Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking to improve his Department's response times to correspondence from members of the public.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Government recognises the importance of responding to members of the public in an effective and timely manner, and the Cabinet Office published an updated Guide to Handling Correspondence for government departments and agencies in July 2021.
The guidance reasserts the standards for handling correspondence, including a 20 working day deadline for departments to respond to members of the public, criteria outlining when a response to a member of the public is required, and when a piece of correspondence from a member of the public should be transferred to another department. Following publication of the updated guidance, all departments have been reminded that they must follow the processes outlined in the guidance. The Office for the Secretary of State for Scotland’s correspondence response times are regularly monitored and internal processes have been improved to ensure members of the public are responded to in a timely manner.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Scotland Office:
What assessment he has made of the effect of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement on the Scottish fishing industry.
Answered by David Duguid
Leaving the EU means we have left the Common Fisheries Policy and are now recognised as an independent coastal state – something the EU refused to recognise until very late in the negotiations.
The agreement allows for a transfer of 25% of quota, previously caught by EU vessels in our waters, to UK fishermen.
The agreement also provides for tariff-free access to the EU market for Scotland’s fantastic fisheries products.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Scotland Office:
What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues and Scottish Government Ministers on a four-nations approach to tackling the covid-19 outbreak over Christmas 2020.
Answered by David Duguid
UK Government Ministers and officials are in close touch with their counterparts in all of the Devolved Administrations about the UK-wide approach to tackling the covid-19 outbreak over Christmas 2020.