Oral Answers to Questions

Alison Thewliss Excerpts

Tuesday 5th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Dr Philippa Whitford (Central Ayrshire) (SNP)]

4. What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of withdrawal from the EU on the economy.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

5. What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of withdrawal from the EU on the economy.

[Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)]

12. What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of withdrawal from the EU on the economy.

--- Later in debate ---

[Alison Thewliss]

Adam Posen, a former member of the Monetary Policy Committee, has described Brexit as a

“trade war by the UK on itself”.

This unnecessary trade war has had a real impact on small businesses in my constituency such as Guild Antiques & Restoration, which has found that its orders from the EU have fallen off a cliff edge and its costs have increased. Scotland did not choose Brexit and we are all worse off as a result. What can the Chancellor do to fill the economic gaps his hard Brexit has caused?

[Jeremy Hunt]

There is a certain irony in the Scottish National party opposing Brexit at the same time as advocating a far more draconian separation for Scotland, including a new currency and border checks. On businesses in Scotland, as part of the UK, Scotland is now an independent coastal state for the first time in nearly half a century; the 21,000 people in Scotland who work in financial services are benefiting from the Brexit freedoms in the Edinburgh reforms; and there is extra support for Scottish pubs, because, for the first time, we have a lower beer duty relative to supermarkets.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Victoria Atkins)]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question, which I take very seriously. Just to put it in context, last year HMRC received 38 million telephone calls; around 3 million of those were to do the simplest of tasks, which can be done digitally if at all possible. If we are able to move people on to digital channels, that will free up at least 500 people to help with more complex tax affairs and help the most vulnerable. This is a period of transition for the organisation, and one that we take very seriously.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

T5. I recently conducted an energy survey in Dalmarnock, which brought heartbreaking stories of pensioners going to bed early to save money on their energy and many households struggling to pay the bills, even in summer. Does the Minister not agree that Dalmarnock residents and people right across Scotland would benefit from a £400 energy rebate this winter, as the SNP proposes?

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Gareth Davies)]

We stepped in during the energy crisis with £94 billion of support, including the energy price guarantee, which effectively paid for half of people’s energy bills. That was important while energy prices were high; wholesale gas prices have now come down.