Standing Orders (Public Business)

Debate between Alex Salmond and Kirsty Blackman

Thursday 22nd October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Kirsty Blackman (Aberdeen North) (SNP)]

I do not think that the right hon. Member for Wokingham (John Redwood) should say anything about the number of Members who are present, given that at one point when we last debated EVEL there were only four Conservatives in the entire Chamber.

Both the Leader of the House and the hon. Member for Milton Keynes South (Iain Stewart) have mentioned polling in relation to EVEL: that is, the polling of Scottish people. According to the result of the most recent polling that I have been able to find—obviously I did not select the polls that were selected by those hon. Members—54% of Scots support the holding of another referendum in the event of EVEL’s implementation. Strangely, the Conservative Members and the BBC selected the same polling when they were discussing the issue.

It has been said that devolution for England is good. It has also been said, from the Government Front Bench, that no one is going to tell the Speaker how to certify. You, Mr Speaker, are going to have to become an expert very, very quickly on quite a number of matters on which you are not currently an expert.

The shadow Leader of the House described this as a fundamental change in the constitution of our islands. As far as I can tell, it is the biggest change that will ever have been made by Standing Orders. It is a massive constitutional change. The Parliament Act 1911 is probably the biggest change that I can find in the Speaker’s role in terms of certification; that change was made by an Act of Parliament, and it was generally agreed that it was massive. However, the Speaker’s certification role in relation to money Bills is much more minor than the certification process that will take place in this context, and much less time-consuming as well.

[Alex Salmond]

My hon. Friend makes an extremely good point. The right hon. Member for Wokingham (John Redwood) was entirely wrong to suggest there was an analogous process in Scotland’s devolution. The devolution legislation on which the Scottish Parliament is established does not certify things as devolved. It has reserved issues and everything else is devolved. There is no role whatever for certification by the Speaker.

[Kirsty Blackman]

I appreciate that intervention and will come on to a similar point shortly.

City Deal Funding (Aberdeen)

Debate between Alex Salmond and Kirsty Blackman

Tuesday 30th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Kirsty Blackman]

Absolutely. That is very important. As I said, there has been a level of concern from some of our residents that we are a bit forgotten about, because we are so far away. We need to work to change that.

The city deal for Aberdeen is a truly excellent example of joint working, not just between the two Governments, where relations have occasionally been strained, but between the two councils, where this level of joint working simply has not been seen before.

One of the most difficult problems for those living in Aberdeen city and shire is the cost of housing. There is a lack of affordable accommodation, and our councils and NHS are finding it difficult to keep key workers. In recent years, we have struggled to recruit and retain teachers, social workers and nurses. With high land values in Aberdeen, it is really difficult for social landlords to fund the building of new social housing. For years, the city’s social housing stock has been reducing, and there are thousands of families on the council’s housing waiting list. Despite some recent new builds, many are still stranded in inappropriate accommodation or forced to consider moving to other parts of the region or country.

The city deal proposal includes a £350 million ring-fenced loan guarantee facility from Infrastructure UK for housing in Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire. It also proposes a significant increase in the number of homes available for lease from both councils. As I mentioned in my maiden speech, the lack of suitable affordable housing is a huge problem for my constituents, and the issue is exacerbated by the success of the oil and gas sector. I really cannot overstress the importance of this issue to people living in Aberdeen.

[Alex Salmond (Gordon) (SNP)]

My hon. Friend makes a crucial point about social housing in Aberdeen, but does she also accept that the investment in the Inverness-Aberdeen railway line will make realistic commuting possibilities available to a range of people across the community? Does she agree about the importance of that investment and our working together to maximise the opportunity?

[Kirsty Blackman]

I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend. The infrastructure system in London is so far away from our system. We do not have two railway lines beside each other, meaning that trains can only pass at certain points.