HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published analysis of intra-UK migration and labour market participation in April 2024 and subsequently updated its analysis of intra-UK migration in 2026. These analyses use HMRC administrative data to examine movements of taxpayers and taxable income between Scotland, Wales and the rest of the UK over time, and they provide information on movements in the Scottish and wider UK tax base associated with intra-UK migration.

The government remains committed to ensuring a reliable universal postal service for users across all parts of the United Kingdom.

We have been clear that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough. The government has discussed Royal Mail’s performance with the company and Ofcom, as the independent regulator, and they know there is more to do to improve stability and reliability for customers, but it is welcome that the most recently released quality of service figures, for Q1 26/27, show an improvement.

Ofcom is investigating Royal Mail’s quality of service performance for 2025-26, and Royal Mail has published a service improvement plan alongside a £500 million investment into frontline resourcing.

Defence is making a landmark investment in Scotland’s future defence workforce, including apprenticeships, through the Defence Industrial Strategy’s £182 million skills package and the Scotland Defence Growth Deal.

The Scotland Defence Growth Deal has identified skills as a core priority and will support interventions to address skills shortages across the defence sector. This includes a proposed £10 million investment in up to two Defence Technical Excellence Colleges in Scotland, creating pathways into careers in defence engineering, advanced manufacturing and maritime technologies.

Scotland will also benefit from UK-wide initiatives such as the UCAS Defence Portal, which will promote awareness of high-quality careers in defence and the apprenticeship and graduate routes into them. Similarly, through the Defence Universities Alliance, we are working with the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde to grow collaboration between MOD, universities and defence industries to support skills and the pipeline of students into rewarding careers.

In addition, major defence programmes are creating apprenticeship opportunities in Scotland. The Type 31 frigate programme in Rosyth, for example, currently supports around 150 apprenticeships and is expected to generate further apprenticeship opportunities over the lifetime of the programme.

Defence is making a landmark investment in Scotland’s future defence workforce, including apprenticeships, through the Defence Industrial Strategy’s £182 million skills package and the Scotland Defence Growth Deal.

The Scotland Defence Growth Deal has identified skills as a core priority and will support interventions to address skills shortages across the defence sector. This includes a proposed £10 million investment in up to two Defence Technical Excellence Colleges in Scotland, creating pathways into careers in defence engineering, advanced manufacturing and maritime technologies.

Scotland will also benefit from UK-wide initiatives such as the UCAS Defence Portal, which will promote awareness of high-quality careers in defence and the apprenticeship and graduate routes into them. Similarly, through the Defence Universities Alliance, we are working with the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde to grow collaboration between MOD, universities and defence industries to support skills and the pipeline of students into rewarding careers.

In addition, major defence programmes are creating apprenticeship opportunities in Scotland. The Type 31 frigate programme in Rosyth, for example, currently supports around 150 apprenticeships and is expected to generate further apprenticeship opportunities over the lifetime of the programme.

Under UK VAT law, VAT is charged on the full amount paid by a customer for the goods or services they are purchasing. Therefore, where an overnight visitor levy forms part of the consideration paid for accommodation, VAT is charged on the total amount paid, including the levy.

Our forthcoming legislation on ticket touting (Draft Ticket Tout Ban Bill) aims to improve access for fans to all live events across the UK, including in Scotland.

We're delighted Glasgow will be hosting matches as part of UEFA EURO 2028 and are working closely with the Scottish Government and other football and government partners to deliver a fantastic event. UEFA has also confirmed that there will be no dynamic pricing, more than 40% of tickets will be offered in the most affordable categories, and over 80% of all tickets will be available to fans of the participating teams and the general public.

Long duration electricity storage (LDES) allows excess renewable generation to be stored and then used at peak times, helping to maximise the use of low-cost homegrown energy and reduce reliance on expensive global gas markets. New LDES will be built for the first time in over forty years under the cap and floor policy brought in by this government.

Ofgem is the independent regulator and decision maker for the cap and floor scheme appointed by government to deliver the policy. It assessed all projects through its Multi Criteria Assessment framework, with analytical support from NESO on whole system impacts. This assessment included consideration of system balancing and constraint management costs and resulted in Ofgem’s minded to decision on projects to support through window one, which includes 3.9GW of Pumped Storage Hydro in Scotland.

Long duration electricity storage (LDES) allows excess renewable generation to be stored and then used at peak times, helping to maximise the use of low-cost homegrown energy and reduce reliance on expensive global gas markets. New LDES will be built for the first time in over forty years under the cap and floor policy brought in by this government.

Ofgem is the independent regulator and decision maker for the cap and floor scheme appointed by government to deliver the policy. It assessed all projects through its Multi Criteria Assessment framework, with analytical support from NESO on whole system impacts. This assessment included consideration of locational factors.

Transmission Owners are responsible for delivering transmission projects and are regulated by Ofgem. Ofgem monitors delivery against agreed regulatory delivery dates and holds Transmission Owners accountable for the efficient and timely delivery of network upgrades. The licence delivery date for Beauly to Denny including the substation works is 31/12/2031. Government is taking action to accelerate the build out of electricity network infrastructure, through reforms to planning, regulation, strategic networks planning, unlocking supply chains and taking a strategic approach to workforce and skills.

In 2014, there was agreement in the UK parliament and the Scottish parliament, across all political parties, and across civic society, that there should be a referendum. There is no such consensus now. In that referendum, the people of Scotland made clear their continued commitment to Scotland remaining part of the UK.

As set out in the manifesto which saw this government win a majority of UK parliamentary seats in Scotland, this Government does not support independence or another referendum.

Our focus now must be on delivery, not division. This UK Government is focused entirely on delivering in the national interest.

This Government is committed to ensuring procurement plays its full role in supporting growth, creating good jobs, strengthening skills and building more resilient supply chains, across all industries in the UK and including Scotland.

For procurements by devolved Scottish authorities, which are regulated by the Scottish Government, we will continue to share and exchange best procurement practices.

The Government recognises the importance of cash, understanding that it continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those in rural and costal areas. The most recent data from the Financial Conduct Authority shows 98.1 per cent of people in rural areas live within 3 miles of a free-to-use cash access point offering withdrawals

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) assumed regulatory responsibility for access to cash in September 2024. Its rules require the UK’s largest banks and building societies to assess the impact of a closure or material alteration of a relevant cash withdrawal or deposit facility and put in place a new service if necessary. As part of this responsibility, the FCA must also seek to ensure that there is reasonable provision of free withdrawal and deposit facilities in relation to personal current accounts. This supports businesses to ensure they can continue to accept cash by ensuring that they have reasonable access to cash deposit facilities.

The Government continues to work closely with industry to support the roll-out of 350 banking hubs by the end of this Parliament. Over 280 hubs have been announced so far, and more than 240 are already open across the UK, including 31 in Scotland.

The Government is committed to continuing to monitor levels of cash acceptance and to evaluating all relevant payments data, including data on consumer preferences and trends, to inform future policy and help ensure that consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods to meet their needs.

We are committed to hearing from voices across the United Kingdom, and our consultation heard from over 116,000 people, including nearly 6,000 young people. This included direct engagement with children, young people and parents - including a visit to Citadel Youth Centre in Edinburgh and working with Scottish youth representative bodies to reach seldom-heard voices.

We will continue this engagement as we prepare for the restrictions so that young people understand what is changing and why, parents feel supported and informed, and the trusted adults and organisations who work with young people every day can share clear and accurate information.

The UK Government is committed to ensuring our policies reflect the views and barriers facing young people across Scotland. The Scotland Office maintains regular dialogue with youth organisations and charities, and officials have met with both Includem and Inspiring Scotland this year.

Young people’s experiences of mental health and employment support are directly informing our approach to delivering in Scotland, including extending the Youth Hubs initiative to another 18 areas, bringing the total in Scotland to 28.

This will help ensure even more young people have access to essential mental health support, housing advice, and career guidance, including CV advice so they can fulfil their potential.