Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of reducing the pension age of prison officers on levels of staff retention.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We have seen an improving picture on retention nationally – with resignation rates at their lowest level for four years for Band 3-5 prison officers.
We recognise that pension age is an important issue for frontline staff and our recognised trade unions. Ministers regularly engage with the POA and the Deputy Prime Minister is due to meet with the POA early in the new year.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent discussions the Government has had with Anas Sarwar MSP on the formulation of public policy.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Cabinet Office ministers have had no official government meetings on the formulation of policy with the leader of Labour in Scotland, Anas Sarwar MSP.
Ministers listen to a wide range of representations on policymaking, including those from Scottish Labour.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of retaining the freeze on Local Housing Allowance on older private renters in Scotland who are living in poverty.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State confirmed in his Written Statement (HCWS1101) that Local Housing Allowance rates will not be increased for 2026/27. He considered a range of factors, such as rental levels and impacts across Great Britain, including in Scotland, the wider fiscal context and UK government social security priorities.
For private renters who require additional support, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available from local authorities. DHPs have been fully devolved to Scotland who are responsible for the allocation and payment to Scottish local authorities.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue the UK Government anticipates it will obtain from the Sprits Excise Duty on Scotch Whisky, Energy Profits Levy and Agricultural Property Relief from Scotland by the end of this Parliament.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The ONS publish “Country and regional public sector finances revenue tables” which includes estimated breakdowns of revenue raised in Scotland from alcohol duty and Energy Profits Levy.
HMRC also publishes Inheritance Tax Liabilities statistics. Tables 12.8 and 12.9 break down the estimated number of taxpaying estates and tax paid by UK nation and region, as well as UK Parliamentary Constituency.
The OBR does not produce forecasts for tax receipts split by individual nations within the UK. Data is not collected on spirits duty paid on Scotch Whisky specifically. Information from estates making claims for Agricultural Property Relief from Inheritance Tax is not recorded to enable regional or national breakdowns.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92495 on Civil Servants: Disclosure of Information, what is the evidence basis for the Government’s view that an independent Office for the Whistleblower would (a) be duplicative and (b) what would this be duplicative of.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are well established whistleblowing processes in place across government. Individual government departments are responsible for determining and setting their whistleblowing arrangements and procedures. In addition, the Civil Service Commission is an independent body that can hear and determine concerns by civil servants that relate to the Civil Service Code, where it has already been raised formally under the Code with the relevant Department.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of Scotland's allocation under the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund on the development of the Scottish seafood sector's exports.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Funding for the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund is being allocated using the Barnett formula, in line with HM Treasury guidance. Each Devolved Government is responsible for determining how its share of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund supports its fishing and seafood sectors, including exports. Devolved Governments can choose to target investment in line with their local priorities and economic context.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 17 November 2025 to Question 906344 on Animal Experiments, whether she plans to enshrine the strategy targets into law.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s new strategy sets out our long-term vision for a world where the use of animals in science is eliminated in all but exceptional circumstances, achieved by creating a research and innovation system that drives the development and validation of alternative methods to using animals in science. The legal framework in the UK already requires that animals are only ever used in science where there are no validated alternatives available, and we are speeding up the development of alternative methods.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the strategy Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, if the preclinical translational models hub will be a physical institute; and what is the timetable to establish the translational models hub.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s strategy commits to create a preclinical translational models hub, supported by £30m of government funding, by the end of 2026. This will bring together data, AI, cell engineering, genomic technology and cutting-edge disease modelling capabilities to generate collaborative research at scale. This will create a pipeline of novel translational medicine models, with opportunities for partnerships across academia and industry. The hub is being developed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) in consultation with stakeholders and more details will be announced at a later date.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the strategy Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, if the £75 million funding announced to bring forward new testing methods is (i) additional funding or (ii) funded through reallocation from existing budgets.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government has committed to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods with £60 million of new funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology that has not been derived from reallocation of existing budgets. This includes £30 million to set up a translational hub and £30 million for the UK centre for the validation of alternative methods.
£11.4m has also been committed by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Innovate UK’s core budgets as part of routine prioritisation activities, and £4.5m from the Wellcome Trust which is non-Government funding, to advance human in vitro model development.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the strategy Replacing animals in science: A strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods, published on 11 November 2025, when the alternative method priorities list will be published; and if she will consult with animal welfare organisations in developing the alternative method priorities list.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government’s strategy to support replacing animals in science commits to publish biennially from 2026 a list of alternative-methods research and development priorities, coalescing UK scientists around these areas and incentivising partnerships between research organisations, CROs and industry. These priority areas will be developed collaboratively between academic institutions, industry trade associations, learned societies, the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research’s (NC3Rs) Regulatory Sciences Forum, the New Approaches to Chemical Risk Assessment in the Regulatory Space (NACRARs) Cross Government group and international partners.