Written questions by Arthur.

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the graduate route visa scheme on levels of innovation.

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; a quarter of Tech Nation-endorsed Global Talent Visa (GTV) holders are founders, and 39% of the UK’s fastest growing start-ups have at least one foreign born co-founder. In addition to providing a pipeline of entrepreneurs, international talent contributes significantly to innovation in key growth-driving sectors, and makes up 37% of higher education research staff.

Whether he plans to extend the Scottish Income Tax Mitigation scheme to reservists.

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 choose to work elsewhere to avoid paying higher taxes. For this reason, the Ministry of Defence has no plans to extend the scheme to Reservists.

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.

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 resilience. As the UK transitions to an Official Development Assistance budget of 0.3 per cent of gross national income globally, we will continue to prioritise aid effectiveness and targeting assistance where it can have the greatest impact.

Whether she has made an assessment of trends in the level of tax avoidance associated with the Overseas Territories.

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 standards.The Crown Dependencies (CDs) and all OTs with financial centres have committed to upholding international tax standards, including the tax transparency framework and the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) Framework. HMRC can access relevant information from the OTs, through both the automatic exchange of information (AEOI), and exchange on request, for tax investigations. The Government has announced a record package to close the tax gap, including a commitment to grow HMRC’s compliance workforce by 5,500 people over the next five years. The Government has also published its approach to tacking offshore tax non-compliance, and announced an increase in HMRC’s resource assigned to tackling wealthy offshore non-compliance by around 400 people. Accessible registers of beneficial ownership provide support in tackling illicit finance and corruption, and in exposing tax and sanctions evasion. The OTs have already made commitments to establish accessible registers. It remains our expectation that the CDs and OTs will ultimately implement fully public registers.

What steps she is taking to reduce tax avoidance associated with the Overseas Territories.

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 standards.The Crown Dependencies (CDs) and all OTs with financial centres have committed to upholding international tax standards, including the tax transparency framework and the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) Framework. HMRC can access relevant information from the OTs, through both the automatic exchange of information (AEOI), and exchange on request, for tax investigations. The Government has announced a record package to close the tax gap, including a commitment to grow HMRC’s compliance workforce by 5,500 people over the next five years. The Government has also published its approach to tacking offshore tax non-compliance, and announced an increase in HMRC’s resource assigned to tackling wealthy offshore non-compliance by around 400 people. Accessible registers of beneficial ownership provide support in tackling illicit finance and corruption, and in exposing tax and sanctions evasion. The OTs have already made commitments to establish accessible registers. It remains our expectation that the CDs and OTs will ultimately implement fully public registers.

What steps he is taking to help strengthen links between Scotland and Malawi.

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, the UK Government remains committed to creating a world free from poverty on a liveable planet, working in partnership with international partners such as Malawi to support their development. As the UK transitions to an Official Development Assistance budget of 0.3 per cent of gross national income globally, we will continue to prioritise aid effectiveness and targeting assistance where it can have the greatest impact.One of my priorities is promoting Scotland on the global stage. This includes supporting more Scottish businesses to export and attract inward investment.The Scotland Office is looking at a potential trade mission to Southern Africa within the next two years where we can highlight the positive role Scottish industry can play in driving both economic growth at home and development overseas.

Innovation and Technology, whether he is taking steps to help protect authors who do not want their works to be used by AI models.

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 creative works greater control over use of their material to train AI models and supporting their ability to be remunerated where it is used. The consultation closed on 25 February 2025.The Government’s priority now is to review all responses to the consultation, to help inform its approach to copyright and AI. The Government will continue to engage extensively as it considers next steps, and its proposals will be set out in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to support African countries whose economies are affected by debt repayments.

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 to invest and grow. Where we are a creditor, we have fully engaged in multilateral negotiations with debtor countries via the Paris Club and G20 Common Framework mechanisms to put their debt back on a sustainable trajectory.We welcome the G20 Common Framework debt agreements with Zambia and Ghana achieved last year but recognise these treatments took too long. We are therefore calling for efforts to strengthen, speed up and expand the Common Framework to all low and middle-income countries, whilst also building the enabling environment for more sustainable and transparent lending and strengthened public financial management. The Chancellor has recently announced the London Coalition on Sustainable Debt to progress these objectives with the private creditors.

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 people with Parkinson's Disease.

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 Britain Working Green Paper’. A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.

What assessment has she made of the adequacy of the provision of British Sign Language teaching in schools.

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 on the extent to which BSL is currently taught in schools. The department is in the process of developing a BSL GCSE. The BSL GCSE is a key feature of our commitment to enhancing the status of BSL in education and society. This landmark GCSE is an important step towards greater recognition of BSL as a language and will foster better communication between deaf and hearing communities.

Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support local independent journalism.

Sustainability of the local media sector across the country is an area of particular concern for this Government. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.Officials have met with the Public Interest News Foundation, founders of the Local News Commission, as part of our continued engagement with key external stakeholders. Government welcomes the publication of the Commission’s report and will consider its recommendations as part of our wider work on the Strategy. Our work is also being informed by the range of studies conducted into the state of local journalism in the UK in recent years.

Media and Sport, whether she has plans to make changes to the rules on public notices for small online news publishers.

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 journalism found that public notices are also an important source of revenue for local newspapers.However, the Government is aware of feedback from some sectors about the audience reach of these notices and the desire for greater digitalisation. In this context, the sector’s Public Notice Portal is a welcome innovation, intended to take advantage of print publishers’ growing digital audiences and provide a centralised resource for all types of public notice. We are monitoring the progress of the Portal, and the effect that it has on the audience reach of public notices.We also welcome the plans for expansion of the Portal, announced in December and funded by the Google News Initiative, including a fully searchable archive and new consultation functions to help public bodies and commercial entities engage with the public more effectively. We consider this type of industry innovation and collaboration to be integral to securing the sector’s future, and will seek to further support and incentivise it through our Local Media Strategy.

Is he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse of the Scottish Income Tax Mitigation scheme in each financial year between 2018-19 and 2024-25.

The Ministry of Defence’s Scottish income tax mitigation payment scheme is unique within the public sector and has been agreed by wider Government for use only where Service personnel are compelled to serve at one location over another. The scheme aims to support retention of those serving in Scotland by removing the disadvantage of higher taxes applying on those required to serve there who might not choose to do so if not compelled. The estimated cost to the public purse of the Scottish Income Tax Mitigation scheme is set out below. Figures commence from Financial Year 2019-20, covering payments for those affected in Tax Year 2018-19. Financial YearEstimated Cost (£million)2019-204.692020-217.362021-228.112022-238.272023-249.312024-2512.74

What assessment he has made of the extent of any black mould problem in service family accommodation in Scotland.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) acknowledges serious concerns regarding damp and mould in Service Family Accommodation (SFA). A Damp and Mould Taskforce was established in 2023 to address reported cases of damp and mould in SFA and since then, over 9,000 Service personnel and their families have benefitted from the delivery of damp and mould packages of works. The severity of damp and mould cases now being raised, has reduced significantly since the Taskforce was first established, with circa 3% of reported cases now being at the most severe level.The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) will continue with its current approach to ensure cases of damp and mould are addressed on a priority basis.The table below shows the number of SFA properties available in Scotland, as at 1 April, from 2010 to 2014. This includes occupied and empty SFA available for allocation. YearNumber of SFAApril 20103,237April 20112,969April 20122,897April 20132,981April 20143,033 The number of SFA properties in Scotland between 2010 and 2014 with reported cases of damp and mould, is not held centrally. Information requested prior to April 2022, can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Due to the way in which Defence accommodation is managed, Awaab’s Law cannot be applied directly. However, the MOD has agreed to mirror or exceed any regulations set out in Awaab’s Law, in its own policies and procedures and this will continue to be a priority. The MOD will continue to move families to alternative accommodation in the most serious cases of damp and mould or if a family member has a known vulnerability.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of service family accommodation in Scotland.

Circa 97% of Service Family Accommodation (SFA) in Scotland meets or exceeds the Government's Decent Homes Standard. This Government continues to invest significant sums to improve the quality of SFA in the United Kingdom. For Financial Year 2024-25, circa £445 million is forecast to be spent on maintaining and improving SFA. Work is now underway with the Defence Housing Strategy Review which started following the completion of the Annington Deal in January 2025. The Military Housing Strategy planned for publication in Summer 2025 will set out a roadmap to deliver a generational renewal of military accommodation.

How many Service Family Accommodation units were available in Scotland between 2010 and 2014; and how many and what proportion of those were reported to have (a) black mould and (b) damp in the same period.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) acknowledges serious concerns regarding damp and mould in Service Family Accommodation (SFA). A Damp and Mould Taskforce was established in 2023 to address reported cases of damp and mould in SFA and since then, over 9,000 Service personnel and their families have benefitted from the delivery of damp and mould packages of works. The severity of damp and mould cases now being raised, has reduced significantly since the Taskforce was first established, with circa 3% of reported cases now being at the most severe level.The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) will continue with its current approach to ensure cases of damp and mould are addressed on a priority basis.The table below shows the number of SFA properties available in Scotland, as at 1 April, from 2010 to 2014. This includes occupied and empty SFA available for allocation. YearNumber of SFAApril 20103,237April 20112,969April 20122,897April 20132,981April 20143,033 The number of SFA properties in Scotland between 2010 and 2014 with reported cases of damp and mould, is not held centrally. Information requested prior to April 2022, can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Due to the way in which Defence accommodation is managed, Awaab’s Law cannot be applied directly. However, the MOD has agreed to mirror or exceed any regulations set out in Awaab’s Law, in its own policies and procedures and this will continue to be a priority. The MOD will continue to move families to alternative accommodation in the most serious cases of damp and mould or if a family member has a known vulnerability.

With reference to the press notice entitled Awaab’s Law to force landlords to fix dangerous homes, published 6 February 2025, if he will take steps to extend Awaab's law to include all Service Family Accommodation provided by his Department.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) acknowledges serious concerns regarding damp and mould in Service Family Accommodation (SFA). A Damp and Mould Taskforce was established in 2023 to address reported cases of damp and mould in SFA and since then, over 9,000 Service personnel and their families have benefitted from the delivery of damp and mould packages of works. The severity of damp and mould cases now being raised, has reduced significantly since the Taskforce was first established, with circa 3% of reported cases now being at the most severe level.The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) will continue with its current approach to ensure cases of damp and mould are addressed on a priority basis.The table below shows the number of SFA properties available in Scotland, as at 1 April, from 2010 to 2014. This includes occupied and empty SFA available for allocation. YearNumber of SFAApril 20103,237April 20112,969April 20122,897April 20132,981April 20143,033 The number of SFA properties in Scotland between 2010 and 2014 with reported cases of damp and mould, is not held centrally. Information requested prior to April 2022, can be provided only at disproportionate cost. Due to the way in which Defence accommodation is managed, Awaab’s Law cannot be applied directly. However, the MOD has agreed to mirror or exceed any regulations set out in Awaab’s Law, in its own policies and procedures and this will continue to be a priority. The MOD will continue to move families to alternative accommodation in the most serious cases of damp and mould or if a family member has a known vulnerability.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of Dundee University's plan to cut staffing by 20% on the Tay Cities Deal.

I am fully aware of the well documented financial situation with the University of Dundee and share concern that any job losses are regrettable, however the University is a key partner in the Tay Cities Region Deal and remains fully committed to delivering its objectives. Economic Growth is one of this Government’s key missions and I am absolutely committed to working alongside the Scottish Government to realise our shared ambitions for growth in Scotland. My officials will continue to collaborate with all of the Tay Cities Region Deal partners to ensure the maximum benefits for the region can be realised.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of staff cuts at Dundee University on economic growth.

The Government recognises the crucial role of universities in the UK’s innovation ecosystem and in delivering the skills needed to drive growth as part of the Industrial Strategy. Education policy is however devolved in Scotland. It is for the Scottish Government to consider the broader impact of developments in the education sector in Scotland, including of any potential staff cuts in Scottish universities.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of staff cuts at Dundee University on the industrial strategy.

The Government recognises the crucial role of universities in the UK's innovation ecosystem and in delivering the skills needed to drive growth as part of the Industrial Strategy. Education policy is devolved in Scotland, and it is for the Scottish Government to consider the broader impact of developments in the education sector, including of any potential staff cuts in Scottish universities.