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 estimate she mas made of the number of women born in the 1950s who have died since the publication entitled Government response to PHSO’s Investigation into Women’s State Pension age, published on 17 December 2024.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department has made no assessment.
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, whether she plans to establish an alternative disputes resolution process for people affected by changes in state pension age for women.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We have no such plans.
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, pursuant to the Answer of 27 May 2025 to Question 53765 on Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund, whether he has held discussions with his counterpart in the Scottish government on this fund.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Fishing & Coastal Growth Fund will be investing £360 million over the next 12 years. Ministers are committed to working closely with the industry and local communities in order to ensure investment is targeted to where it is needed most. As part of that planned engagement we will work closely with Devolved Governments. We will look to provide more details on the fund, including devolution, at the earliest possible opportunity.
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 funding his Department is allocating to Darwin Plus grants; and whether this funding has changed since the Spending Review 2025.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra is continuing to support the UK Overseas Territories through Darwin Plus. This includes bringing the new biodiversity strategy to publication thereby improving the reach and effectiveness of not just the programme but also wider efforts to improve and protect biodiversity across the territories.
Following the Spending Review, the department has secured a multi-year funding commitment from HM Treasury. Whilst decisions have yet to be made in respect of the totality of future funding available to Darwin Plus, the department will continue to engage closely with stakeholders to ensure transparency and to support continuity wherever possible.
The department will provide updates in the usual way as soon as they are available.
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, if she will issue guidance on how disabled people can maintain their national insurance contributions needed to qualify for full state pension if (a) their household income is above the Universal Credit threshold due to a partner’s income and (b) they can only claim the replacement for new style Employment and Support Allowance for 6-12 months.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
As part of the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper published in March 2025 we are consulting on establishing a new “Unemployment Insurance” benefit through the reform of contributory working-age benefits. Unemployment Insurance would be a new non-means tested entitlement for people who have contributed into the system and replace existing NS JSA and NS ESA. Policy on the new Unemployment Insurance is being developed, and we will be considering the detailed contributory related entitlement conditions with further detail to be published in a White Paper in Autumn.
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Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of proposed reductions in Personal Independence Payment on Scotland’s Block Grant.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
In Scotland, Adult Disability Payment, a devolved benefit, replaced Personal Independence Payment.
Individual block grant adjustments linked to individual policy decisions will be published in due course.
The Spending Review set a three year envelope and guarantees that the block grant will be at least £52 billion by 2029, with an additional £9.1 billion in Barnet consequentials over that time period.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the reduction in spend on Carers Allowance on Scotland’s Block Grant.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
In Scotland, Carers Allowance is a devolved benefit.
Individual block grant adjustments linked to individual policy decisions will be published in due course.
The Spending Review set a three year envelope and guarantees that the block grant will be at least £52 billion by 2029, with an additional £9.1 billion in Barnet consequentials over that time period.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the proposed disability benefit reforms on claimants in Scotland.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
Universal Credit is a reserved matter in Scotland, so the changes to Universal Credit will apply in Scotland. Personal Independent Payment (PIP) is an extra costs disability benefit and is a devolved matter in Scotland. By the time the Personal Independence Payment changes come into effect, PIP will have been fully replaced by the Scottish Government’s Adult Disability Payment. The changes to PIP eligibility therefore will not apply in Scotland.
The interactions between the reserved and devolved systems in Scotland will need to be considered before these reforms are implemented and officials are already engaging on this. DWP has engaged with the Scottish Government on the reforms set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper, at both an official and Ministerial level. They will continue to work closely as they develop detailed proposals for the White Paper.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Scotland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice to ensure that changes for claimants who depend on both reserved and devolved social security are understood.
Answered by Ian Murray - Secretary of State for Scotland
UK Government Ministers regularly meet with their Scottish government counterparts to discuss social security and claimants. Scotland Office Ministers also attend the Joint Ministerial Working Group on Welfare, alongside Ministers from the Department of Work and Pensions and Scottish Government Ministers. The most recent meeting was held on 18 June 2025.
The Pathways to Work Green Paper states that interactions between the reserved and devolved systems in Scotland will need to be considered before reforms are implemented. Officials are already engaging on this.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if the National Wealth Fund will deliver £1.8 billion in ring-fenced funding for UK ports; and how much will be allocated to ports in (a) Peterhead and (b) Fraserburgh.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The National Wealth Fund will commit at least £5.8 billion over this Parliament to green hydrogen, carbon capture, ports, gigafactories and green steel sub-sectors. The National Wealth Fund’s Strategic Plan will set out where and how the NWF can deploy its capital within these sectors.
The National Wealth Fund is operationally independent, including when making investment decisions. Like all proposals, any investment made into the ports sector will be subject to the investment satisfying the National Wealth Fund’s normal requirements for investable proposals.