Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will provide a breakdown of underspend in (a) his Department and (b) departmental arm's length bodies in this (i) financial year and (ii) spending review.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
A breakdown of the Department and its arm’s length bodies underspend in the current financial year and over the spending review are disclosed in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts:
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he plans to (a) implement and (b) cancel efficiency savings budgeted for by the previous Government for (i) his Department and (ii) departmental arm's length bodies; and what plans he has for further such efficiency savings.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
Decisions regarding budgets for this year were set in the last spending review and for future years will be a matter for the upcoming comprehensive spending review which my department is engaging in. The uncovering of £22bn of in-year hidden pressures has added to the strain on departmental budgets as set out by the Chancellor to parliament on 30 July.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made an assessment of the compatibility of the Common Travel Area with Schengen Area membership.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The UK, along with the other members of the Common Travel Area - Ireland and the Crown Dependencies are not signatories to the Schengen agreement. There are no plans to change this position and all members are committed to maintaining the Common Travel Area arrangements.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an estimate of the (a) number of people waiting and (b) the average waiting time to take a category F driving test in the Scottish Borders in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
As at 8 July 2022, there are 22 people waiting to take a category F (tractor) driving test in the Scottish Borders.
To accommodate the tractor testing manoeuvres, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) conducts category F tests at the closest, suitable location to the candidate’s home address. The DVSA allocates the most suitable examiner to do this. As the test does not take place at a DVSA test centre, the examiner needs time to travel to and from the meeting point for the test as well as the time to conduct the test itself.
The DVSA does not calculate an average waiting time for the category F test as the very low test demand and non-standard booking procedure for tractor tests could distort the waiting time, which would not be representative.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department will make an estimate of (a) the number of people waiting for and (b) the average waiting time to take a category B driving test at (a) Duns, (b) Hawick, (c) Galashiels, (d) Kelso, (e) Peebles and (f) Berwick-upon-Tweed driving test centres.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The table below shows the number of car (category B) tests that are booked at the following driving test centres (DTC).
| Duns DTC | Hawick DTC | Galashiels DTC | Kelso DTC | Peebles DTC | Berwick Upon Tweed DTC |
Number of car (category B) tests booked | 40 | 118 | 499 | 91 | 100 | 212 |
Average waiting time in weeks for a car (category B) test | 24 | 17 | 24 | 6 | 16 | 9 |
Driving test centre type | Remote | Remote | Permanent | Remote | Remote | Remote |
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has performance standards for clearance times for Personal Independence Payments.
Answered by Chloe Smith
There is no target for the completion of a claim to PIP through to the first payment. However, we are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all the available evidence, including that from the claimant, any supporting evidence supplied and the advice from an assessment.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assistance his Department is providing to Public Health Scotland on the outbreak of monkeypox.
Answered by Maggie Throup
Experts from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are working with Public Health Scotland to provide support in managing the case recently identified. The UKHSA is working with public health agencies in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to provide the latest scientific, clinical and public health advice on the management of cases and coordinate the response across the United Kingdom.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what criteria her Department uses to assess performance standards for average clearance times for new claims made under normal rules for Personal Independence Payments.
Answered by Chloe Smith
There is no target for the completion of a claim to PIP through to the first payment. However, we are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all the available evidence, including that from the claimant, any supporting evidence supplied and the advice from an assessment.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what targets his Department has set for standard waiting times for new claimants of PIP to receive their first payment.
Answered by Chloe Smith
There is no target for the completion of a claim to PIP through to the first payment. However, we are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all the available evidence, including that from the claimant, any supporting evidence supplied and the advice from an assessment.
Asked by: John Lamont (Conservative - Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Sport, what engagement her Department has had with the national football associations across the UK regarding a joint bid for the UEFA European Championships in 2028.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Financial Secretary (Treasury)
On Wednesday 23 March 2022, the five football associations of the UK and Ireland submitted a joint expression of interest to host the UEFA European Championships 2028. The UK Government supported this step and we believe that hosting EURO 2028 would be a fantastic opportunity for the whole of the UK and Ireland.
My officials have worked closely alongside the football associations, the government of Ireland and the Devolved Administrations throughout this process, and we will continue to engage closely as we develop our potential bid.