Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the Edinburgh City Region Deal.

Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland

The Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal is an exemplar of strength in both delivery and impact, and provides the greatest return on investment of any city region or growth deal in Scotland.

The Deal has thus far delivered £2.2 billion pounds of gross value add to the Scottish and UK economy, from £600 million of Government Investment. The Deal is exceeding targets at every turn, with over 336,000 skills improvements engagements delivered through the award winning Integrated Regional Employability and Skills programme, and £200m of research funding secured for the Data Driven Innovation programme. It has also supported ongoing positive collaboration between six local authorities across the region.

I am confident this Deal will continue to build on its own successes to deliver a more prosperous region and UK.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an estimate of the Barnett consequential funding for Scotland associated with investment in filling potholes in England's roads and footpaths.

Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Block Grant Transparency publication breaks down all changes in the devolved governments’ block grant funding from the 2015 Spending Review up to and including Main Estimates 2023-24. The most recent report was published in July 2023 and the next report will be published in due course.

Barnett-based funding is not ringfenced for any one policy area and it is for the Scottish Government to allocate this funding in devolved areas as they see fit. They can therefore take their own decisions on managing and investing available resources, reflecting their own priorities and local circumstances, and they are accountable to the Scottish Parliament for these decisions.

The Scottish Government’s budget is growing in real terms in 2025-26 and its settlement for 2025-26 is the largest settlement in real terms of any Scottish Government settlement since devolution.  The Scottish Government is receiving at least 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK. That translates into over £8.5 billion more in 2025-26.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing the recommendations of the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death of Alexander Irvine, published on 18 October 2024.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is considering the recommendations of the Fatal Accident Inquiry with the relevant medical advisory panel.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has received a response from the DVLA to the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death of Xander Irvine.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency has responded to the Determination following the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death of Xander Irvine. This response can be viewed in full at www.scotcourts.gov.uk/fatal-accident-inquiries/fatal-accident-inquiries-and-determinations/fai-alexander-irvine-response/.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the report entitled The cycling opportunity by Sustrans, published in September 2024.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department welcomes the findings of this research and will consider its recommendations carefully as we develop our future plans for active travel.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support Demand Responsive Transport.

Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The government believes demand responsive transport (DRT) has an important role to play in ensuring communities can access transport services in areas where more traditional, regular stopping services may not be viable.

The government introduced the Bus Services (No.2) Bill on 17 December. The Bill puts the power over local bus services back in the hands of local leaders right across England and is intended to ensure bus services reflect the needs of the communities that rely on them.

We have allocated over £955 million to help support and improve bus services in 2025/26, including £712 million for local transport authorities (LTAs). LTAs can use funding to introduce DRT services in their areas where they believe it is appropriate to do so and will improve service provision.

The Department is supporting DRT trials, funded through the Rural Mobility Fund, and is monitoring their impact. The results of this work will help inform future DRT schemes that local authorities might want to pursue.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing regulations on the replacement of windscreens on cars and other road vehicles equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

All drivers are responsible for keeping their vehicles in a roadworthy condition at all times. The annual MOT test for cars over 3 years old inspects safety-critical components. Servicing is not directly regulated, and vehicle owners have the freedom to decide how their vehicle’s roadworthiness is maintained. However, it is recommended that, if your windscreen is replaced and your vehicle has Advanced Driver Assistance Sytems (ADAS), you use a trained expert who can ensure that those systems are correctly calibrated afterwards.

Department for Transport officials have been considering how Advanced Driver Assistance Systems could be tested at the MOT, including through calibration, and officials have consulted with experts to better understand what technology is available and how such a test could work. This information gathering is ongoing and, once proposals are ready, ministers will consider the practicality and effectiveness of any measures before a decision is made.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to limit the sale of kitchen knives to those with round tips.

Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)

Nothing is off the table when it comes to tackling the scourge of serious violence and saving young lives, and we always keep the law and practice in this area under close review.

We are taking action to tackle the illegal sale of knives online which is why last October, the Home Secretary commissioned Commander Stephen Clayman, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for knife crime, to carry out a comprehensive review into the online sale and delivery of knives.

We have already announced that the Government intends to strengthen age verification controls and checks for all online sellers of knives at the point of purchase and on delivery, and the Government will set out next steps for strengthening the controls and processes around the online sale and delivery of knives in due course.

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking to encourage the Scottish Government to support Edinburgh's financial sector.

Answered by Kirsty McNeill - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

Promoting economic growth is one of the Scotland Office’s priorities and I am proud of the contribution of the financial services industry to the Scottish economy, with recent figures showing it is now worth £14.8 billion in GVA while directly supporting 148,000 jobs. Edinburgh makes up a sizeable proportion of Scotland’s overall financial and related professional services industry, employing 57,290 people.

To build on this sectoral success the UK government is developing a long-overdue industrial strategy, with financial services one of the priority sectors. This will ensure that the sector in his constituency is key to attracting investment and help support businesses in Scotland and across the UK.

The Secretary of State meets monthly with the Deputy First Minister to discuss a wide range of shared economic growth priorities.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department is taking steps to help protect the interests of shareholders in investment trusts that are subject to hostile takeovers by overseas entities.

Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)

Listed companies such as listed investment trusts are subject to substantial corporate governance and shareholder protection requirements.

This includes fair treatment and orderly takeover requirements under the Takeover Code, which the independent Takeover Panel oversees. The Takeover Code applies where a person or company acquires 30% or more of voting rights in a company and ensures that all shareholders are afforded equivalent treatment.

More broadly, under the Companies Act 2006, shareholders must approve any resolutions circulated by a company, or by any individual shareholder or group of shareholders of that company, including proposed changes to company boards.

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Dr Scott Arthur; Catherine

Found: Watch the meeting Members present: Ruth Cadbury (Chair); Steff Aquarone; Dr Scott Arthur; Catherine

Found: Begum John Grady Naz Shah Mr James Frith Ms Polly Billington Darren Paffey Helen Hayes Dr Scott Arthur

Found: Begum John Grady Naz Shah Mr James Frith Ms Polly Billington Darren Paffey Helen Hayes Dr Scott Arthur

Found: Begum John Grady Naz Shah Mr James Frith Ms Polly Billington Darren Paffey Helen Hayes Dr Scott Arthur

Found: Apsana Begum John Grady Mr James Frith Ms Polly Billington Darren Paffey Helen Hayes Dr Scott Arthur

Found: Apsana Begum John Grady Mr James Frith Ms Polly Billington Darren Paffey Helen Hayes Dr Scott Arthur

Found: Apsana Begum John Grady Mr James Frith Ms Polly Billington Darren Paffey Helen Hayes Dr Scott Arthur

Found: Blair McDougall Apsana Begum Mr James Frith Ms Polly Billington Darren Paffey Helen Hayes Dr Scott Arthur

Found: MSPScottish Languages Bill2024-09-26 00:00:00Meeting / with MPTracy Gilbert MP, Chris Murray MP, Scott Arthur

Found: Councillor Steven Rome (SR) Ewan Macnaughton (EM) City of Edinburgh Council Councillor Scott Arthur