Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking to support the offshore decommissioning sector in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The decommissioning of offshore oil and gas and renewables infrastructure on the UK Continental Shelf will be increasingly prominent in the years ahead as assets reach the end of their lifespan. It is the Government’s ambition for the UK to capitalise on the sizeable market opportunity available on our doorstep (within the UKCS and the wider North Sea) and use this advantage to become a global centre of expertise for offshore decommissioning. Industry estimates that £15.2 billion will be spent on decommissioning oil and gas assets on the UKCS over the next decade, with the emerging global market worth $85 billion (£67 billion), in the same period.
To support this ambition, last year the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy published a call for evidence to identify what more should be done to further strengthen Scotland and the UK’s position as a global hub for decommissioning, examining our areas of expertise and the export potential of our services. The Government response to this call for evidence will be published in due course.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much additional testing capacity has been created by regional testing centres in Scotland.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The UK Government has opened regional testing centres at Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness, and will shortly open one in Perth. As at 28 April 2020, the UK Government’s overall daily testing capacity is over 73,000 and is increasing every day.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities on the adequacy of Government funding to respond to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
In addition to regular meetings between officials, my colleague the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Scotland Office (Douglas Ross) spoke with the President of COSLA, Councillor Alison Evison, on 14 April.
A range of issues were discussed, including the package of support that has been announced by the Chancellor and how this flows to Scotland through the Barnett formula.
The UK Government has committed £3.5 billion in additional funding to help cope with the covid-19 outbreak in Scotland.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the differences between the financial support available for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
I regularly attend a cross-government Economic and Business Response Group, which discusses how to minimise the impact of Covid-19 and ensure that the UK Government, working in collaboration with the Scottish Government, can best support businesses.
Local business support and grants are a devolved policy. However, as a result of the grants schemes which we have established in England, the Devolved Administrations have received around £2.3bn of additional funding via the Barnett formula.
Through the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund in England, the UK Government is providing eligible businesses in these sectors with grants depending on the rateable value of their properties. Eligible businesses in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of up to and including £15,000 will receive a grant of £10,000 per property. Eligible businesses in these sectors with a property that has a rateable value of over £15,000 and less than £51,000 will receive a grant of £25,000 per property. In Scotland, businesses can only claim the full grant for one property, and 75% of the grant for any others.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with banks on helping Scottish businesses to respond to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
My office and I have regular discussions on vital government support to Scottish businesses in light of the global Covid-19 crisis with a very wide range of Scottish stakeholders, including the key Scottish financial sector. The Chancellor is in regular contact with the banking industry to emphasise their importance in supporting businesses at this time.
Through our Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme and newly announced Bounce Back Loans Scheme, we’re lending businesses of all sizes the money they need to stay afloat. This week the British Business Bank has announced that it has approved four new lenders for accreditation under the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and more than 80% of the UK’s smaller businesses have a finance relationship with CBILS’ 52+ accredited lenders. These loans are an important part of the wide-ranging UK Government package of support the government has put in place to help UK businesses.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the National Farmers' Union Scotland in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
My Parliamentary Under Secretary, OSSS officials and I have extremely regular contact with the National Farmers Union, Scotland. I very much value this relationship and we will continue to work together to address the challenging issues that the farming sector in Scotland faces as a result of Covid-19.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent progress has been made with the Borderlands Growth Deal.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Heads of Terms for the Borderlands Growth Deal was agreed by all parties in the Borders on 1 July.
Since then, my officials have continued to engage with the Borderlands partners, including a meeting in Carlisle on 9 August to consider governance arrangements and a meeting in Edinburgh on 27 August with lead officers to discuss progress across all the themes.
On 11 September, officials are due to meet with the Scottish Government and Dumfries & Galloway Council to discuss the particular proposal for a Dairy Innovation Centre.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the value is of exports of goods and services from Scotland which are currently governed by WTO rules.
Answered by David Mundell
Official figures show that total international and rest of the UK exports in 2016 (excluding oil and gas) were estimated at £75.6 billion. Exports to the rest of the UK accounted for 61 per cent of this total (or £45.8bn) and international exports accounted for 39 per cent (or £29.8bn).
Both the European Union (EU) and the individual EU countries are members of the WTO. The EU has bilateral trade and investment relationships with a great number of countries, including Scotland’s top international export destination valued at £4.8bn, the USA.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment his Department has made of (a) how widespread social exclusion is in rural areas and (b) the effect of his Department’s policies on social exclusion in rural areas.
Answered by David Mundell
The main levers by which to address social exclusion in Scotland lie within the devolved competence of the Scottish parliament. However, my office regularly discuss these matters with other government departments, devolved bodies and stakeholders.
Additionally, the cross-government team on tackling loneliness are working with colleagues in the Devolved Administrations to ensure our work is complementary and to share insights and learn from one another.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the Borderlands growth deal.
Answered by David Mundell
I met with Keith Brown at the beginning of December where we discussed how both Governments can work together to deliver transformational and economic change across the Borderlands and hope to meet with him again soon.