Scott Arthur MP: written questions 2026
229 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Financial Services: Visual ImpairmentTreasuryTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119668More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she plans to ensure the representation of blind and partially sighted people on the (a) Identification and Verification Working Group and (b) Inclusive Design Working Group.
Answer: In November, I published the Government’s Financial Inclusion Strategy which sets out a range of ambitious measures for government and industry to improve financial inclusion for underserved groups across the UK. As part of its focus on inclusive design, ...
Answered 18 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFinancial Services: Visual ImpairmentTreasuryTabled 10 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 119667More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that financial services provided through banking hubs and the Post Office are accessible and inclusive for blind and partially sighted people.
Answer: The Government is committed to ensuring high standards of financial inclusion across the financial services sector, including the accessibility of services for blind and partially sighted customers.Financial services provided through banking hubs and the ...
Answered 18 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBroadcasting: Scots Gaelic LanguageDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 4 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118032More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential audience for Gaelic-language broadcasting among the global Gaelic diaspora.
Answer: The Government recognises the valuable contribution that providers of minority language broadcasting have in our society and the preservation of our national heritage. The Media Act 2024 makes clear in legislation the importance of programmes broadcast in...
Answered 9 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBBC: Scots Gaelic LanguageDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 4 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118031More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that Gaelic-language services are given clear and equivalent visibility alongside other UK national language services on BBC digital platforms.
Answer: The Government recognises the valuable contribution that providers of minority language broadcasting have in our society and the preservation of our national heritage. The Media Act 2024 makes clear in legislation the importance of programmes broadcast in...
Answered 9 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPublic Service Broadcasting: FinanceDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 4 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118030More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the level of the funding gap between the BBC, ALBA and S4C; and whether she plans to take steps to address disparities in long-term funding security between Gaelic
Answer: The Government recognises the valuable contribution that providers of minority language broadcasting have in our society and the preservation of our national heritage. The Media Act 2024 makes clear in legislation the importance of programmes broadcast in...
Answered 9 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordGambling: RegulationDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 4 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 118029More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of current regulatory requirements on gambling operators to carry out due diligence in verifying the source of funds when accepting customer deposits;
Answer: The Gambling Commission has a duty to ensure that the necessary controls are in place to prevent gambling businesses being used for illicit purposes.As part of the Operator’s Gambling Licence in Great Britain under the Condition of the Licence Conditions ...
Answered 12 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordIran: DemonstrationsForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 3 Mar 2026AnsweredUIN 117547More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what plans the Government has to work with the British Iranian community to create a memorial to those killed in Iran during protests on the 8th and 9th of January 2026.
Answer: As I made clear in my statements to the House at the time, I have the greatest respect for the courage of those Iranians who peacefully exercised their right to protest around the turn of the year, and the greatest sympathy for the friends and families of...
Answered 11 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordMuseums and Galleries: EdinburghDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled 26 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116403More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if her Department will provide support to The Art Works facility in Granton.
Answer: Arts and culture in Scotland is a devolved matter.The UK Government provides the Scottish Government with a settlement through the Barnett Formula which they can spend on cultural activities and priorities across Scotland. The Scottish Government also has...
Answered 4 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordNational Insurance ContributionsTreasuryTabled 26 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116310More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an estimate of the potential impact on the revenue differential to the Treasury if Class 1 National Insurance Contributions calculations matched those of income tax.
Answer: This would be a significant change, as National Insurance contributions (NICs) and Income Tax work quite differently at present.NICs are charged on earnings on a per-employment, per-pay period basis, whereas Income Tax is an annual tax, and takes into acc...
Answered 6 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordIncome Tax and National Insurance ContributionsTreasuryTabled 25 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 116056More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of aligning National Insurance Contributions (NICs) earnings periods with those of income tax.
Answer: This would be a significant change, as National Insurance contributions (NICs) and Income Tax work quite differently at present.NICs are charged on earnings on a per-employment, per-pay period basis, whereas Income Tax is an annual tax, and takes into acc...
Answered 6 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordDriving Tests: EdinburghDepartment for TransportTabled 23 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115201More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many driving tests (a) took place, (b) were cancelled and (c) went unused at the Currie Driving Test Centre in each month of 2025; and what the pass rate was in the same period.
Answer: The attached Excel spreadsheet shows how many practical car driving tests were conducted and cancelled, including pass rates at Currie driving test centre in each month for 2025. Also included is the number of practical car driving test slots that were av...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordPoultry: Animal WelfareDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 23 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 115200More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of retailers withdrawing from the Better Chicken Commitment on her Department's Animal Welfare Strategy.
Answer: As set out in the animal welfare strategy, the Government remains committed to supporting a move away from the use of fast-growing breeds of meat chickens. The Government welcomes the fact that those supermarkets who made Better Chicken Commitment pledges...
Answered 4 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: AdvertisingDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114650More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to impact assessment 13013 published by his Department on 25 May 2021, whether his Department still plans to publish a review of the advertising and promotional restrictions within t
Answer: Our 10-Year Health Plan for England set out the decisive action we are taking on the obesity crisis, to ease the strain on our National Health Service and to create the healthiest generation of children ever. As part of this, we implemented United Kingdom...
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordElectric BicyclesDepartment for TransportTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114648More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made on the potential impact of the expiry of the Plug-in Motorcycle Grant on riders in the gig-economy, the use of illegal e-bikes, and road safety.
Answer: The Plug in Motorcycle Grant has supported almost 16,000 vehicle purchases since 2016 and will close at the end of the 2025/26 financial year or when budgets have been exhausted, whichever comes first. The grant is currently available for L3 motorcycles c...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: LabellingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114554More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the feasibility and cost implications of braille food labelling, including a) the pharmaceutical sector's mandatory braille implementation si
Answer: The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. All food sold on the UK market must comply with food labelling rules, which include the requirement for specific information to be presented in a speci...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: LabellingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114553More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions her Department has had with Food Standards Scotland and the Food Standards Agency on braille food labelling under the UK Food Compositional Standards and Labelling Com
Answer: The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. All food sold on the UK market must comply with food labelling rules, which include the requirement for specific information to be presented in a speci...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: LabellingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114548More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to undertake similar evidence gathering to Food Standards Scotland's Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment on braille food labelling in England.
Answer: The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. All food sold on the UK market must comply with food labelling rules, which include the requirement for specific information to be presented in a speci...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordFood: LabellingDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114547More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what evidence her Department is gathering on braille food labelling in England; and what discussions her Department has had with a) vision impaired consumers, b) braille users and c) d
Answer: The availability and accessibility of essential food information to all consumers is vitally important. All food sold on the UK market must comply with food labelling rules, which include the requirement for specific information to be presented in a speci...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordConsent to Medical TreatmentDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114544More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of informed consent guidance in protecting NHS clinicians from subsequent legal challenge where animal-derived ingredients are used in medicines or treat
Answer: No assessment has been made of the adequacy of informed consent guidance in protecting National Health Service clinicians from subsequent legal challenge where animal-derived ingredients are used in medicines or treatments without explicit disclosure.
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordElectric Vehicles: BatteriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114515More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with counterparts in the European Union regarding regulatory alignment on battery passports for electric vehicles.
Answer: The Secretary of State has not had discussions with counterparts in the European Union regarding regulatory alignment on battery passports for electric vehicles. Defra is currently reviewing the producer responsibility legislation for batteries. This revi...
Answered 2 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBowel Cancer: ScreeningDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114490More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how his Department plans to support endoscopy services to ensure the increased test sensitivity in the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme to 80ug/g is rolled out by 2028 without impacting on colonosc
Answer: NHS England has undertaken detailed modelling to understand the diagnostic and workforce capacity required to support a reduction in the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) threshold within the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in England. NHS England has wor...
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordBowel Cancer: ScreeningDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 20 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 114489More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the diagnostic and workforce capacity required to increase the test sensitivity threshold in the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme to 80ug/g by 2028.
Answer: NHS England has undertaken detailed modelling to understand the diagnostic and workforce capacity required to support a reduction in the faecal immunochemical test (FIT) threshold within the Bowel Cancer Screening Programme in England. NHS England has wor...
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Original Parliament recordReading: ScotlandScotland OfficeTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112734More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps his Department is taking to promote the National Year of Reading in Scotland.
Answer: The National Year of Reading is a UK-wide campaign to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment amongst children, young people and adults. For example, only this week our delivery partner for this campaign, the National Literacy Trust, revealed that ...
Answered 25 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordBBC World ServiceForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 11 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112718More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the BBC World Service in countering state-backed disinformation from (a) Russia, (b) China and (c) Iran.
Answer: I refer the Hon Member to the answers provided on 10 September 2025 in response to Questions 70439 and 70440.
Answered 24 Feb 2026
Original Parliament recordAccess to Work Programme: Visual ImpairmentDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 10 Feb 2026AnsweredUIN 112359More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Access to Work awards for blind and partially sighted customers had support worker hours reduced at the point of renewal, in each of the last three years.
Answer: The Department does not hold this data. Determining this information would require manually reviewing individual applications which would incur disproportionate cost.
Answered 16 Feb 2026
Original Parliament record
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