Scotch Whisky Industry

Debate between Calum Kerr and Andrew Percy

Wednesday 9th March 2016 Westminster Hall

[Calum Kerr]

I thank my hon. Friend for that wonderful intervention—and Diageo thanks her too. I agree that it plays a huge role in our industry—but a positive and constructive one—and is part of the success story.

As well as the £5 billion value that I mentioned, the trade deficit would be 11% higher without Scotch whisky; and there are 40,000 jobs. Every job supports a further 2.7 jobs in the broader economy. One point of particular importance, which has come up in a number of debates—not least in contributions by my hon. Friend the Member for Argyll and Bute (Brendan O'Hara)—is the importance of the industry to the rural economy, where there are fragile economies that people are leaving and where depopulation is a challenge. The industry is a success story in the rural economy.

Turnover in the industry has increased by 27% since 2008, and employment is up 6%. Salaries have risen too. Another challenge in the rural economy is low pay, but salaries in the Scotch whisky industry have risen by 12% and now average £47,000 a year. That is a great track record, and it demonstrates how important the industry is to our economy and country.

Whisky may be our national drink, but it is not a homogenous product, and as my hon. Friend the Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford) outlined—when he used the words “alluring” and “full-bodied” I thought he was talking about himself, but it turned out he was talking about one of the whiskies in his region—our malts are highly regional and wonderfully varied. Each area produces its own highly distinctive variations. It is sacrilegious to put Coca-Cola in them, though, and I fear that my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North West (Carol Monaghan) has done herself immense damage by what she said. Clearly, she is but a novice, and there is time yet. Perhaps the hon. Member for Brigg and Goole can help there, because he does frequent the bars, I am told. I think the different characteristics are what make Scotch whisky such a wonderful success story. I am with my hon. Friend the Member for Argyll and Bute in that Islay malts are my favourite. Their peaty, smoky nature is just fantastic.

One region of Scotland does not have a distillery at present. As my hon. Friend said, the last time whisky was produced in the borders, legally at least, was in 1837, but times are changing. It shows the success that can be harnessed in all the regions of our country that no fewer than three distilleries are currently planned in the Scottish borders, most of which I represent. R&B Distillers is looking at a site in Peebles, and the Three Stills Company has a £10 million project for a fantastic distillery in the centre of the wonderful town of Hawick. Last week, I visited a new site just outside Jedburgh operated by Mossburn Distillers, which has fantastic and ambitious plans for new distilleries on the site. I witnessed the full scale of its ambition and how significant the operations could be. Taken together, the companies could invest £50 million in the borders economy and create more than 100 jobs. In the borders, the distilleries will of course reflect the history and landscape of the region, as well as making use of our fantastic borders barley and pure water. Indeed, Mossburn is considering names such as “the Borderer” and “the Teviot” for its whiskies. [Interruption.] It is a river.

[Andrew Percy]

It is not the Humber.

[Calum Kerr]

Thankfully not. Those wonderful titles pay tribute to the region’s rich heritage and will help to promote us as the whiskies are sold across the world. Of course, I am sure the distilleries will produce lighter, lowland-style whiskies, and I am sure I am not the only one looking forward to tasting them—they cannot come soon enough, but we will have to wait.

The companies behind the new borders distilleries are certainly entrepreneurial, and they have plans, beyond traditional distilleries, to produce other spirits, including gin. The sites have the potential to be highly popular attractions in their own right, and the visitor centres look fantastic. If I had £1 for every person who has offered to be a taster, particularly at the Hawick distillery’s gin lab, where people can make their own gin, I would be a rich man. I am taking names if anyone here wants to sign up. The sites will be fantastic tourist operations.

I visited Springbank in Campbelltown with a number of friends, and I was struck by the number of people who were there because of the distillery. I met one group from Sweden who had matching blazers, and another group from America had whisky-tasting ties. I am not suggesting that we all had to get into uniform, but it reinforced the huge way in which a distillery puts a town on the map, raises its profile globally, brings more investment and creates more jobs than just those directly involved in the distillery.

Storm Eva: Local Authority Support

Debate between Calum Kerr and Andrew Percy

Wednesday 20th January 2016 Westminster Hall

[Calum Kerr (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (SNP)]

As seems to be in keeping with proceedings in Westminster Hall, this has been an enlightening and constructive debate. I congratulate the hon. Member for Halifax (Holly Lynch) on kicking it off so perfectly. Her description of the River Calder as becoming weaponised is something I can relate to. I walked through very shallow flood water in Hawick in my constituency and was taken by the sheer power, even of shallow water. The sheer force was incredible, which means all the more credit should go to those who went out and worked for days and nights to try to help people to save properties and businesses throughout the UK. We thank them for their commitment and hard work.

The hon. Lady made a number of excellent points that brought home the incredible damage and range of costs that have resulted from the flooding. I echo her thoughts on the EU solidarity fund. The fact that it might take a while to get the money suggests to me that perhaps they think we will be out of the EU by the time it comes through. I do not care: let us get the money, because it should all help. Everything helps, and every pound is a prisoner nowadays, so absolutely, let us apply and have some benefit from the EU instead of continually complaining about it.

The hon. Lady made an excellent point about Flood Re. I realise that there are some challenges and that we have to be careful, but if there is a will, there is a way, so I am sure we can do something.

[Andrew Percy]

I sat on the Bill Committee that debated Flood Re, so I can tell the hon. Gentleman that if a business is also a residence, it falls within the scheme. The problem is that Flood Re is paid for by other consumers. Nobody of any party in the Bill Committee tabled an amendment to include businesses, because the cost would be passed on to other consumers. That is the rub.

[Calum Kerr]

Absolutely. That is a great articulation of the challenges, but as I said, if there is a will, there is a way. Let us look at what schemes we can put in place, even though there will be limitations.

The hon. Member for Calder Valley (Craig Whittaker) talked about the importance of insurance for businesses. He brought the issue alive with some detailed figures about the impact on businesses. It is easy to talk about things conceptually, but personalised stories enable us to really understand how important this is.

Having a single agency is an interesting idea, but the approach in Scotland is different. Granted, we have a considerably smaller population, but the structure of the agencies is different, so we have an opportunity to share lessons and experiences and learn from one another. The hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) talked about the importance of learning lessons. Although floods happen too often, thankfully they do not happen very often. Whenever they happen and cause people trauma and disruption, we need to look for lessons that we can learn. As the hon. Lady said, we already knew some things from past problems. Let us ensure we do not say the same thing when the next event happens, as it surely will. She came up with a number of great suggestions as a way forward.

The reality is between December and January—certainly in Scotland—we had the greatest rainfall in the past 100 years of available records, and there were 50 new record river levels across Scotland. We will probably not get used to climate change, but it means that we need to look at how we manage severe weather in the future. Local authorities in Scotland were at the centre of the relief operations. They worked in partnership with the Scottish Government and other agencies to distribute funds and plan for future risk.

In Scotland, the draft budget provided £4 million of extra funding for the local authorities most affected by flooding, including my constituency, which was one of the worst hit. The Scottish Borders Council got nearly £2 million. Earlier this month, Nicola Sturgeon announced an additional £12 million of funding to help affected areas, including capital funding of up to £5 million for local authorities to replace infrastructure severely damaged by flood waters. An additional £5.8 million has been allocated to households and businesses, including a provision for local authorities to make payments of £1,500 to households, businesses, charities and communities affected by flooding. A flat-rate grant payment of £3,000, which will be funded separately by the Scottish Government, can also be made to businesses to offset clean-up costs.

Earlier this month, I was in Selkirk with the Scottish Environment Minister to launch our first ever flood risk management plan, which includes 14 local strategies. In June, local authority-led partnerships will set out a detailed action plan with details of how that plan will be delivered up to 2021. The Scottish response has been rapid, comprehensive and effective, with partnership and local authority action at its heart, but we still have lessons to learn, and we strive to do so. We recognise that there are severe challenges across the UK. We welcome all UK Government investment in flood prevention, not least because it led to Barnett consequentials, which we gratefully received.

Flooding is not going to go away, so the Scottish Government have prioritised prevention. We need to share best practice across the UK and in the regions and develop a fuller understanding of the issue. The UK and Scottish Governments can and should learn from each other. That is an example of how the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts.