Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department spent on special advisers in (a) 2021-22, (b) 2022-23 and (c) 2023-24.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Information on Special Adviser numbers and costs, including pay bands, is published annually in the Annual Report on Special Advisers as per the requirements of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Special Adviser staff costs are paid by the Cabinet Office and the Office reimburses the Cabinet Office for these costs via a budget cover transfer.
Other than salary costs, the Scotland Office has spent the following on special advisers in financial years 2020-21 to 2022-23 (to date).
Financial Year | Travel & Subsistence £ |
2020-21 | 28,336 |
2021-22 | 39,766 |
2022-23 (April to February 2023) | 47,370 |
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department has spent on public information campaigns to advise the public on Government policies in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-2024.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Departmental spend on public information campaigns for April 2022 to February 2023 was: £38,343.
The Department has not yet incurred any expenditure for public information campaigns for 2023/24.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department spent on communications staff in (a) 2022-23 and (b) 2023-24.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
Departmental spend on communications staff for April 2022 to February 2023 was: £1,123,199.
The Department has not yet incurred any expenditure on communications staff for 2023-24.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many Special Advisers his Department employs.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office has four Special Advisers.
It may be helpful for you to know that this information is publicly available and published annually in the Scotland Office Annual Report and Accounts. The most recent report is available here: Scotland Office Annual Report and Accounts 2021/22.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will establish a post of Permanent Secretary in his Department.
Answered by Alister Jack - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Scotland Office is headed up by a Director who is also the department's Accounting Officer.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
What assessment his Department has made of the effect of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on Scottish (a) importers and (b) exporters.
Answered by David Duguid
We have agreed a deal with the EU which delivers for Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Our deal provides Scottish businesses with exceptional access to the EU’s market - It is the first time the EU has ever agreed a zero tariffs, zero quota deal.
This provides the right conditions for the Scottish economy to recover from the Covid pandemic and flourish in the future.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with Ministers in the Scottish Government on the potential effect of the Government's immigration policies on Scotland's higher and further education sectors.
Answered by David Mundell
I am in contact with ministerial colleagues from the Home Office on a range of issues, including how we can continue to attract the brightest and the best students from overseas to study in Scotland.