Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alister Jack and Neale Hanvey

Wednesday 29th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

It is good that the hon. Gentleman’s lines are written by Mike Russell. That is an old one, and not a very good one.

The reality is that Scotland is the most taxed part of the United Kingdom, which is not attractive for people to work there. We have the highest ever net migration. If the Scottish Government focus more on good public services, good infrastructure and lower taxation, hopefully those high net migration figures will see more people settle in Scotland.

[Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (Alba)]

7. What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on developing carbon capture, utilisation and storage in Scotland.

Scottish Independence and the Scottish Economy

Debate between Alister Jack and Neale Hanvey

Wednesday 2nd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

Apart from the record settlement of £41 billion over three years, there is additional money—the £37 billion —from the support schemes the Chancellor introduced. That has Barnett money, which goes to the Scottish Government. The wonderful thing about devolution is that the Scottish Government can then decide how they spend that money.

[Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (Alba)]

Is the Minister able to tell us what percentage of the £8 billion of oil and gas revenue that has gone to the Treasury in the last nine months is being directed to the Scottish Government to prioritise for their own spending? What percentage of that revenue goes to Scotland? The answer is none, isn’t it?

[Mr Jack]

The answer is that Scotland gets her share of Government spending. Everything goes into one big pot, but we know that spending in Scotland is 26% higher per head than it is per head in England. That is the Union dividend, which I will come on to, of £2,000 per man, woman and child. We have one Treasury and one pot, and Scotland takes a very fair share out of that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alister Jack and Neale Hanvey

Wednesday 28th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

My hon. Friend is right about that and he is right to welcome the breakthroughs over the past few days with the Australian Government. Businesses in Scotland exported goods worth over £352 million to Australia in 2019, and reducing tariff barriers for our world-class food and drink industry could bolster Scotch whisky exports to Australia. As the Secretary of State for International Trade made clear at the weekend, this deal will be based on fair competition, maintaining our high standards and providing excellent, exciting opportunities for British products.

[Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (Alba)]

What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on Scotland’s constitutional future.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Alister Jack and Neale Hanvey

Wednesday 27th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jack]

I say again: now is not the time. Now is the time for us to focus on rebuilding our economy and protecting jobs. I see the hon. Gentleman up there with his gold disc behind him, and I have to say that, from Scottish questions to Scottish questions, he is beginning to sound like a broken record.

[Neale Hanvey (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (SNP) [V]]

The UK now officially has the highest covid mortality rate anywhere in the world, and we know from the in-field accuracy of lateral flow tests that they have a 50% chance of being wrong. As the Prime Minister and his entourage are relying on such inaccurate test results, and given the PM’s disastrous handling of the pandemic, why is the Secretary of State risking lives by backing his futile Union-Jackery trip to Scotland against public health advice when he knows that the PM has the ability to insult our intelligence from London?

[Mr Jack]

That is ridiculous. The Prime Minister is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and wherever he needs to go in his vital work against this pandemic, he will go.