Graham Leadbitter

Travel requirements can differ for British golfers and other professional sportspeople across Europe. For instance, as UK nationals, British golfers are able to travel visa-free to the Schengen Area for short-term visits (up to 90 days in any rolling 180-day period) to compete in events.

Professional golfers undertaking paid work in any country they are visiting should check the entry requirements and rules for that country, in case they need to apply for a visa, work permit, or provide other documentation.

The Hon Member was issued with a response on 26th March.

The UK Government supports the video games sector across the UK, including in Scotland, through the video games tax relief and the Dundee-based UK Games Fund.

DCMS estimates the UK video games sector generated £3.7bn in GVA in 2021, £2.1bn in 2022, and £2bn in 2023, expressed in 2022 prices accounting for inflation. While these figures have declined since 2021, this is largely due to unprecedented demand during the Covid-19 pandemic, and represents over 300% growth in GVA since 2014. We recognise that due to existing Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code structures, this figure may not fully reflect the sector’s value.

A breakdown of these figures for Scotland is not available. Culture, including video games, is a devolved matter.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the independent body responsible for regulating advertising in the UK across traditional forms of media (print, radio, TV) and online. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP), sister organisations of the ASA, are responsible for codifying the standards for advertising to the marketing industry as part of their CAP and BCAP Codes. The government is not involved in these codes, nor in the investigations and enforcement delivered by the ASA.

However, as part of the Gambling Commission’s licence conditions, gambling operators who advertise in the UK must comply with the advertising Codes. The ASA has the power to take action where there is evidence of advertising in breach of the Codes, wherever it appears, and the ASA can and does refer operators’ advertising to the Gambling Commission for possible regulatory action.

For too long, plastic has littered our ocean and threatened our wildlife. We urgently need an ambitious and effective international agreement to end plastic pollution by 2040.

The UK has been a leading voice in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee and as a founding member of the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution (HAC), the United Kingdom is committed to achieving an ambitious treaty.

Negotiations will resume in August with the aim of concluding negotiations on a new treaty. The UK is working with other countries, including allies in the High Ambition Coalition to achieve this.

The Government is committed to reaching agreement on an ambitious and effective treaty to end plastic pollution when negotiations resume in August 2025 and will be working closely with a range of countries both within the High Ambition Coalition and outside it to achieve this.

The UK is committed to an open, transparent and inclusive approach to negotiations to ensure that all have equal opportunity for their views to be heard.

The UK Government, at all stages of the INC process, has made it a priority to engage with a broad range of stakeholders. We partnered with the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network to run the UK Treaty Dialogues ahead of each round of negotiations. These brought together stakeholders from across the plastics value chain, including trade associations representing fossil fuel and petrochemical industries, but also academia, eNGOs and other civil society organisations.

This Government is committed to moving to a circular economy for plastics – a future where we keep our resources in use for longer, waste is reduced, we accelerate the path to net zero, we see investment in critical infrastructure and green jobs, our economy prospers, and nature thrives. We will publish proposals for the first ever Circular Economy Strategy for England this autumn. It will include a series of roadmaps detailing the interventions that the government and others will make on a sector-by-sector basis. One of the six sectors we will start with is the chemicals and plastics sector. As a part of the transition to a circular economy, managing and reducing plastic waste will be crucial. This will build upon the existing Collection and Packaging Reforms (CPR) programme which is central to the Government’s mission to minimise waste, promote resource efficiency and move towards a more circular economy.

We will continue to review the latest evidence on problematic products and/or materials to take a systematic approach, in line with circular economy principles, to reduce the use of unnecessary single-use plastic products and encourage reuse solutions.

For all pesticides, there are legal requirements to store the product securely and dispose safely of any surplus. It is illegal to use or store any plant protection product (pesticide) that is no longer authorised. Professional users in possession of unauthorised plant protection products should contact an authorised business to dispose of them. While there are currently no specific government schemes for the disposal of banned pesticides, guidance for businesses needing to dispose of hazardous waste such as pesticides can be found on gov.uk. Amateur users should contact their local Civic Amenity site and ask them for guidance on disposal.

The Irish Whiskey Association, representing 95% of Irish Whiskey producers across the island of Ireland, report that Irish Whiskey exports exceeded €1billion in 2024 and reached 114 markets around the world.

Irish Whiskey produced in Northern Ireland is an important part of that economic impact. The oldest Irish Whiskey distillery in NI, Bushmills, reported a 9.7% rise in volume sales in 2022, reaching 1 million nine-litre cases for the first time. In 2024 the newest Irish Whiskey distillery in NI, McConnell’s, opened its £12m distillery in Belfast which is expected to produce half a million litres of alcohol and attract 100,000 visitors annually.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s (DVSA) main priority is upholding road safety standards while it works hard to reduce car practical driving test waiting times.

There are two driving test centres (DTCs) in the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency, which are Elgin, and Grantown on Spey.

As of August 2025, the average waiting time in weeks for Elgin was 19.5 weeks, and for Grantown on Spey 21.8 weeks.

On the 23 April, the Secretary of State for Transport appeared before the Transport Select Committee and announced that DVSA will take further actions to reduce driving test waiting times across the country.

Further information on these actions and progress on the DVSA’s plan, which was set out last year, can be found on GOV.UK.

DVSA continues to run recruitment campaigns for new driving examiners (DE).

From recent recruitment in Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, DVSA has had one new DE begin in Elgin. From the most recent campaign, two potential new DEs are at the employment offer stage of the process.

Road vehicle lighting is governed by combination of national and international regulations. As per the advice in the Highway Code drivers must use appropriate vehicle lighting for the prevailing conditions and should ensure that they are familiar with the operation of all vehicle controls.

No assessment has been made of the merits of a public information campaign to support the correct use of daytime running lamps.

The Department for Transport continues to review all policy options that may support the continued rollout of public electric vehicle chargepoints. This includes reviewing the potential for inclusion of electricity in the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation.

The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles engages regularly with devolved governments, local authorities and regional transport partnerships on a range of issues related to improving electric vehicle charging. This includes work through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund which is supporting local authorities to scale up local EV charging provision across England. Support includes £381m of funding, one-to-one guidance, regional workshops and an online knowledge repository to share practice. This is in addition to a dedicated electric vehicle training course, completed by over 150 local authority officers to date.

The Department for Transport engages regularly with Distribution Network Operators, and with National Grid, on work related to accelerating the delivery of electric vehicle (EV) charging. This includes discussions on power capacity, grid infrastructure, and standardisation required to meet growing demand for EV charging.

In December 2024, the Government published the outcome of a review on improving the grid connection process for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. In March, I met with Distribution Network Operators and other industry groups to understand industry’s perspective on improving EV charging on the Strategic Road Network (England’s motorways and major A roads).