Lesley Laird

On 17^th April this year, the Advocate General for Scotland and I referred the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill to the Supreme Court for a decision on whether the Bill would be within the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament.

The hearing is due to take place in July 2018 and we are in the process of agreeing a timetable for filing written cases with the Scottish Government in accordance with directions from the Supreme Court.

The Cabinet Office does not hold this information centrally. Details of Ministers’ overseas travel and their meetings with external organisations are published quarterly and are available on GOV.UK.

Ministers and officials in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regularly discuss matters of mutual interest with their counterparts in the devolved administrations.

Ministers and officials in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy regularly discuss matters of mutual interest with their counterparts in the devolved administrations.

Officials have held seven meetings with the Mineworkers Pension Scheme Trustees during the last year, though none of these was specifically to discuss the surplus sharing agreement.

The Government takes both the protection of personal data and the right to privacy extremely seriously. Individuals and organisations responsible for some of the most serious data breaches are already liable to criminal prosecution under the Data Protection Act 2018. For example, people can be prosecuted if they unlawfully obtain, disclose or retain personal data; re-identify personal data that has been pseudonymised without lawful basis; or deliberately frustrate investigations by the Information Commissioner. Where criminal penalties are not available, the Commissioner can impose significant administrative penalties, including fines of up to 4% of global turnover or £18 million, whichever is higher.

The Government worked closely with the Information Commissioner throughout the passage of Data Protection Bill to strengthen and modernise our legislation. We will continue to work closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to ensure her enforcement powers remain fit for purpose to deal with increasingly complex investigations in our digital economy and society.

The directors of JPI Media Holdings Ltd are David Duggins, Dean Merritt, and John Ensall, none of whom have previously been directors of Johnston Press.

Defra has no specific policy responsibility for international efforts to end cosmetic testing on animals. The Home Office regulate the use of animals in science in the UK. The Office for Life Sciences has shared the UK’s own experience of introducing a ban on cosmetics testing on animals with other countries, including, most recently, China.

Nine billion plastic carrier bags have been taken out of circulation since the introduction of our 5p carrier bag charge in 2015. A beach clean survey in 2016 reported a 40% reduction in the number of plastic bags found since the charge was introduced. Furthermore, research published by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science in February has shown that there has been a decrease in the number of plastic bags found on the UK’s seabed. In March, we worked with two trade bodies to launch an industry led initiative to encourage their members to extend the carrier bag charge on a voluntary basis. This initiative will further reduce usage, and we will set out our next steps in due course to extend the charge further.

Single use plastic items make up a large part of marine litter and are frequently in the top 10 of items found during beach cleans. The Treasury is currently conducting a call for evidence seeking views on how the tax system or charges could reduce the waste from single use plastics.

We will introduce a deposit return scheme to increase recycling rates and reduce littering, subject to consultation later this year. We will also ban plastic straws, cotton buds and drink stirrers, subject to consultation and with exemption where use is required for medical reasons.

As marine litter is a transboundary problem we also work productively with other countries to address it, particularly through the Oslo and Paris Conventions for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR), G7, G20 and the UN Environment Programme. Through OSPAR we are working to develop and promote best practice in the fishing industry to address the issue of marine litter.

We published the Litter Strategy for England in April 2017, setting out our aim to clean up the country and deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering within a generation. The Litter Strategy brings together communities, businesses, charities and schools to bring about real change by focusing on three key themes: education and awareness; improving enforcement; and better cleaning and access to bins.

Tackling litter on land will help to reduce the amount of material (including plastic) reaching the marine area, where it is much more difficult to remove.

To reduce plastic waste in our seas, we recently introduced one of the world’s strongest bans on harmful microbeads in rinse-off personal care products. Action is also being taken to improve water infrastructure, which is an important pathway for contaminants, including microfibres, to the wider aquatic environment. £2 billion investment is planned by 2020 to improve sewage treatment works and collecting systems to limit polluting events.

We have announced a £200,000 research project which will focus on microplastics derived from tyres and clothing, how they enter the marine environment and the impact they have.

To remove litter already in UK seas we support schemes such as Fishing for Litter, which supply commercial fishermen with bags to dispose of marine sourced litter collected during normal fishing operations. Additionally, because lost or abandoned fishing gear can trap and harm marine life we support the Global Ghost Gear Initiative. The initiative is an alliance of the fishing industry, NGOs and Government agencies working to solve the problem of ghost gear.

We fund the Marine Conversation Society to carry out beach cleans and collect data. This helps us monitor the levels of plastic pollution, and the data is used in combination with other monitoring data to inform our decisions about how to address marine litter.

We have agreed in principle the terms of the UK’s smooth and orderly exit from the EU, as set out in the Withdrawal Agreement. While the chances of no deal have been reduced considerably, the government will continue to do the responsible thing and prepare for all eventualities, in case a final agreement cannot be reached. We have been clear from the start that the Devolved Administrations should be fully engaged in this process, as close cooperation between UK Government and the Devolved Administrations is essential to delivering an exit that works for all parts of the UK. The Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU) and the Cabinet Office continue to work closely with the Scottish Government and other UK Government departments to prepare for Exit.

UK Government departments have developed a wide number of plans to resolve operational issues in all scenarios across the whole of the UK, including Scotland, and are working closely with their counterparts in the Scottish Government as these plans develop.

I refer the Honourable Friend for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath to the answer I gave to the Member for Midlothian on 26 February 2019, UIN 224362.

EU Regulation 598/2014 establishes rules and procedures with regard to the introduction of noise-related operating restrictions at EU airports. This includes the appointment of a competent authority in relation to the operating restrictions.

A competent authority’s role relates to the operating restriction itself and is not bound by geography. The Government’s implementation of this Regulation for Scotland, The Airports (Noise-Related Operating Restrictions) (Scotland) Regulations 2019, laid before Parliament has been brought forward by the UK Government because this is a reserved matter in relation to Scotland. The Regulations designate Scottish Ministers as the competent authority for Scottish airports within the scope of the regulation.

The existing process is that drivers must renew their driving entitlement at the age of 70 and every three years after that. This provides a timely reminder to individuals to consider their health in the context of driving. To renew they must make a legal declaration that they can meet the standards and confirm whether they have any listed medical condition. Those who advise of a medical condition will be investigated and a driving licence will only be issued if they can meet the appropriate health standards.

The Department for Transport announced in June 2018 that it has identified older people as one of four priority road user groups which will be included in the forthcoming Road Safety Statement and action plan. The DVLA is working closely with the Department on this.

In October 2017 the Government published revised air navigation guidance to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the aviation industry. This guidance requires airspace change sponsors to consult with those who may be affected including airspace users and communities and to take their views into account when finalising their proposals.

A key requirement in the guidance is the need for sponsors following the Air Navigation Guidance 2017 to carry out a full assessment of the airspace options they are considering. This assessment takes into account the health effects of the proposals.

Under the new CAA airspace change process (CAP 1616) all relevant information is published on the CAA website. For proposals being considered under the old CAP 725 process, we have asked the CAA to ensure that the final proposals submitted to it for approval are also published on its website.

As agreed with CAA, any airspace change sponsor who had launched their public consultation on their proposal before 2 January 2018 is being assessed against the requirements of CAP725 and the Air Navigation Guidance 2014.

In October 2017 the Government published revised air navigation guidance to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the aviation industry. This guidance requires airspace change sponsors to consult with those who may be affected including airspace users and communities and to take their views into account when finalising their proposals.

A key requirement in the guidance is the need for sponsors following the Air Navigation Guidance 2017 to carry out a full assessment of the airspace options they are considering. This assessment takes into account the health effects of the proposals.

Under the new CAA airspace change process (CAP 1616) all relevant information is published on the CAA website. For proposals being considered under the old CAP 725 process, we have asked the CAA to ensure that the final proposals submitted to it for approval are also published on its website.

As agreed with CAA, any airspace change sponsor who had launched their public consultation on their proposal before 2 January 2018 is being assessed against the requirements of CAP725 and the Air Navigation Guidance 2014.

In October 2017 the Government published revised air navigation guidance to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the aviation industry. This guidance requires airspace change sponsors to consult with those who may be affected including airspace users and communities and to take their views into account when finalising their proposals.

A key requirement in the guidance is the need for sponsors following the Air Navigation Guidance 2017 to carry out a full assessment of the airspace options they are considering. This assessment takes into account the health effects of the proposals.

Under the new CAA airspace change process (CAP 1616) all relevant information is published on the CAA website. For proposals being considered under the old CAP 725 process, we have asked the CAA to ensure that the final proposals submitted to it for approval are also published on its website.

As agreed with CAA, any airspace change sponsor who had launched their public consultation on their proposal before 2 January 2018 is being assessed against the requirements of CAP725 and the Air Navigation Guidance 2014.

As a result of the Triple Lock, from April 2019, the full yearly amount of the basic State Pension is around £675 higher than if it had just been up-rated by earnings since April 2010. That’s a rise of over £1,600 in cash terms.

The Government is committed to ensuring economic security for people at every stage of their life, including during retirement. We are forecast to spend over £120 billion on benefits for pensioners in 2019/20. This includes £99 billion of expenditure on the State Pension.

In 2019/20, the basic State Pension and the new State Pension (apart from Protected Payments) were both uprated by 2.6%. This was in line with the Triple Lock guarantee that these will rise by the highest of average earnings growth, price inflation, or 2.5%. In 2019/20 the highest measure was earnings growth at 2.6%. The full basic State Pension went up by £3.25 to £129.20 a week whilst the full rate of the new State Pension rose by £4.25 to £168.60 a week.

Protected Payments, Additional State Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit elements are uprated each year by the increase in prices. They rose by 2.4% (CPI) in 2019/20.

The 25p age addition to contributory and non-contributory retirement pensions is paid with the State Pension when individuals reach age 80. It is a separate issue from the uprating process outlined above. When the age addition was first introduced in 1971 the value of the basic State Pension for a single person was £6 per week and the amount of 25p constituted a more substantial sum in relation to the total State Pension than it does nowadays in relation to the current basic State Pension of £129.20 a week.

Although there are no plans to uprate the age addition amount, this should be considered alongside the range of other measures and benefits, including Pension Credit, that are available to pensioners, over age 80. Moreover, people who are aged 80 and over receive a Winter Fuel Payment of £300, instead of the standard Winter Fuel Payment of £200 for pensioners below that age. Additionally, the non-contributory Category D State Pension is available to those aged over 80 with either no entitlement to a basic State Pension or who are entitled to State Pension of less than £77.45 per week who meet the residency conditions.

The Department currently has no plans to make this assessment. We do continue to evaluate Universal Credit as it is delivered. Research and analysis is conducted to assist and inform the evaluation and the expansion of Universal Credit, focusing specifically on the effects of Universal Credit on claimants’ behaviours and outcomes. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/universal-credit-evaluation-framework-2016.

Universal Credit spending will be £2 billion higher compared to the system it replaces, meaning on average £300 extra per year for a family on Universal Credit relative to the legacy system.

We have implemented a number of changes to help families on Universal Credit. For example, work allowance rates will be increased by £1000 from April 2019, directing additional support to some of the most vulnerable low paid working families.

Furthermore, New Burdens funding has been provided to local authorities to cover additional costs associated with rollout.

We have not made an assessment of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit in Scotland on provision of services for lone parents and disadvantage families by Local Authorities and third party sector organisations.

We are committed to helping parents into work. Childcare is essential in enabling parents to work, although we recognise that this can cause additional financial difficulty.

Universal Credit claimants are able to claim up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, compared to 70 per cent on the legacy system. People with an offer of paid work can also get childcare costs paid a month in advance.

On 11 January 2019, Secretary of State Rt. Hon Amber Rudd MP announced measures that will provide increased support for Universal Credit (UC) claimants. This included piloting a more flexible approach to claimants reporting childcare costs, which will allow people to be reimbursed for childcare even when they aren’t able to provide immediate evidence.

We have not made an assessment of the effect of the roll-out of universal credit in Fife on provision of services for lone parents and disadvantage families by Local Authorities and third party sector organisations.

We are committed to helping parents into work. Childcare is essential in enabling parents to work, although we recognise that this can cause additional financial difficulty.

Universal Credit claimants are able to claim up to 85 per cent of their childcare costs, compared to 70% on the legacy system. People with an offer of paid work can also get childcare costs paid a month in advance.

On 11 January 2019, Secretary of State Rt. Hon Amber Rudd MP announced measures that will provide increased support for Universal Credit (UC) claimants. This included piloting a more flexible approach to claimants reporting childcare costs, which will allow people to be reimbursed for childcare even when they aren’t able to provide immediate evidence.

The Johnston Press Pension Plan is currently in the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) assessment period, where it will be assessed whether the scheme’s funding level is sufficient to secure pensions to its members at least equal to the level of compensation the PPF would pay. If the scheme’s funding is not sufficient, then it will transfer into the PPF and compensation will be paid at 100 per cent for individuals over their scheme’s retirement age at the date of the insolvency, and 90 per cent of the member’s accrued benefits, subject to an overall cap for everyone else. Benefits accrued post 1997 will be linked to PPF indexation going forward.

There are around 5,000 pension scheme members who will be affected.

The Pensions Regulator and the PPF are working together with the administrators to understand the circumstances surrounding the sale and its implications for the Johnston Press Pension Plan.