6th March 2024 - Lords Chamber
Scotland Office
Oral Answers to Questions
127 speeches (8,870 words)
Wednesday 6th March 2024 - Commons Chamber
Scotland Office
Prisons and Probation: Foreign National Offenders
8 speeches (3,390 words)
Wednesday 13th March 2024 - Lords Chamber
Scotland Office


Select Committee Documents
Monday 4th March 2024
Oral Evidence - Professor Dame Jessica Corner, and Scottish Funding Council

Science and Scotland - Scottish Affairs Committee
Tuesday 12th March 2024
Correspondence - Correspondence with Dr Paul Bate, Chief Executive Officer at UK Space Agency on European Space Agency contract allocations, dated 31 January and 1 March

Scottish Affairs Committee
Monday 11th March 2024
Oral Evidence - Scottish Government, Scottish Government, and Scottish Government

Intergovernmental relations: 25 years since the Scotland Act 1998 - Scottish Affairs Committee


Select Committee Inquiry
14 Mar 2024
City Region and Growth Deals
Scottish Affairs Committee (Select)

Submit Evidence (by 21 Apr 2024)


This inquiry will scrutinise the progress and operation of City Region and Growth deals, following up on the Committee’s previous work examining them in 2021. We will explore the lessons learned since the deals launched to understand what has been delivered so far and barriers to their success. We will examine how satisfied stakeholders are with the level of progress, engagement and transparency on the deals from the UK Government.

Read our call for evidence for more detail about the inquiry and how to contribute your views.



Written Answers
Scotland Office: Advertising
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Tuesday 5th March 2024

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much funding his Department has (a) budgeted for and (b) spent on advertising in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Scotland Office can confirm the following costs in respect of advertising costs over the last three financial years;

Year

Budget (£)

Actual (£)

Difference (£)

2023-24

43,000

17,725

25,275

2022-23

50,000

49,893

107

2021-22

41,000

39,818

1,182

Total

134,000

107,436

26,564

Scotland Office: Apprentices
Asked by: Seema Malhotra (Labour (Co-op) - Feltham and Heston)
Tuesday 5th March 2024

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department (a) paid in apprenticeship levy fees and (b) spent from its apprenticeship levy funds between September 2021 and August 2023.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly. The staff are employed by their parent departments primarily the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government. The payment of the apprenticeship levy and access to any funding generated is the responsibility of the employing parent departments.

Scotland Office: WhatsApp
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Monday 11th March 2024

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what guidance his Department issues on the use of WhatsApp.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

All Departments in central government, including arms-length bodies apply the published guidance: Using non-corporate communication channels (e.g. WhatsApp, private email, SMS) for government business published by Cabinet Office in March 2023. It applies to all individuals in central government (ministers, special advisers, officials, contractors, non-executive board members and independent experts advising ministers). The Scotland Office uses the central guidance and has applied it since March 2023.

Economic Situation: Scotland
Asked by: Douglas Ross (Conservative - Moray)
Wednesday 6th March 2024

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the strength of the economy in Scotland.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

Scotland’s economy grew in 2023 and our back to work plan is working with fewer people inactive. We have achieved this alongside our priority of halving inflation.

I’m sure my Honourable Friend was also pleased to hear the growth measures we will take to keep Scotland prospering that were announced at the Budget today.

Levelling Up Fund: Scotland
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Conservative - Fylde)
Wednesday 6th March 2024

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent assessment he has made of the impact of levelling up funding on communities in Scotland.

Answered by John Lamont - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

The UK Government is now investing more than £2.9 billion across Levelling Up initiatives in Scotland. That's the equivalent of £538 per person in Scotland.

I have personally seen how this funding is regenerating towns, creating jobs, and empowering communities to deliver directly on their ambitions.

Scotland Office: Publishing
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Thursday 7th March 2024

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what reports and guidance their Department has produced in the last three years; and how much was spent on their (a) printing and (b) distribution.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland (OSSS) produced the following reports during the last three years.

Financial Year

Reports Produced

Spend on Printing & Distribution (£)

2023-24 to date

OSSS Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23

859

2023-24 to date

7th Annual Report on the Implementation of the Scotland Act 2016

916

2022-23

OSSS Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22

901

2022-23

6th Annual Report on the Implementation of the Scotland Act 2016

1,140

2021-22

OSSS Annual Report and Accounts 2020-21

1,158

2021-22

5th Annual Report on the Implementation of the Scotland Act 2016

1,672

Total

6,646

*The Department outsources its printing and the invoices received do not split the costs between printing and distribution.

Scotland Office: Fraud and Maladministration
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the amount of money lost to fraud and error by his Department in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Government is proud of its record in proactively seeking to find and prevent more fraud in the system. We have established the dedicated Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA). In its first year, it delivered £311 million in audited counter fraud benefits.

The PSFA produces a Fraud Landscape Report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cross-government-fraud-landscape-annual-report-2022). This provides data on fraud and error detection, loss and recoveries in central government, outside of the tax and welfare system. The 2020/21 Report was published in March 2023.

There has been no reported or detected fraud and error in the Department during the last three financial years.

Scotland Office: Defamation
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to paragraphs 7.16 and 7.17 of the Ministerial Code, on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have informed the Law Officers that they are the defendants in a libel action in (a) their personal capacity, (b) their official position and (c) both since 19 December 2019.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

As per paragraph 2.13 of the Ministerial Code, it is not possible to disclose whether Law Officers have or have not provided advice on such matters. Paragraph 2.13 states: “The fact that the Law Officers have advised or have not advised and the content of their advice must not be disclosed outside Government without their authority”.

Scotland Office: Domestic Visits
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many domestic overnight visits were undertaken by Ministers within his Department in each of the last three financial years; and what the cost to the public purse was of these visits.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Government publishes on GOV.UK details of the cost of overseas Ministerial travel, including costs of travel, and on other costs (visas, accommodation, meals). But as has been the case under successive administrations, the Government does not publish granular detail on Ministers’ travel at home or abroad.

Scotland Office: Domestic Visits
Asked by: Nia Griffith (Labour - Llanelli)
Thursday 14th March 2024

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the destinations were of domestic overnight visits undertaken by Ministers within their Department in each of the last three financial years.

Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to UIN 17535 on 13 March 2024.



Department Publications - News and Communications
Tuesday 5th March 2024
Scotland Office
Source Page: Glasgow's financial, drink and arts sectors in the spotlight
Document: Glasgow's financial, drink and arts sectors in the spotlight (webpage)



Scotland Office mentioned

Parliamentary Debates
Scottish Government: Devolved Competences
21 speeches (1,606 words)
Wednesday 13th March 2024 - Lords Chamber
Cabinet Office
Mentions:
1: Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con - Life peer) the Prime Minister, but I am glad that we have a new Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Scotland - Link to Speech



Select Committee Documents
Wednesday 6th March 2024
Oral Evidence - The University of Glasgow, and Department for Exiting the European Union

The Governance of the Union: Consultation, Co-operation and Legislative Consent - Constitution Committee

Found: A job for the Scotland Office, and indeed for the Wales Office, is to help focus the UK Government

Wednesday 28th February 2024
Oral Evidence - Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford

The Governance of the Union: Consultation, Co-operation and Legislative Consent - Constitution Committee

Found: The size of the department relative to Scotland Office and the Wales Office shows you what the comparator



Written Answers
Out of Area Treatment: Travel
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with (a) the Department for Health and Social Care, (b) the Northern Ireland Office, (c) the Scotland Office and (d) the Wales Office on providing financial support for (i) cancer patients aged up to 25 and (ii) their families undertaking cross-border travel within the UK to receive treatment.

Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Ministers from the Department for Transport have not engaged with the Department for Health and Social Care or the Territorial Offices listed on the two matters listed above.



Department Publications - Transparency
Thursday 14th March 2024
HM Treasury
Source Page: FRAB minutes and associated papers: 23 November 2023
Document: FRAB 151 (02) 2022-23 Reporting Cycle Update (PDF)

Found: and Road 19/07/2023 07/07/2022 Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme Not yet laid 19/07/2022 Scotland




Scotland Office mentioned in Scottish results


Scottish Government Publications
Tuesday 5th March 2024
Digital Directorate
Source Page: Amount of records destroyed in accordance with Record Management Policy from 2019 - date: FOI release
Document: FOI 202300384324 - Information Released - Record Destruction (Excel)

Found: : Office administration: 20072019-01-22 00:00:00qA144472Procurement Scotland: Training and development



Scottish Parliamentary Debates
Review of the EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement
49 speeches (52,149 words)
Thursday 7th March 2024 - Committee
Mentions:
1: Adamson, Clare (SNP - Motherwell and Wishaw) deputy convener, Donald Cameron, has resigned as an MSP in order to take up a ministerial post in the Scotland - Link to Speech