Every parliamentary written question tabled by Scott Arthur this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 461–480 of 484 · this parliament
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.
The Department welcomes the findings of this research and will consider its recommendations carefully as we develop our future plans for active travel.
Whether she plans to limit the sale of kitchen knives to those with round tips.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is considering the recommendations of the Fatal Accident Inquiry with the relevant medical advisory panel.
Whether she has received a response from the DVLA to the Fatal Accident Inquiry into the death of Xander Irvine.
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/.
Whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the Edinburgh City Region Deal.
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.
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.
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.
Media and Sport, when she plans to publish the research her Department commissioned from London Economics on large scale commercial prize draws.
The Department is still considering the findings of the independent research, which looked at the size and nature of the prize draw market, as well as possible gambling harm associated with these products. This research is informing our policy considerations, as whilst not regulated as a gambling product under the Gambling Act, we want people who participate in large scale commercial prize draws to be confident that proportionate protections are in place. We will update Parliament further in due course.
What steps she is taking to support (a) small and (b) large family owned businesses.
At Autumn Budget, we published our Corporate Tax Roadmap, in which we are capping corporation tax at 25% as well as maintaining Small Profit Rate + marginal relief at their current rate + threshold, and maintaining the Annual Investment Allowance at £1m. As a result of commitments in the Corporate Tax Roadmap, 9 in 10 actively trading companies will have a Corporation Tax rate lower than 25%. The Government protected the smallest businesses from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by more than doubling the Employment Allowance to £10,500. The Government is also making sure family businesses will receive a very significant level of relief once changes to business property relief have been made, with the first £1 million of business assets continuing to receive 100% relief and then 50% thereafter. Despite the difficult fiscal inheritance, we have also been able to protect key business support programmes that can be accessed by all small and large family businesses, like the England-wide network of Growth Hubs. We are also allocating £250 million in 2025/26 for small business loans programmes, including Start Up Loans and the Growth Guarantee Scheme.
Whether robotics will have a role in a future industrial strategy.
The Industrial Strategy Green Paper identified eight growth-driving sectors. All sectors can shape and will benefit from policy reform through the Industrial Strategy’s cross-cutting policies alongside the broader Growth Mission. This will create the pro-business environment for all businesses to invest and employ, with growth that supports high-quality jobs and ensures that the benefits are shared across people, places, and generations. Advanced production machinery and robotics are central to increasing productivity across the manufacturing sector. The Made Smarter Adoption Programme is helping SME manufacturers adopt industrial digital technologies such as robotics and autonomous systems to increase their productivity and efficiency.
Whether she had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of VAT on Steiner School kindergartens.
The Government ran a technical consultation on the VAT policy for seven weeks from 29 July to 15 September. During the consultation period, my officials and I also held a series of meetings with stakeholders to complement written responses. This included written submissions from Steiner Schools. Following that consultation the Government made changes to the treatment of nursery classes, so that those attached to private schools will continue to be exempt from VAT as long as they are wholly (or almost wholly), rather than completely, composed of children under compulsory school age who wouldn’t be expected to turn compulsory school age that year. Classes where the vast majority of children are below compulsory school age will remain exempt from VAT. Where mixed classes have a high proportion of children over compulsory school age the Government believes it is fair to treat these classes the same way entire classes of children over compulsory school age are treated. This means that classes like “kindergarten classes” in Steiner schools will be within scope of this policy.
What place food manufacturing will have in the industrial strategy.
The Industrial Strategy Green Paper identified eight growth-driving sectors. All sectors can shape and will benefit from policy reform through the Industrial Strategy’s cross-cutting policies alongside the broader Growth Mission. This will create the pro-business environment for all businesses to invest and employ, with growth that supports high-quality jobs and ensures that the benefits are shared across people, places, and generations. The UK’s agriculture food and drink sector plays a significant part in the UK economy, with £146.7bn contribution to GVA and 4.2m jobs (13% UK total employment). Government is engaging with the food, drink and farming industries regularly on how the sector can grow and invest.
Whether his trade strategy will support the aims of the Fairtrade movement.
The UK Government is committed to advancing free and fair trade around that world that is inclusive, sustainable and reduces poverty.We remain committed to engaging civil society as we develop the new Trade Strategy.
Media and Sport, whether she has had recent representations on the potential merits of zero-rating society lotteries under any future statutory levy on gambling operators.
As set out in the Government’s response to the consultation on the statutory levy, we will introduce a statutory levy charged to all licensed gambling operators. Society lotteries will be charged the levy at the lowest rate of 0.1%, in recognition of the low rates of harm associated with participation in society lotteries and the important benefits they bring to good cause fundraising. The Gambling Act 2005 is clear that all licensees are in scope of the levy, but to minimise disruption this 0.1% will be charged as a proportion of proceeds retained after good causes.
Media and Sport, what her planned timetable is for publishing proposals on regulating large scale commercial prize draws.
Large scale commercial prize draws are a significant and growing market. Whilst not regulated as a gambling product under the Gambling Act, we want people who participate in large scale commercial prize draws to be confident that proportionate protections are in place. The department is grateful for the voluntary action taken so far by the sector to act transparently and apply player protection measures. We want to ensure high standards in this area and the Minister for Gambling will be meeting the sector to discuss this work.
If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing Graduated Driving Licences for young people.
Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads, and we are considering other measures to tackle this problem and protect young drivers.
What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes in the level of international student visa applications to UK universities in 2024 on the sector.
The latest Home Office data shows that there were 350,700 visa applications made by international students for a sponsored study visa between January and September 2024. This is 16% lower than between January and September 2023 when 417,000 sponsored study visas applications were made by international students.There are many factors that influence international students when they choose to study abroad. These may include the range and quality of available courses, the visa rules that apply in countries they are considering and the appeal of living and studying in those countries.The government recognises that international students enrich our university campuses, forge lifelong friendships with our domestic students and become global ambassadors for the UK, as well as making a significant economic contribution to the higher education (HE) sector and our country as a whole. It is for these reasons that the government offers international students the opportunity to remain in the UK on a graduate visa for two to three years after their studies come to an end.The department will continue to monitor available data and engage closely with the HE sector to assess the level of international student admissions to UK universities in the 2024/25 academic year.
What assessment she has made of the causes of changes in the level of international student visa applications to UK universities in 2024.
The latest Home Office data shows that there were 350,700 visa applications made by international students for a sponsored study visa between January and September 2024. This is 16% lower than between January and September 2023 when 417,000 sponsored study visas applications were made by international students.There are many factors that influence international students when they choose to study abroad. These may include the range and quality of available courses, the visa rules that apply in countries they are considering and the appeal of living and studying in those countries.The government recognises that international students enrich our university campuses, forge lifelong friendships with our domestic students and become global ambassadors for the UK, as well as making a significant economic contribution to the higher education (HE) sector and our country as a whole. It is for these reasons that the government offers international students the opportunity to remain in the UK on a graduate visa for two to three years after their studies come to an end.The department will continue to monitor available data and engage closely with the HE sector to assess the level of international student admissions to UK universities in the 2024/25 academic year.
If he will publish a timeline for making heat networks subject to the energy price cap.
Heat network suppliers commercially contract for the fuel that powers heat networks and so they are not subject to the domestic energy price cap. The Government is however, introducing heat network regulation in January 2026 which aims to provide consumers with comparable protections to existing gas and electricity regulations. The heat network regulator, Ofgem, will have powers to investigate and intervene where heat network prices charged to consumers appear to be disproportionate or unfair. Regulatory oversight will be supplemented by statutory redress through the Energy Ombudsman who will have the same powers to hear complaints and make legally binding decisions as they do in gas and electricity markets.
Whether she plans to take steps with the Scottish government to help tackle destitution experienced by migrants in Scotland.
Migrants with permission under certain family or private life routes can apply for ‘change of conditions’ support where they are destitute, at risk of imminent destitution or if there are reasons relating to the welfare of a relevant child.For all other immigration routes, if there are particularly compelling circumstances why leaving the UK is not possible, discretion can be used to consider if the circumstances justify provision of public support.Regardless of immigration status, local authorities are able to provide basic safety net support if it is established there is a risk to the wellbeing of a child or there is a genuine care need that does not arise solely from destitution.