Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will review the adequacy her policy of not including Scotland for participation in her Department’s consultation titled Legislative proposals to address broadband rollout in leasehold flats.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The proposals in the consultation are based on leasehold law which is applicable in England and Wales but does not apply in Scotland.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 on Question 95787 on the Prime Minister, what is the estimated total departmental spend by his department to supporting the Minister for the Union in their role since the office was established.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Scotland Office does not provide any direct financial support to the Minister for the Union.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 on Question 95787 on the Prime Minister, what is the estimated total departmental spend by his department to supporting the Minister for the Union in their role since the office was established.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The title of Minister for the Union has been held by the Prime Minister since its creation in 2019. Responsibility for Union policy has sat across departments (including MHCLG) and currently sits within the Cabinet Office. The Department does not currently provide any direct financial support to the Minister for the Union.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 on Question 95787 on the Prime Minister, what is the estimated total departmental spend by her department to supporting the Minister for the Union in their role since the office was established.
Answered by Jo Stevens - Secretary of State for Wales
The Wales Office does not provide any direct financial support to the Minister for the Union.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 on Question 95787 on the Prime Minister, what is the estimated total departmental spend by his department to supporting the Minister for the Union in their role since the office was established.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As set out in our response from 4th December 2025, budgets are allocated to departments, rather than specific ministerial roles. Departmental expenditure can be reviewed in the Cabinet Office’s published Annual Report and Accounts.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 on Question 95787 on the Prime Minister, what is the estimated total departmental spend by his department to supporting the Minister for the Union in their role since the office was established.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland Office does not provide any direct financial support to the Minister for the Union.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the joint publication by the AI Security Institute and Thorn entitled Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention, published in December 2025, if she will make the recommendations mandatory for all AI developers to prevent the creation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government recognises the importance of tackling AI-generated CSAM. Creating, possessing, or distributing CSAM, including AI Generated CSAM, is illegal. The Online Safety Act requires services to proactively identify and remove this content. We are taking further action in the Crime and Policing Bill to criminalise CSAM image generators, and to ensure AI developers can directly test for and address vulnerabilities in their models which enable the production of CSAM.
The AISI / Thorn joint publication guidance (Recommended Practice for AI-G CSEA Prevention) sets out practical steps that AI developers, model hosting services and others in the AI ecosystem can take to reduce the risk that their systems are misused to generate CSAM. This guidance is informed by input from industry and child protection organisations, and many of the world’s leading AI developers (including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta) have signed up to the principles of earlier forms of this guidance.
The Government is clear: no option is off the table when it comes to protecting the online safety of users in the UK, and we will not hesitate to act where evidence suggests that further action is necessary.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the press release entitled Armed forces to launch ‘Gap Year’ scheme for young people to bolster skills and leadership, published on 27 December 2025, how many positions will be available in (a) Scotland and (b) Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The Armed Forces Foundation Year Scheme (‘gap year’) is a response to the Strategic Defence Review 2025’s recommendation that Defence must offer novel ways of entry into the Armed Forces that attract more people from a wider range of backgrounds; options included offering shorter commitments that appeal to more of society.
We anticipate that Foundation Year placements will be allocated to Defence locations based on the roles participants conduct. These details have not yet been finalised. There will be flexibility for the Services to provide the most appropriate employment, experiences and skills that offer most value to both participants and Defence.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how her Department has responded to aid requests from representatives of Palestine; and how much direct aid the UK Government has provided to Palestine since October 2023.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Data on Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend for the requested period is published in the Statistics on International Development on GOV.UK, including breakdowns by country and region. Further information and annual reviews on specific programmes can be found on GOV.UK's Development Tracker.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 4 December 2025 on Question 95783 on Visas: Scotland, whether she has received representations from Anas Sarwar MSP on the potential merits of introducing a Scottish visa since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
We have no plans to devolve immigration policy, introduce a Scottish visa scheme, nor to discuss such ideas further.
Previously suggested schemes would restrict movement and rights and create internal UK borders. Adding different rules for different locations would introduce complexity and create frictions where workers move locations.