Scott Arthur MP: written questions
167 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Universal Credit: Individual Savings AccountsDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46426More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has considered exempting Lifetime ISAs from Universal Credit capital rules.
Answer: There are no plans to change the way savings held in a Lifetime ISA are treated in the assessment of Universal Credit. It is appropriate that means tested benefits, including Universal Credit, take all forms of savings into account. This includes investme...
Answered 23 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordUniversities: FinanceDepartment for EducationTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46425More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the Graduate route visa scheme on university finances.
Answer: The UK has a world-class higher education (HE) sector, with four universities in the world university rankings top 10, and 15 in the top 100, alongside a wide array of leading institutions which attract international students from around the world. The gr...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordVideo GamesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46424More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has considered reintroducing a skills investment fund dedicated to the games industry to help tackle skills shortages.
Answer: The Government is committed to the long term success of our world class games sector, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.£5.5 million in funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) has been annou...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordVideo Games: Tax AllowancesTreasuryTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46423More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the economic benefits generated by the (a) Video Games Tax Relief and (b) Video Games Expenditure Credit; and if she will take steps to reform tax incentives.
Answer: Video games companies benefit from the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC), which provides a generous tax credit of 34 per cent on UK video games development costs.A report published by the BFI in 2021 found that VGEC, previously known as the Video Game...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordVideo GamesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46422More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the UK video games industry remains a source of economic growth in the context of US tariffs.
Answer: The Government is committed to the long term success of our world class games sector, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.£5.5 million in funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) has been annou...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordVideo GamesDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46421More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support the (a) long-term growth and (b) international competitiveness of the video game industry.
Answer: The Government is committed to the long term success of our world class games sector, having identified the creative industries as one of eight priority sectors in the industrial strategy.£5.5 million in funding for the UK Games Fund (UKGF) has been annou...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordVisas: GraduatesHome OfficeTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46420More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information her Department holds on the proportion of applicants to the Graduate Visa scheme that are fraudulent.
Answer: The specific information requested is not held.
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish International Investment: FinanceForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46419More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he will consider reallocating proposed capital financing for British International Investment to aid spending.
Answer: All development funding, including for British International Investment, will be considered as part of the ongoing multi-year spending review and subsequent resource allocation round.
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordDevelopment Aid: Sustainable DevelopmentForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46418More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the planned reduction to ODA spending on the UK's commitment to the Agenda 2030 leaving-no-one- behind principle.
Answer: Reducing the overall size of our Official Development Assistance (ODA) budget will necessarily have an impact on the scale and shape of the work we do. Decisions on how the ODA budget will be used are being worked through as part of the ongoing Spending R...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordInternational Development: ReviewsForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46417More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Foreign Secretary launches expert reviews to strengthen UK’s global impact and expertise, published on 9 September 2
Answer: The reviews' reports take the form of unpublished independent advice to the Foreign Secretary. A decision on how best to communicate the independent reviews' findings will be taken in due course by the Foreign Secretary.
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Overseas Territories: CompaniesForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46416More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the progress made on the introduction of a publicly accessible register on beneficial ownership of businesses registered in their jurisdiction
Answer: At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to implement fully public registers by April 2025. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks ...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordBritish Overseas Territories: CompaniesForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46415More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterparts in (a) the British Virgin Islands and (b) the Cayman Islands on the introduction of public registers of beneficial ow
Answer: At the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) in November 2024, the Falkland Islands and Saint Helena committed to implement fully public registers by April 2025. The British Virgin Islands (BVI), Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Anguilla and Turks ...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordGraduates: VisasDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46414More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the graduate route visa scheme on levels of innovation.
Answer: The Government is committed to making the UK the destination of choice for top international talent, who have an important impact on innovation and entrepreneurship in the UK. Their impact is particularly noticeable in the UK’s leading startup ecosystem; ...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordGraduates: VisasHome OfficeTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46413More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the graduate route visa scheme on economic growth.
Answer: In May 2024 the Home Office published Analysis of migrants use of the Graduate route - GOV.UK which explores Graduate earnings and employment.This was published alongside The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) rapid review of the Graduate route: Graduate ...
Answered 29 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordVisas: GraduatesHome OfficeTabled 17 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 46412More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the graduate route visa scheme.
Answer: We keep all aspects of the immigration system under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordReserve Forces: Income TaxMinistry of DefenceTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44806More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to extend the Scottish Income Tax Mitigation scheme to reservists.
Answer: Only Regular Service personnel who are Scottish taxpayers are eligible to receive a payment under the terms of the Scottish Income Tax Mitigation scheme. This reflects the fact that Regular Service personnel cannot choose where they serve and so cannot ch...
Answered 23 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordAfrica: DebtsForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44805More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support African countries whose economies are affected by debt repayments.
Answer: Supporting all developing countries -including those in Africa - to tackle unsustainable debt is a key development priority of this government. We are working with all our partners to support sustainable debt and ensure all countries have the fiscal space...
Answered 8 May 2025
Original Parliament recordArtificial Intelligence: CopyrightDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44804More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he is taking steps to help protect authors who do not want their works to be used by AI models.
Answer: Copyright law already protects the rights of authors, who have several means of asserting their moral and economic rights. The Government published its consultation on Copyright and AI on 17 December 2024. This sought views on giving rights holders of cre...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordTax Avoidance: British Overseas TerritoriesTreasuryTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44803More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of trends in the level of tax avoidance associated with the Overseas Territories.
Answer: The inhabited Overseas Territories (OTs) are largely self-governing jurisdictions with democratically elected governments. In many OTs, responsibility for fiscal matters is devolved, including the determination of tax rates in line with international stan...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordTax Avoidance: British Overseas TerritoriesTreasuryTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44802More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to reduce tax avoidance associated with the Overseas Territories.
Answer: The inhabited Overseas Territories (OTs) are largely self-governing jurisdictions with democratically elected governments. In many OTs, responsibility for fiscal matters is devolved, including the determination of tax rates in line with international stan...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordMalawi: Education and HealthForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44801More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to the Official Development Assistance budget on (a) education and (b) health outcomes in Malawi.
Answer: The UK Government remains committed to working in partnership with Malawi, to support its development. Our current development assistance focuses on strengthening health systems, improving education outcomes, supporting economic development and climate re...
Answered 22 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordMalawi: ScotlandScotland OfficeTabled 7 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44800More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps he is taking to help strengthen links between Scotland and Malawi.
Answer: I recently hosted a Scotland-Malawi Partnership delegation as part of the wider events marking six decades of Malawian independence. The roundtable looked at ways of strengthening the already deep relationship between Scotland and Malawi.As you will know,...
Answered 28 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordSocial Security Benefits: Parkinson's DiseaseDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 3 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 44108More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's Green Paper entitled Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working, published on 18 March 2025, on peop
Answer: Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, and some information was published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found in ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get ...
Answered 11 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordSign Language: CurriculumDepartment for EducationTabled 2 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 43710More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has she made of the adequacy of the provision of British Sign Language teaching in schools.
Answer: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only. Schools may choose to offer British Sign Language (BSL) as part of their school curriculum, or as an extra-curricular activity. The government does not hold data o...
Answered 9 Apr 2025
Original Parliament recordPublic Sector: PublicityDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 27 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 42187More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has plans to make changes to the rules on public notices for small online news publishers.
Answer: Public notices are important for ensuring that the public is kept informed of decisions made by their council which may affect their quality of life, local services or amenities, or their property. The independent 2019 Cairncross Review into sustainable j...
Answered 4 Apr 2025
Original Parliament record
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