Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and Sheila Gilmore

Wednesday 14th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

1. If he will make it his policy that responsibility for licensing shale gas extraction should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alistair Carmichael)]

That is already Government policy. As the hon. Lady will be aware, the Smith commission heads of agreement stated that the licensing of onshore oil and gas extraction should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. The Government are committed to publishing draft clauses in that respect by 25 January.

[Sheila Gilmore]

I very much welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to that part of the Smith agreement, to which my party is also committed, not least because it will put an end to the attempts by some people to suggest that without the devolution of licensing, the Scottish Government are powerless to stop fracking if they want to. They already have powers over planning and regulation, but I hope that this change will close that argument down, to everybody’s benefit.

[Mr Carmichael]

The hon. Lady is right to say that the Scottish Government have planning and environmental regulation powers that would enable them to block any fracking project they wanted to block. It is sensible, in the circumstances, that they should be given responsibility for the licensing of such activities as well. That will be done as part of the Smith process.

Smith Commission

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and Sheila Gilmore

Thursday 27th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Carmichael]

That is in fact the case. That matter is dealt with in some detail by Lord Smith in his report. The responsibility in relation to elections to local authorities and to the Scottish Parliament will be devolved to the Scottish Parliament. However, this House will retain control over elections to it.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

I do not envy the Secretary of State his task of going in January to all of the parts of Scotland where Robert Burns dallied and romanced. The important point, however, is that a lot of people in Scotland want to be involved in this debate and discussion. They want to be fully informed about what is happening, not just to be told what they think or to be told that there is some form of betrayal. What arrangements will the Secretary of State make to ensure that people are fully involved in these debates?

[Mr Carmichael]

The hon. Lady is right to highlight that one of the great successes of the whole referendum experience was that we got the widest possible range of engagement across Scottish society. We have to make sure that that does not now just wither away; we have to do what we can to harness and nurture it. I recently met representatives of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations, the Scottish Trades Union Congress, the Church of Scotland and the National Union of Students to discuss exactly that process. Not everything of this sort has to be done by Government and through the party political process. The most effective civic engagement is that which grows out of civic groups themselves.

Scotland within the UK

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and Sheila Gilmore

Monday 13th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Carmichael]

The flow of money between the different parts of the United Kingdom comes and goes at different times over the years. What we have—Scotland has just said that it wishes to continue to be part of this—is a situation in which we all share and pool risks and resources. That is what the people of Scotland have voted for. I hope the hon. Gentleman will sign up to that too.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

In relation to greater devolution, one proposal that my party made was for the devolution of housing benefit. I appreciate that to some extent that cuts across one of the current Government’s pet projects, universal credit, but will the Secretary of State assure me that his colleagues on the Government Front Bench will be as flexible as possible and willing to see changes that will really help people in Scotland. Incidentally, this proposal might get his Government off one of their uncomfortable hooks—a policy that is not even going to work.

[Mr Carmichael]

Time will tell exactly what the change to universal credit achieves. On the devolution of housing benefit and other matters, we will wait and see what Lord Smith comes forward with. It is not appropriate at this stage for me, as a Minister, to second-guess what he might come up with, but the Government will respond in good faith when we see his heads of agreement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and Sheila Gilmore

Wednesday 2nd July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Carmichael]

The benefits and opportunities that come to generators of renewable energy in Scotland from being part of that single integrated market speak for themselves. The fact that we are being asked to leave that should be of concern to them.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

6. What discussions he has had with his ministerial colleagues on the transition costs of an independent Scotland.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alistair Carmichael)]

I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues, to ensure that people in Scotland have the full facts about the economic consequences of independence. The Scottish Government have repeatedly refused to publish their own workings. I call on them today to publish the work they have carried out.

[Sheila Gilmore]

I thank the Secretary of State for that reply. The Scottish Government’s own Finance Secretary calculated, in an internal memo, that the cost of setting up a new tax authority alone would be some £650 million. Is it not right that the Scottish Government should give that and other, similar information they have to the Scottish people before asking them to vote for a pig in a poke?

[Mr Carmichael]

It is worth reflecting that that figure is in the public domain only because the document was leaked. The truth of the matter is that, whenever there is any difficult news to be had, the Scottish Government will go to any lengths to suppress it, because, frankly, they are prepared to tell us anything that they think will make us more likely to vote for independence.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alistair Carmichael and Sheila Gilmore

Wednesday 5th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Carmichael]

That is indeed the case. When we talk about business people having concerns, we are talking about a threat not just to business, but to jobs. The UK is now the fastest-growing economy in the G7, and unemployment in Scotland is at 6.4%, which is significantly lower than the average across the UK, which is 7.1%. We have achieved that because we are part of the UK, not despite it. It is a result of Scotland, with her own Parliament, being represented here and having the best of both worlds.

[Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) (Lab)]

Unfortunately, unemployment levels in my constituency appear to have stagnated. Does the Secretary of State agree that the Scottish Government need to do more even for people living in Scotland’s capital city still without jobs?