Scott Arthur MP: written questions
578 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Infected Blood Compensation Authority: ScotlandCabinet OfficeTabled 3 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28266More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the performance of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority in dealing with cases which involve the Scottish legal system.
Answer: I understand that the first group of claims included victims from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Claimants who live in Scotland can receive legal support from firms with particular expertise in Scots law, if they wish, and I have been assu...
Answered 11 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordInfected Blood Compensation Authority: Correspondence and Telephone ServicesCabinet OfficeTabled 3 Feb 2025AnsweredUIN 28265More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the performance of the Infected Blood Compensation Authority in dealing with (a) calls and (b) correspondence from potential claimants.
Answer: I am informed that in January, the Infected Blood Compensation Authority handled 709 calls and responded to 832 emails. The Authority is taking the approach of having single points of contact for claimants, and I was pleased to learn how this has fostered...
Answered 12 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordInvestment Trusts: TakeoversTreasuryTabled 31 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 27945More
Question: 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.
Answer: 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 Takeove...
Answered 6 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordKnives: SalesHome OfficeTabled 27 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26700More
Question: 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.
Answer: 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 wh...
Answered 4 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordDriver Information Systems: RegulationDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26646More
Question: 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.
Answer: 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 d...
Answered 4 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic TransportDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26643More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support Demand Responsive Transport.
Answer: 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 Se...
Answered 30 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCycling: DisadvantagedDepartment for TransportTabled 27 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26642More
Question: 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.
Answer: The Department welcomes the findings of this research and will consider its recommendations carefully as we develop our future plans for active travel.
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordXander IrvineDepartment for TransportTabled 24 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 26398More
Question: 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.
Answer: The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is considering the recommendations of the Fatal Accident Inquiry with the relevant medical advisory panel.
Answered 3 Feb 2025
Original Parliament recordXander IrvineDepartment for TransportTabled 22 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 25903More
Question: 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.
Answer: 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-inquirie...
Answered 29 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordCity Region Deals: EdinburghScotland OfficeTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24577More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the Edinburgh City Region Deal.
Answer: 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 pound...
Answered 23 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Expenditure: ScotlandTreasuryTabled 16 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 24576More
Question: 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.
Answer: 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 repo...
Answered 24 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordBusiness: Government AssistanceTreasuryTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21855More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to support (a) small and (b) large family owned businesses.
Answer: 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. ...
Answered 13 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordPrize Money: ResearchDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 3 Jan 2025AnsweredUIN 21854More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to publish the research her Department commissioned from London Economics on large scale commercial prize draws.
Answer: 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 considerati...
Answered 13 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordRobotics: IndustryDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 18 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 21211More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether robotics will have a role in a future industrial strategy.
Answer: 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-...
Answered 10 Jan 2025
Original Parliament recordSteiner Schools Foundation: VATTreasuryTabled 16 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 20390More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of VAT on Steiner School kindergartens.
Answer: 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 ...
Answered 20 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordFood: Manufacturing IndustriesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18004More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what place food manufacturing will have in the industrial strategy.
Answer: 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-...
Answered 12 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordFairtrade InitiativeDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 4 Dec 2024AnsweredUIN 18003More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether his trade strategy will support the aims of the Fairtrade movement.
Answer: 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.
Answered 19 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordLotteries: TaxationDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 27 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16654More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, 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.
Answer: 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 ...
Answered 6 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordPrize MoneyDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 27 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16653More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what her planned timetable is for publishing proposals on regulating large scale commercial prize draws.
Answer: 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...
Answered 6 Dec 2024
Original Parliament recordDriving Licences: Young PeopleDepartment for TransportTabled 25 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 16005More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing Graduated Driving Licences for young people.
Answer: 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.
Answered 28 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordOverseas Students: VisasDepartment for EducationTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14844More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, 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.
Answer: 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 stud...
Answered 29 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordOverseas Students: VisasDepartment for EducationTabled 18 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14843More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the causes of changes in the level of international student visa applications to UK universities in 2024.
Answer: 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 stud...
Answered 29 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordHeat Networks: Price CapsDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 13 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 14139More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish a timeline for making heat networks subject to the energy price cap.
Answer: 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 consumer...
Answered 21 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordMigrants: ScotlandHome OfficeTabled 8 Nov 2024AnsweredUIN 13289More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to take steps with the Scottish government to help tackle destitution experienced by migrants in Scotland.
Answer: 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 i...
Answered 18 Nov 2024
Original Parliament recordDreghorn Barracks: TenantsMinistry of DefenceTabled 30 Oct 2024AnsweredUIN 11961More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether plans to terminate tenancies of private sector tenants living in his Department's homes on the Dreghorn (Edinburgh) estate.
Answer: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has identified the Dreghorn (Edinburgh) estate as surplus to requirements. As a result, all private sector tenants will be given at least two months’ notice to vacate, in accordance with their tenancy agreements. There is cur...
Answered 6 Nov 2024
Original Parliament record
Published records only — not a full account of an MP’s work. How we work →