Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to support businesses in Ayrshire in accessing opportunities from free trade deals.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Free trade agreements are central to our plan for growth, helping UK businesses to compete and succeed in global markets. Through FTAs, businesses can benefit from tariff reductions, improved market access, and enhanced protections in investment and digital trade.

That’s why the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is ensuring that UK businesses, including those in Ayrshire, have the tools, knowledge and support they need to seize these growth opportunities.

DBT delivers a dedicated FTA utilisation programme to raise awareness and help firms understand key provisions and opportunities through practical and informative guides with more information available online at business.gov.uk.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress has been made regarding the Ayrshire Growth Deal.

Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade) (Jointly with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Regional Growth DeaIs are not a DBT policy. Delivery responsibility for the Scottish City Region and Growth Deal programme sits with the Scotland Office.

The UK Government remains committed to ensuring effective delivery in Ayrshire, as evidenced by the recent Ryanair announcement at Prestwick Airport. Ministers and officials continue to engage with local partners on a regular basis to maintain delivery momentum and urgently address challenges.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on defence investment in Ayrshire.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Strategic Defence Reveiw prioritises investment in the UK workforce and domestic industry, and recognises Scotland's role as a key hub for defence infrastructure and economic growth.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to improve nuclear investment in Ayrshire.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

As we enter the new golden age of nuclear, the UK Government has allocated almost £17 billion across the Spending Review period to enable the biggest nuclear new build programme in a generation. Ministers want to see this investment create economic opportunities for communities across the UK, with domestic supply chains developing to be internationally competitive.

While the Scottish Government currently opposes new nuclear power stations, UK Ministers remain open to discussions regarding opportunities for new nuclear in Scotland.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what is the timeline of phasing out the use of carbon dioxide gas as a method of slaughtering pigs.

Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell, Helen Maguire, on 20 May 2026 to PQ UIN 613.

Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what discussions he has had with Scottish universities on support for their commercial spin outs.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

Government regularly engages with universities, investors and innovative firms across the UK, including Scotland, on research commercialisation and university spin-outs. Scottish universities make a significant contribution to the UK's spin-out ecosystem and wider innovation economy, producing 12% of UK university spin-outs since 2011, demonstrating the strength of Scotland’s innovation ecosystem.

Government is investing over £1.5 billion through UK Research and Innovation to support spin-outs and research translation. This will build on the implementation of the recommendations of the Independent Review of University Spin-outs, increase in proof-of-concept funding, as well as a new Venture Doctorates programme and Enterprise Fellowships to help commercialise researchers' ideas.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what engagement her Department has had with Skills Development Scotland and how they are helping to address skills shortages in Scotland.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

As education and skills policy is devolved, the Scottish Government is responsible for associated policy in Scotland.

Skills England is responsible for assessing skills needs across the economy in England and helping to align education and training provision with labour market demand. They maintain a strong relationship with the Scottish Government, sharing labour market intelligence and expertise to support a coherent UK-wide skills landscape while respecting devolved responsibilities for skills policy.

Areas of current discussion include skills intelligence and labour market evidence; workforce trends, priority sectors, and emerging occupations; productivity and growth challenges; and education and training reforms.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans she has to increase testing capacity in Ayrshire.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes data on car practical test cancellation reasons by month and driving test centre (DTC) on GOV.UK. This data, in report DRT122B, is updated annually and currently shows data to March 2026. The next update is due to be published in June 2027.

The Government set out a comprehensive package of measures in April 2025 to tackle long waiting times across the whole of Great Britain, aiming to deliver around 10,000 additional tests per month. A key step was reintroducing overtime incentives. DVSA conducted 1.99 million tests between April 2025 and March 2026, a record and 8.6% (159,000) higher than the previous year.

DVSA has also made changes to make the booking system fairer, as well as continuing to run national recruitment campaigns for driving examiners (DE) across the country.

DVSA has two permanent test centres in Ayrshire, which are Ayr and Irvine DTCs. Both DTCs also serve a number of outstations across Ayrshire.

A new entrant DE passed their training course last week and will start testing from Ayr this week. DVSA also has a new entrant currently in training for Irvine who, if successful, will join the test centre in October.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many practical driving tests were cancelled due to examiner shortages at the Irvine Driving Test Centre in the last 12 months.

Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) publishes data on car practical test cancellation reasons by month and driving test centre (DTC) on GOV.UK. This data, in report DRT122B, is updated annually and currently shows data to March 2026. The next update is due to be published in June 2027.

The Government set out a comprehensive package of measures in April 2025 to tackle long waiting times across the whole of Great Britain, aiming to deliver around 10,000 additional tests per month. A key step was reintroducing overtime incentives. DVSA conducted 1.99 million tests between April 2025 and March 2026, a record and 8.6% (159,000) higher than the previous year.

DVSA has also made changes to make the booking system fairer, as well as continuing to run national recruitment campaigns for driving examiners (DE) across the country.

DVSA has two permanent test centres in Ayrshire, which are Ayr and Irvine DTCs. Both DTCs also serve a number of outstations across Ayrshire.

A new entrant DE passed their training course last week and will start testing from Ayr this week. DVSA also has a new entrant currently in training for Irvine who, if successful, will join the test centre in October.

Found: present: Emily Thornberry (Chair); Fleur Anderson; Alex Ballinger; Aphra Brandreth; Richard Foord; Alan Gemmell

Found: ) Dan Carden (Labour; Liverpool Walton) Richard Foord (Liberal Democrat; Honiton and Sidmouth) Alan Gemmell

The Committee is examining the UK Government’s approach to Syria following the collapse of the Assad Regime in December 2024 and the establishment of a transitional government. 

The National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence Review identify Russia as the most acute threat to the UK. Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the UK Government has focused its defence and foreign policy posture on visible and practical support for Ukraine. The Committee is launching an inquiry on Russia to consider the UK’s bilateral relationship and whether the UK’s long-term strategic approach to a post-conflict Russia is clearly defined.