Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero on support for oil and gas workers in Scotland.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

This Government recognises that oil and gas will continue to play a central role in the UK’s energy mix for decades to come. We recently published guidance on Scope 3 emissions in response to the Finch judgment, and soon we will publish our consultation response on the future of North Sea oil and gas licensing. Nonetheless, clean energy is our future, and many oil and gas workers have transferable skills for offshore renewable jobs. The Government’s commitment to investing in clean energy industries will ensure opportunities are created for oil and gas workers to thrive. Recently, we committed development funding to the Acorn carbon capture and storage project in Aberdeenshire, which, subject to business case, will prepare the project for delivery.

Scotland Office Ministers remain in regular contact with DESNZ Ministers regarding this issue. We also continue to engage with a variety of stakeholders from across the energy sector, including oil and gas producers.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of proposed reductions in Personal Independence Payment on Scotland’s Block Grant.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

In Scotland, Adult Disability Payment, a devolved benefit, replaced Personal Independence Payment.

Individual block grant adjustments linked to individual policy decisions will be published in due course.

The Spending Review set a three year envelope and guarantees that the block grant will be at least £52 billion by 2029, with an additional £9.1 billion in Barnet consequentials over that time period.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many staff network events took place in his Department in May 2025; and what the names of those events were.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

Staff networks are collaborative volunteer networks, organised by staff themselves rather than the department. As a result, events are organised by staff themselves, not the department. We are aware of the following events that these networks organised in May 2025:

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the reduction in spend on Carers Allowance on Scotland’s Block Grant.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

In Scotland, Carers Allowance is a devolved benefit.

Individual block grant adjustments linked to individual policy decisions will be published in due course.

The Spending Review set a three year envelope and guarantees that the block grant will be at least £52 billion by 2029, with an additional £9.1 billion in Barnet consequentials over that time period.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed disability benefit reforms on claimants in Scotland.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

Universal Credit is a reserved matter in Scotland, so the changes to Universal Credit will apply in Scotland. Personal Independent Payment (PIP) is an extra costs disability benefit and is a devolved matter in Scotland. By the time the Personal Independence Payment changes come into effect, PIP will have been fully replaced by the Scottish Government’s Adult Disability Payment. The changes to PIP eligibility therefore will not apply in Scotland.

The interactions between the reserved and devolved systems in Scotland will need to be considered before these reforms are implemented and officials are already engaging on this.  DWP has engaged with the Scottish Government on the reforms set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, at both an official and Ministerial level. They will continue to work closely as they develop detailed proposals for the White Paper.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice to ensure that changes for claimants who depend on both reserved and devolved social security are understood.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

UK Government Ministers regularly meet with their Scottish government counterparts to discuss social security and claimants. Scotland Office Ministers also attend the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare, alongside Ministers from the Department of Work and Pensions and Scottish Government Ministers. The most recent meeting was held on 18 June 2025.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper states that interactions between the reserved and devolved systems in Scotland will need to be considered before reforms are implemented. Officials are already engaging on this.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish government on the new commission into grooming gangs and child exploitation.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

The sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs is a horrific crime, and vulnerable young people have been let down time and time again. This government is fully dedicated to delivering justice for all victims through a national inquiry, as was set out by the Home Secretary.

None of the action we are taking will work unless everyone works together to protect children and bring perpetrators to justice - that includes authorities across the country cooperating and sharing best practices, including on devolved issues.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether his Department has updated guidance on the use of single-sex facilities in response to the Supreme Court judgement in the case of For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers of 16 April 2025.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

We will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements. We aim to ensure appropriate facilities are available for all staff.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many permanent civil servants in his Department are staff without assigned posts; and how many are placed in an equivalent (a) people action team, (b) priority movers list, (c) redeployment register, (d) talent pool and (e) skills match hub in the most recent period for which data is available.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Scotland Office has no permanent civil servants without assigned posts and no staff are placed in the referenced categories.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many permanent civil servants in his Department had their contract of employment terminated as a result of poor performance in the (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25 financial years.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

No permanent civil servants working in the Scotland Office had their contract of employment terminated as a result of poor performance in the (a) 2022-23, (b) 2023-24 and (c) 2024-25 financial years.

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Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent estimate he has made of the occupancy levels of premises (a) owned and (b) leased by (i) the Government and (ii) its agencies in (A) Cornwall and (B) the Isles of Scilly.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

Central data on Civil Service Headquarters (HQ) occupancy is collected and published quarterly on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-hq-occupancy-data) for all HQ buildings of Whitehall Departments, Office for Scotland, Office for Wales and Northern Ireland Office.

As was the case under the previous administration, no other information on workforce attendance is gathered centrally. Heads of departments have agreed that 60% minimum office attendance for most staff continues to be the best balance of working for the Civil Service.

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University APPG
Wednesday 11th June 2025

Found: [UIN52642] APP UG WEEKLY UPDATE 15 Ian Murray: The Scotland Office and I meet regularly with Scottish

Long Covid APPG
Thursday 12th June 2025

Found: (11.6%) of the 749,000 increase. 9 Self-reported Long COVID, England and Scotland - Office

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Found: 262 0 12 40 Ministry of Justice [note 4] 1276 1235 0 41 0 Northern Ireland Office 62 62 0 0 1 Scotland Office

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Found: Office for National Statistics (2025), HI11 Regional labour market: headline indicators for Scotland - Office

Found: statistics were accredited in September 2016 (Assessment of statistics on Recorded Crime in Scotland – Office

Found: Economic Overview of the public sector in Scotland., Office of the Chief Economic Advisor, 30 May 2024

Found: NECCUS) UK Government Ministers (Scotland Office/DESNZ) Leader of Falkirk Council CEO Scottish

Found: Occupancy levels for Social Security Scotland office locations: FOI release

Found: Occupancy levels for Social Security Scotland office locations: FOI release