Petitions
Debate between Christine Jardine and Deidre Brock
Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)
I rise to present a petition on the recommendations of the infected blood inquiry on behalf of the residents of my constituency of Edinburgh West. I have a long-standing interest in this as a friend of my family, who was one of the early victims of the infected blood scandal, has suffered as a consequence, along with many families including those in my constituency, waiting too long for redress. The petition states:
“The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to implement the recommendations in the Second Interim Report of the Infected Blood Inquiry without delay.”
Following is the full text of the petition:
[The petition of residents of the constituency of Edinburgh West,
Declares that people who received infected blood and who have suffered as a consequence have, along with their families, waited for too long for redress.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to implement the recommendations in the Second Interim Report of the Infected Blood Inquiry without delay.
And the petitioners remain, etc.]
[P002985]
Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)
I rise to present a petition from residents of my constituency of Edinburgh North and Leith regarding those people who have received infected blood and suffered as a consequence and who have, along with their families, waited far too long for redress. The petition states:
“The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to implement the recommendations in the Second Interim Report of the Infected Blood Inquiry without delay.
And the petitioners remain, etc.”
The petition of residents of the constituency of Edinburgh North and Leith.
[P002987]
Royal Bank of Scotland Branch Closures
Debate between Christine Jardine and Deidre Brock(7 months, 1 week ago)
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Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered Royal Bank of Scotland branch closures.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Charles. Here we are again. This debate feels a bit like groundhog day. Yet more bank branches are set to bite the dust as the network rapidly shrinks, amid woolly promises of support and training for vulnerable customers. Selective statistics are spun to show that counter services just are not being used enough, leaving most of us puzzled when we see the local branch still bustling with life. That is certainly the case for the Leith Royal Bank of Scotland branch.
I confess that I am surprised that I have had to secure this debate, because I represent an area that was well served by banks until recent days. More often, I have supported the work of Members from rural areas who have fought valiantly against the impact of closures in their communities, but with both RBS and TSB planning to shut up shop, the Bank of Scotland looks set to be the last high street branch in Leith—and who knows for how long? When even the most densely populated part of Scotland is down to the last bank standing, we know we are in trouble.
I first pay tribute to the incredible staff at the RBS branch in Leith, who have been left worrying for their futures after this closure was announced. They are a legendary bunch, well known for going above and beyond for their customers and providing that old-fashioned notion of top-notch customer service. The branch is a well-known and well-used fixture in the area, and it should remain to serve the people of Leith into the future. It is located in a vibrant and growing—my goodness, is it growing—part of the city, and it serves diverse banking needs, from the many small start-ups that rely on cash, to people who are more financially vulnerable and cannot easily head uptown, so I find the decision absolutely baffling.
Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)
The hon. Lady touches on something common to many of us in Edinburgh, where 70% of the bank branches have been closed down in the past few years. This morning, I heard from a constituent in the Newbridge village who is being hit very hard by the closure of the RBS branch there. Her autistic son needs cash every day, and she will now have to get a bus to a different part of the city to get it for him because there is no post office available either. Does the hon. Lady agree that we cannot allow this situation to go on?
Deidre Brock
I absolutely agree, and I will be making those points in my speech. The hon. Lady’s example perfectly illustrates exactly why branches need to remain open, and banks must be encouraged to do that.
These further closures from RBS are a particular disappointment, because that once-proud Scottish brand, which is now a subsidiary of NatWest, can trace its origins to Edinburgh in 1727, at the time of the Scottish enlightenment. It is credited with providing the world’s first overdraft—a mixed blessing, perhaps—and it created a wide branch network as part of Scotland’s successful and stable multi-bank system. Times may have changed, but the move towards more centralised control of banking does not seem like progress to me. For RBS to soon have just three city centre branches in Edinburgh is a sorry state of affairs.
Seasonal Migrant Workers
Debate between Christine Jardine and Deidre Brock(6 years, 9 months ago)
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John Lamont
I am grateful to the hon. Lady for making that point. I would say that this debate is focused on the agricultural sector. There are definitely challenges in other parts of the economy, but that does not remove anything from the fact that in the past 10 years there has been a downward trend in the number of workers who are coming from the EU to work in our economy.
Seasonal work in the United Kingdom now appears less attractive than it was a decade ago because of a range of factors. A number of Members have described those, but the most notable is the drop in the value of the pound. Many voices in the industry favour the reintroduction of the seasonal agricultural workers scheme, which came to an end following the admission of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU. We now have the opportunity to bring this scheme back or at least to look at something similar—an opportunity that has only been brought about because of Brexit. I join in calls for the United Kingdom Government to look closely at reintroducing the scheme as a way of meeting the seasonal needs of farmers not just across Scotland and in my constituency, but across all the United Kingdom.
A final point I want to make is that this issue starkly highlights the importance of maintaining the United Kingdom’s internal market and the easy movement of staff across the UK—something that the Scottish National party Government in Edinburgh seems unable to understand. Seasonal migrant workers often start working in one part of the United Kingdom and travel across the country on different jobs in one season. The effect of the SNP’s call for a separate immigration policy would make it harder for workers to do that. As Jonnie Hall, the director of policy at the National Farmers Union Scotland said, the last thing that farmers need is a “checkpoint at Berwick”. As is often the case, the needs of the farming sector are the same north and south of the borders, and it is in the farmers’ interest that this is dealt with on a UK-wide basis, rather than on a Scottish-only basis.
Deidre Brock (Edinburgh North and Leith) (SNP)
Will the hon. Gentleman give way?