I am looking forward to meeting with local stakeholders, including representatives of the Scottish arts and culture sector when I attend the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.

His Majesty’s Passport Office is exceeding its performance indicator of 98.5% of standard UK passport applications, where no further information is required, being processed within three weeks. We are working to ensure that these performance levels continue.

Performance data can be found in the most recent Transparency Data release at: HM Passport Office data: Q1 2024 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

The Government has taken immediate action towards establishing Great British Energy – a new publicly-owned energy company, headquartered in Scotland.

The Government has now published the launch statement for Great British Energy, announced a chair and Great British Energy’s first major partnership with The Crown Estate. The Government is also introducing the Great British Energy Bill to Parliament, establishing Great British Energy so it can turbocharge investment in clean, home-grown power – boosting energy independence, creating jobs and tackling climate change.

This government will end the costly chaos in the asylum system by cleaning the previous government’s backlog of claims, in order to end hotel use and save the taxpayer billions. We aim to return to the use of long-standing dispersed accommodation as soon as possible.

As you may be aware, the current State Pension age is 66 for both men and woman, with the state pension age set to rise to 67 between 2026 and 2028. The most recent population data by Scottish constituency, collected on Census Day 20 March 2022, is set out below.

The renewable energy sector supports economic activity throughout its supply chains and this economic activity supports wage spending across Scotland. According to the Fraser of Allander Institute, a leading think-tank, Scotland’s renewable energy industry and its supply chain supported an estimated 42,000 jobs and contributed over £10.1 billion to the economy in 2021. Scotland's renewables industry continues to contribute significantly to the UK economy, and has a growing role to play as we realise the UK Government’s ambition of becoming a clean energy superpower by 2030. The establishment of GB Energy, publicly owned and headquartered in Scotland, will further support and turbocharge the sector.