David Duguid

The UK Government is committed to levelling up areas across the UK including north east Scotland. Aberdeen City Council has been awarded £20 million from the Levelling Up Fund. Projects in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire have also been allocated funding exceeding £1 million from the UK Community Renewal Fund.

The timetable for the Infected Blood Inquiry is a matter for the Chair of the independent statutory Inquiry, Sir Brian Langstaff. Sir Brian has publicly recognised the need to achieve a proper balance between speed and the need for thoroughness, and has made clear that the Inquiry will complete its work as quickly as a thorough examination of the facts allows.

The Government’s goal is to have a domestic nuclear market that maximises commercial opportunities in all parts of the UK including Scotland. The Government is committed to ensuring that all of the UK supply chain has the opportunity to compete for high-value contracts, that new nuclear developers share supply chain information with industry early, and to creating the right environment for UK companies to prepare to bid for these opportunities including Scotland. Companies from across the UK have an integral role to play in the creation of new nuclear power and the Government is focussed on supporting them to do so. Scotland has an excellent civil nuclear tradition, and the Government wants to see that continue.

The UK is a world leader in the deployment of offshore wind and development in Scottish waters, as supported through the Contracts for Difference Scheme and the Renewables Obligation Certificate. The Crown Estate Scotland’s recently announced “ScotWind” seabed leasing round, which released almost 25GW of additional capacity in Scottish waters, including 15GW of floating offshore wind. This places Scotland in a good position to continue benefitting from the growth of offshore wind into the 2030s and beyond.

To continue to capitalise on this booming sector, the Government is investing up to £160 million for new large-scale floating offshore wind ports and factories. This funding, boosted by private sector investment, will develop industrial capacity capable of mass-producing floating offshore wind turbines and installing them out at sea, creating thousands of new jobs in the UK’s industrial heartlands. This investment also presents huge opportunities for Scotland’s coastal communities as well as communities up and down the UK, and will build on Scotland's lead as a technology hub for offshore wind.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has commissioned a post-incident review into Storm Arwen to identify lessons and best practice for system resilience, consumer protection and additional response support. The terms of reference are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/storm-arwen-electricity-distribution-disruption-review.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy engaged with the Scottish and Welsh Government throughout Storm Arwen.

The Scottish and Welsh Governments, as members of the Energy Emergencies Executive Committee, will be engaged in the post-incident review of Storm Arwen that has been commissioned by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Ofcom is responsible for measuring 4G coverage and provides data at constituency level. Ofcom’s Connected Nations summer update report, shows that 44% of the Scottish landmass had 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile network operators (MNOs), with 81% from at least one operator. Comparatively, the UK has 69% coverage from all four MNOs, and 92% from at least one operator.

Scotland will benefit significantly from the £1 billion Shared Rural Network which will see 4G geographic coverage from all four operators rise to a minimum of 74% and coverage from at least one operator increase to 91%. On 29 June we released further details of how this world leading programme will benefit both the people who live and work in Scotland, and at a regional level across the UK.

According to data from the latest Ofcom Connected Nations report (Summer 2021), there are 6,753 premises that are unable to access superfast broadband speeds of 30Mbps in the constituency of Banff and Buchan. The latest data from Thinkbroadband shows that 85% of premises in Banff and Buchan can access superfast broadband (>30Mbps), up from 74% in October 2016.

Superfast broadband coverage across Scotland will be extended further through the ‘Reaching 100%’ (R100) programme. The first funding commitment from the UK Government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit was announced in the summer to enable upgrades to gigabit speeds for over 5,000 premises which were within scope for superfast coverage via R100. The government will continue to work with the Scottish Government to extend gigabit coverage as far as possible through Project Gigabit.

Communities and businesses in rural areas not in line for commercial coverage or government-funded projects to provide gigabit coverage are also eligible for immediate help with the costs of installing gigabit through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme as part of Project Gigabit.

Those premises unable to access speeds of at least 10Mbps are likely to be eligible for support via the Universal Service Obligation, which gives every eligible premises the legal right to request a decent, affordable broadband connection, providing download speeds of at least 10 Mbps and upload speeds of 1Mbps.

Ofcom is responsible for measuring 4G coverage and it does not currently report on 5G coverage. In Ofcom’s Connected Nations summer update report, published on 9 September 2021, 87% of the Banff and Buchan constituency had 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile network operators, and 99.4% of the constituency had 4G coverage from at least one.

The government has invested heavily in the Rest of Scotland project area, where the Banff and Buchan constituency sits, with £50 million of central government funding allocated. Superfast coverage in the constituency stands at 84.8%, up from 1.1% in 2012

Today, there is 84.8% 4G geographic coverage from all four mobile network operators in the Banff and Buchan constituency, with 99.3% from at least one mobile network operator.

This issue was discussed with the EU at the Trade Specialised Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, formed as part of the new Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the UK and EU, in September 2021. The conclusion was to hold technical talks on the EU’s prohibition, which are expected to take place during February. Given that our regime already aligns substantially with the EU’s, we will continue to challenge the European Commission to reconsider its position in line with its own regulations.

The Government has taken significant steps to ensure the UK can enforce its fishing rights. These include, with respect to England via the Marine Management Organisation, increasing the number of frontline warranted officers by 50% (35 people) for 2019/2020; putting in place a framework to increase aerial surveillance by a maximum of two surveillance aircraft as risk and intelligence demands; and chartering two additional commercial vessels to enable an increase in routine sea-based inspections to supplement provision from the Royal Navy Fisheries Protection Squadron.

Fisheries control and enforcement is a devolved matter. As such, it will continue to be for each Devolved Administration to decide how best to control and enforce its waters, and what new arrangements may be needed. We continue to work closely with the Devolved Administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to ensure a coordinated approach to fisheries control and enforcement across UK waters.

Our support for exporters is underpinning jobs and economic growth in the agriculture sector at this critical time. In November we launched a refreshed Export Strategy. The strategy is focused on tackling trade barriers, opening new markets, providing the services exporters need to compete in global markets and helping businesses maximise the opportunities generated by new free trade agreements. We support businesses through all stages of their export journey to Australia and other markets, including through our GREAT.gov.uk platform, our Export Academy, our new Export Support Service. We have dedicated agriculture, food and drink trade advisers in the UK and overseas in markets such as Australia to support businesses in taking up these services.

The Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) includes various instruments to protect British agricultural interests. Quotas on products such as beef set a maximum level for tariff-free imports for up to 10 years. Product specific safeguards for beef and lamb allow the UK to impose higher tariffs when imports exceed a certain threshold in years 10 to 15. On lamb, quota and safeguard volumes can be periodically reduced by 25% when fill rates are high. Additionally, a general bilateral safeguard mechanism allows for the temporary withdrawal of tariff preferences which will protect industry.

We are pleased that US Department of Agriculture is looking to remove their import restrictions on sheep meat. Restoring access to the US will provide a great opportunity for British producers, including those in Banff and Buchan, to export their high-quality product to a valuable new market that will increase in value as trade becomes more established.

Since 1988, successive Governments have voluntarily provided ex-gratia financial and non-financial support for people affected by HIV and/or hepatitis C through historic treatment with National Health Service-supplied blood or blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.

In 2017, country specific support schemes were set up in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, responsibility for these is devolved to the four nations.

We are working with our partners in the devolved nations and other relevant Government departments to improve parity of support across the United Kingdom.

The Infected Blood Inquiry chaired by Sir Brian Langstaff (a retired High Court Judge) and sponsored by Cabinet Office has been sitting since September 2018. So far, the inquiry has heard written and oral evidence from hundreds of those ‘infected and affected’.

The next session of the Inquiry will begin in February 2020, when it will hear from its own expert panel on the ‘psycho-social impact’ of infection and what followed for individuals. Evidence from ‘institutional’ witnesses such as from Government and the National Health Service is expected to be sought later this year.

The Government has made a comprehensive package of support available, worth billions, to a wide range of businesses that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes extensions to the reduced rate of VAT for tourism and hospitality, the furlough scheme, extensions to the COVID-19 loan schemes, grant support, a business rates holiday for all retail, hospitality, and leisure business properties, mortgage holidays, enhanced Time to Pay for taxes, and VAT deferrals.

As announced at Autumn Budget 2021, the duty rates on beer, cider, wine and spirits will be frozen for another year, saving consumers £3 billion over the next five years and supporting the hospitality industry and its suppliers as they recover from the pandemic. Due to the continued freeze on alcohol duty, Scotch whisky is also facing the lowest real-terms tax rate since 1918.

The Treasury has acted through its unprecedented coronavirus response to support small breweries, including through furlough, grants and allowing breweries to remain open throughout the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Treasury committed to reform Small Brewers Relief (SBR) to ensure it continued to support growth. Our review is ongoing, and we will publish our response to our technical consultation in due course.

As announced at Autumn Budget 2021, the duty rates on alcohol will be frozen for another year, saving consumers £3 billion over the coming years. This will save beer drinkers £900m and consumers 3p off a pint of beer. Since ending the beer duty escalator in 2013, compared to previous planned rises, consumers have saved 21p off a pint of beer.

Freeports will be national hubs for trade, innovation and commerce, regenerating communities across the UK attracting new businesses, spreading jobs, investment and opportunity to towns and cities up and down the country.

We remain committed to establishing at least one Freeport in Scotland and specific locations will be chosen in a fair, open and transparent allocation process.

The off-payroll working rules (commonly known as IR35) are designed to ensure that an individual who works like an employee, but through their own limited company, pays broadly the same Income Tax and National Insurance contributions as other employees. The rules do not apply to the self-employed or stop anyone working through their own company.

The Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) published in July 2019 sets out HMRC’s assessment that the reform to the off-payroll working rules is expected to affect 170,000 individuals; this is a UK-wide figure. The TIIN can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020/rules-for-off-payroll-working-from-april-2020.