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 many nuclear site events there were at (a) Coulport and (b) Faslane in the last 12 months.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The table below shows the number of Nuclear Site Event Reports (NSERs) at Coulport and Faslane recorded between 22 April 2024 to 22 April 2025. These are shown according to agreed categorisation:
Nuclear Site Events- 2024 22/04/2024 - 31/12/2024 | Category A | Category B | Category C | Category D | Below Scale |
Coulport | 0 | 0 | 9 | 25 | 1 |
Faslane | 0 | 3 | 22 | 58 | 36 |
Nuclear Site Events- 2025 01/01/2025 - 22/04/2025 | Category A | Category B | Category C | Category D | Below Scale |
Coulport | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 |
Faslane | 1 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 5 |
In line with Industry Good Practice and in common with other defence and civil nuclear sites, His Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde has a well-established system for raising NSERs.
NSERs are raised to foster a robust safety culture that learns from experience, whether that is of equipment failures, human error, procedural failings, documentation shortcomings or near-misses.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of recognising the State of Palestine.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK commitment to a two-state solution is unwavering. We are committed to recognising a Palestinian state at a time that has the most impact in achieving this reality and is most conducive to long-term prospects for peace.
UK bilateral recognition is the single most important action the UK can take with regard to Palestinian statehood. That is why it is important to get the timing right, so it creates genuine momentum and is not simply a symbolic gesture. We have noted President Macron's comments regarding recognition and are in constant dialogue with all partners on how we can best use the conference in June to achieve our shared objective of a two-state solution.
We condemn the latest remarks by Minister Katz regarding the annexation of land in Gaza. Palestinian territory must not be reduced in the conduct of this war. On 21 March, the UK issued a Statement at the UN Security Council opposing any attempt to forcibly annex land in Gaza or expand settlements in the West Bank.
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, whether US-owned nuclear weapons are permitted to be stationed at RAF Lakenheath.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
It remains longstanding UK and NATO policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any given location.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will require the Financial Conduct Authority to consider access to banking services when carrying out local access to cash assessments.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 granted the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) the responsibility and powers to seek to ensure the reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. Under the FCA’s regime, LINK, the operator of the UK’s ATM network, is responsible for undertaking access to cash assessments. When a cash service such as a bank branch closes, or if LINK receives a request directly from a community, LINK assesses a community’s access to cash needs and can recommend a new service, such as a banking hub.
The criteria for access to cash assessments is a matter for LINK, the financial services sector and the FCA. We have no plans to change the criteria.
The FCA is required by law to keep its access to cash rules under review and is monitoring the impact of these rules on an ongoing basis to ensure they deliver the right outcomes for businesses and consumers.
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, if he will introduce a digitalised ID system for horses to (a) ensure effective enforcement of the ban on live exports for slaughter and (b) prevent illegal horse smuggling.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of the equine sector to the UK economy and of improving equine identification. We have no current plans to implement mandatory digital identification, but we remain in close touch with the industry.
Exporting livestock and horses from Great Britain for slaughter is banned under the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act 2024. We have put in place regulations to ensure that the ban is enforced robustly. The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Enforcement Regulations 2024 came into force on 1st January 2025 and provide a range of regulatory and enforcement powers to the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Local Authority Inspectors.
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 steps he is taking to ensure enforcement of the ban on live (a) horse and (b) other animal exports for slaughter.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises the importance of the equine sector to the UK economy and of improving equine identification. We have no current plans to implement mandatory digital identification, but we remain in close touch with the industry.
Exporting livestock and horses from Great Britain for slaughter is banned under the Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Act 2024. We have put in place regulations to ensure that the ban is enforced robustly. The Animal Welfare (Livestock Exports) Enforcement Regulations 2024 came into force on 1st January 2025 and provide a range of regulatory and enforcement powers to the Animal and Plant Health Agency and Local Authority Inspectors.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many Investment Fund for Scotland applications have been (a) received and (b) approved for each of the funds administered by (i) DSL Business Finance, (ii) FSE Group and (iii) Maeven; and what was the average time taken to consider a funding application by (A) DSL Business Finance, (B) FSE Group and (C) Maeven.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The £150 million Investment Fund for Scotland was launched in November 2023 and provides debt and equity finance to Scottish businesses. Similar funds are available in Wales, Northern Ireland, and three regions of England. As at November 2024, the Investment Fund for Scotland had provided over £10 million of finance to 26 businesses. Updated information will be published by September 2025. The British Business Bank does not publish information on numbers of applications received or hold information on time taken to review applications. All investment decisions are taken by the fund managers who analyse the application and complete due diligence.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much has been allocated from the Investment Fund for Scotland to businesses to date; and what estimate he has made of the amount that will be allocated in each year of the Fund's operation.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
A total of £150 million has been committed to the Investment Fund for Scotland. Three fund managers have been contracted to provide £110 million of this total in debt and equity finance to small businesses. The British Business Bank has retained the remaining £40 million in reserve, which will be allocated during the life of the fund depending on market conditions and fund performance. The funding has initially been split approximately 45% to equity and 55% to debt. The expectation is that the funding will be fully deployed during the first five years.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the Investment Fund for Scotland management fees paid to (a) DSL Business Finance, (b) FSE Group and (c) Maeven (i) to date and (ii) during the life of the Fund.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The British Business Bank routinely commissions independent evaluations of its programmes to quantify their impact and an overall assessment of performance and value for money. An interim evaluation of the Investment Fund for Scotland (IFS) programme is expected to be commissioned during the first five years of the Fund’s operation. Fees paid to individual managers is commercially sensitive information and therefore not able to be published.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether (a) she and (b) Ministers from her Department have met with insurance company Unum since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Andrew Western - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Details of ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK and can be found here(opens in a new tab).
There have been no meetings with Unum.