Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the potential impact of recent changes to the Winter Fuel Payment on pensioners in Scotland.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
This Government is supporting pensioners through increasing pension credit uptake and protecting the triple lock. This means an increase in the state pension for a million Scottish pensioners of up to £470 next year, on top of up to £900 this year.
This year marks twenty five years since the previous Labour Government delivered devolution in Scotland, one of its proudest achievements. I understand the SNP Government plans to use some of their record budget settlement to make different choices on this devolved policy area - that’s devolution in action. The Honourable Gentleman may wish to ask himself how he can justify voting against Scotland getting that record settlement.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, with reference to the Scottish Government's request for a section 104 Order under the Scotland Act 1998 in consequence of the Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2020, if he will permit the Scottish Government to legislate accordingly.
Answered by Alister Jack
I have written to the Scottish Government to confirm the UK Government’s in-principle agreement to proceed with this Scotland Act Order. My officials will continue to engage with their Scottish Government counterparts as the Order advances.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Scotland Office:
What discussions he has had with the Prime Minister on the proposals of the Scottish Government to introduce a Scottish visa.
Answered by Alister Jack
The Government has made clear we are devising a new system that helps address those challenges, but have no plans to devolve immigration.
The new system will recognise the needs of all the nations and regions of the UK, including Scotland.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate his Department has made of the number of people employed (a) directly, (b) in the supply chain and (c) in the tourism industry as a result of the Scottish whisky industry.
Answered by David Mundell
The Scottish whisky industry makes a significant contribution to employment in Scotland and the wider UK. The latest Scotch Whisky Association GVA figures (2014-2016) show that the industry directly supports employment of 10,540 and a further 21,860 jobs in the supply chain. The industry also contributes to the wider Scottish tourism sector.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the economic contribution of the Scotch whisky industry to the (a) Scottish and (b) UK economy.
Answered by David Mundell
The Scotch whisky industry makes a valuable contribution to both the Scottish and the overall UK economies. The latest Scotch Whisky Association GVA figures (2014-2016) show that Scotch whisky contributes £4.7 billion per annum to the Scottish economy and £4.9 billion to the UK economy as a whole.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that are supported by the Scotch whisky industry in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK.
Answered by David Mundell
The Scotch whisky industry is a valuable contributor to employment in Scotland and across the UK. The latest Scotch Whisky Association GVA figures (2014-2016) show that the industry supports 36,850 jobs across Scotland and 40,190 across the UK as a whole.