Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish a timetable for implementing any recommendations arising from the Competition and Markets Authority's heating oil market study within three months of receiving the final report.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We welcome the CMA’s comprehensive examination of the heating oil industry. The Government will work closely with the CMA to understand their findings and develop options to increase consumer protections in this sector.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many additional staff have been deployed to clear the administrative backlog in relation to the Civil Service Pension Scheme; when the full complement of additional staff will be in place; and when the backlog will be cleared.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.
Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.
A dedicated 140-person government surge team was deployed to clear the 15,000 inherited unread emails and stabilise operations. This support will remain in place until Cabinet Office are satisfied service levels have been restored, with an expectation of Capita picking up the cost (to be part of the post-recovery contractual settlement).
The Cabinet Office maintains a rigorous oversight of the Civil Service Pension Scheme and has addressed Capita’s data protection failure that occurred on 30 March 2026. This incident involved a session management and document generation failure on the member portal, which enabled 138 members to view the benefit statements of other individuals. Internal investigations established that this was a technical malfunction rather than a cyber-attack, following a specific technical deployment.
Following this discovery, the Cabinet Office notified the Information Commissioner’s Office and oversaw a full root cause analysis conducted by Capita. In addition to strengthening technical controls to prevent a recurrence, the Cabinet Office mandated that Capita provide formal accounts of the incident to the Public Accounts Committee and the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. These measures ensure that the causes of the failure are fully understood and that Capita remains accountable for the security of member information.
Regular updates on the work to recover the service, continue to be posted on the Civil Service Pensions member portal and on Gov.Uk.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking in response to the recent leak of Civil Service Pension Scheme members Annual Benefit Statements.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office awarded Capita the contract to administer the Civil Service Pension Scheme in November 2023 under the previous government. The current delays facing scheme members are entirely unacceptable, and this Government has taken firm action to resolve them through a clear recovery plan with strict delivery milestones. We have deployed additional resources to expedite priority cases, ensuring that serving and former staff receive the high standard of service they deserve. Regular progress updates remain available to members via the pension portal and Gov.uk.
Capita is under a firm mandate to restore full service delivery to standard contractual levels by the end of June 2026. We are actively exploring the use of all available commercial and contractual levers and continue to withhold milestone payments for missed transition deliverables. All options remain on the table if they fail to meet the June deadline.
A dedicated 140-person government surge team was deployed to clear the 15,000 inherited unread emails and stabilise operations. This support will remain in place until Cabinet Office are satisfied service levels have been restored, with an expectation of Capita picking up the cost (to be part of the post-recovery contractual settlement).
The Cabinet Office maintains a rigorous oversight of the Civil Service Pension Scheme and has addressed Capita’s data protection failure that occurred on 30 March 2026. This incident involved a session management and document generation failure on the member portal, which enabled 138 members to view the benefit statements of other individuals. Internal investigations established that this was a technical malfunction rather than a cyber-attack, following a specific technical deployment.
Following this discovery, the Cabinet Office notified the Information Commissioner’s Office and oversaw a full root cause analysis conducted by Capita. In addition to strengthening technical controls to prevent a recurrence, the Cabinet Office mandated that Capita provide formal accounts of the incident to the Public Accounts Committee and the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee. These measures ensure that the causes of the failure are fully understood and that Capita remains accountable for the security of member information.
Regular updates on the work to recover the service, continue to be posted on the Civil Service Pensions member portal and on Gov.Uk.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the ban on EU pig meat by Asian markets on the (a) number of UK imports of EU pig meat in percentage terms over the last 12 months and (b) UK pig meat supply chain.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
(a) In the 12 months to March 2026, UK imports of pig meat from the EU fell by 12.9% by value and 6.7% by volume.
(b) The UK Agriculture Market Monitoring Group (UKAMMG), formed by Defra and the Devolved Governments, has routinely followed changes in pigmeat prices, including the recent downturn after several years of strong prices. Trade flow changes following Asian restrictions on EU pig meat may redirect supply back into European and UK markets, contributing to downward pressure on prices. We will continue to monitor the supply chain, including through the UKAMMG and regular engagement with industry.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with relevant stakeholders on the UK pig meat sector; and what steps she is taking to support that sector through the consequences of China's ban on EU pig meat.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Ministers meet with representatives of the pig industry as part of wider engagement with the farming sector, and we continue to work closely with stakeholders while monitoring market impacts, including how shifts in global trade flows may affect UK prices, supply, and market stability.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of the potential impact on food prices caused by the proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism on imported fertiliser for UK agriculture.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government does not expect the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to have an impact on food prices.
The CBAM will take effect from 1 January 2027. It will ensure that highly traded, carbon intensive goods which are imported into the UK face a comparable carbon price to that which is paid by manufacturers producing the same goods in the UK.
The CBAM rate that is charged on imports will reflect the effective carbon price paid by domestic industries after support mechanisms, such as free allowances within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, have been taken into account. In recent years, UK-based fertiliser manufacturers have received more free allowances than they needed to surrender to cover their emissions. As such, UK-based fertiliser manufacturers are currently not in practice paying a carbon price.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to the enquiry from the hon. Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens, reference DD21808, submitted on 21/01/2026 on MyCSP service.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I can confirm that your letter to the Prime Minister, dated 21 January 2026, has been passed to me as the Minister responsible for this policy, and I have replied to your letter. Please accept my apologies for the delay. The Government is committed to transparency and accountability, including through clear and timely responses to correspondence.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens with reference DD22592.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The correspondence from the hon. Member for Angus and Perthshire Glens with reference DD22592 was sent to HMRC. HMRC will respond in due course.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress has been made on allocating a share of the £182 million Defence Industrial Strategy skills package to Scotland.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Industrial Strategy committed £250 million to fund all five Defence Growth Deals across the UK, and announced an £182 million Defence Industry Skills Package.
On 12 March, we launched the £50 million Scotland Defence Growth Deal, and from the £20 million of funding allocated to the Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, we committed a £10 million investment towards the creation of two Defence Technical Excellence Colleges (DTECs). This will include one in the East and one in the West of Scotland, working in consultation with Colleges Scotland to develop the colleges.
I wrote with the Secretary of State for Scotland to the Scottish Government on 12 March asking them to match fund our DTEC commitment so we can deliver two not one DTEC in Scotland. I regret to report we have received no response from the Scottish Government so far.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much of Scotland’s Defence Growth Deal funding derives from the Defence Industrial Strategy skills package.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Industrial Strategy committed £250 million to fund all five Defence Growth Deals across the UK, and announced an £182 million Defence Industry Skills Package.
On 12 March, we launched the £50 million Scotland Defence Growth Deal, and from the £20 million of funding allocated to the Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, we committed a £10 million investment towards the creation of two Defence Technical Excellence Colleges (DTECs). This will include one in the East and one in the West of Scotland, working in consultation with Colleges Scotland to develop the colleges.
I wrote with the Secretary of State for Scotland to the Scottish Government on 12 March asking them to match fund our DTEC commitment so we can deliver two not one DTEC in Scotland. I regret to report we have received no response from the Scottish Government so far.