Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many apprentices her Department recruited in 2025, compared to i) 2022 ii) 2023 and iii) 2024.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many apprentices his Department recruited in each year since 2022.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The table below includes both existing Ministry of Defence (MOD) Civil Servants who commenced an apprenticeship, and those Civil Servants recruited to the MOD as apprentices. It does not include Armed Forces apprenticeships.
Year | Apprentices |
2022 | 700 |
2023 | 802 |
2024 | 1,042 |
2025 | 1,063 |
2026 (to date) | 154 |
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many apprentices his Department recruited in 2025, compared to i) 2022 ii) 2023 and iii) 2024.
Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)
The Scotland Office has not recruited any apprentices in the requested timeframe.
We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across the civil service to break down barriers to opportunity. The Scotland Office considers the use of apprenticeships for all relevant recruitment campaigns.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on the potential impact of upcoming changes to the subscription contracts regime on local and regional news publishers and their ability to adopt digital first and sustainable business models, as referenced in the recent Local Media Strategy.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to ensuring a healthy and plural local media for the benefit of communities and citizens across the UK. We have launched a Local Media Action Plan to help local newsrooms across the country innovate and adapt their business models for the online world, while incentivising and encouraging the production of high quality, trustworthy news.
Local media already has a strong propensity to innovate and many local publishers are shifting towards digital subscription models in an effort to secure their financial sustainability. This is an understandable response to the financial pressures faced by the industry and a reflection of the significant costs involved in provision of high quality journalism.
The purpose of the subscriptions regime set out in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act is to protect consumers from being trapped in unwanted subscriptions. Government has consulted on how the regime will be implemented, and I have engaged alongside the Minister for Employment Rights and Consumer Protection with representatives from the news media sector and other DCMS stakeholders on this consultation. More broadly, DCMS continues to work closely with the Department for Business and Trade to reflect on the issues raised during the consultation and a Government Response will be published in due course.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many apprentices his Department recruited in each year since 2022.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice recruited the following number of new entrants directly into apprenticeship programmes in each year since 2022.
Time period | Number of new joiners through apprenticeship recruitment |
January 2022 – December 2022 | 2 |
January 2023 – December 2023 | 12 |
January 2024 – December 2024 | 15 |
January 2025 – December 2025 | 35 |
These figures relate to new joiners recruited via apprenticeship pathways and do not include existing employees who have undertaken apprenticeships as part of their development.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the European Convention on Human Rights on levels of illegal immigration.
Answered by Alex Norris - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are committed to the ECHR. But it must evolve to reflect modern challenges like mass migration and ability to protect the public. That is why we are working with international partners to modernise its application.
We will also tighten how Article 8 is applied at domestic level to prevent gaming of the system and ensure the public interest is given proper weight in immigration decisions.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what information his Department holds on whether the First Minister of Scotland discussed reserved matters with the Irish Leader of the Opposition on 27 November 2025.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
International affairs are reserved under the Scotland Act, and it is essential that the UK speaks with one voice overseas.
FCDO guidance on the overseas activity of devolved government ministers only covers ministerial-level engagement. Accordingly, UK Government officials were not involved in this meeting, and, therefore, hold no information on it.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
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 stakeholders in the agricultural sector on securing an SPS Agreement between the UK and the EU.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is currently negotiating a Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement to make agrifood trade with our biggest market cheaper and easier, cutting costs and removing trade barriers for British producers and retailers.
Officials and ministers in Defra are actively engaging with a wide range of industry representatives on this issue, as well as with counterparts in the devolved governments and relevant delivery bodies. Their expertise and insight have been invaluable in informing our approach to negotiations as we seek an agreement that benefits all parts of the UK.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that the implementation of a common UK–EU SPS agreement is compatible with the operation of the Precision Breeding Act.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra remains committed to implementing the Precision Breeding Act and enabling the safe development of innovative genetic technologies.
Under the UK-EU Common Understanding, it is recognised that there will be areas where the UK will retain its own rules. The detail of those areas is now part of ongoing negotiations. Throughout this process, the Government has been clear on the importance of maintaining the UK’s ability to regulate precision breeding in a way that supports innovation, gives farmers access to new tools, and upholds high standards of safety.
Asked by: John Cooper (Conservative - Dumfries and Galloway)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in the context of his Department's responsibility for devolution oversight and national security, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the Scottish Government’s Defence Sector Support Policy, set out to the Scottish Parliament on 3 September 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government recognises the vital contribution that the Scottish defence industry has for the national security of the UK, while also being a key driver of economic growth. This is illustrated by the £2.5 million that this Government is providing to the Welding Skills Centre in Glasgow, which is developing the future skills pipeline needed to deliver the UK’s nuclear deterrent. Along side this we are developing the Scotland Defence Growth Deal that will draw on a share of a £250 million investment fund to support defence industry across Scotland.
It is important that both UK and Scottish Governments, as per their respective responsibilities, have policies in place that supports the growth of the sector. We are liaising with Scottish Government and Scotland’s defence industry to understand the impact assessments that have been conducted on the Defence Sector Support Policy.