Oral Answers to Questions

David Mundell Excerpts

Wednesday 16th June 2010 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Hamilton (Midlothian) (Lab)]

2. What assessment he has made of the likely effect on economic growth in Scotland of the programme of expenditure reduction announced on 24 May 2010.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)]

Dealing with the deficit and continuing to ensure the economic recovery is the most urgent issue we face. We must tackle the deficit to restore confidence in our economy and support the recovery.

[Mr Hamilton]

Next week the Under-Secretary and his Liberal colleagues will be making massive cuts throughout the United Kingdom. When he has his first meeting with the First Minister of Scotland, could he explain why, when the Scottish Government have got a substantial increase in the amount of money they are receiving this year, they are overseeing thousands of cuts throughout Scotland? Will he do what I think he will do, which is to roll over whenever the First Minister wants him to?

[David Mundell]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his, as usual, spirited question. I am sure he will be in agreement with the Scottish Parliament Finance Committee, which called on the Scottish Government to show far greater leadership by discussing in more open and realistic terms the impact that the cuts will have and the options that are available to deal with those cuts.

[Mr Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute) (LD)]

I warmly welcome the Minister to his new post.

It is really important for economic growth in remote and rural areas to ensure that businesses, particularly small businesses, in such areas have access to broadband. What will the Government be doing to ensure that broadband is rolled out to the whole country, including remote and rural parts of Scotland?

[David Mundell]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his warm welcome. He will already know that the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport has set out his clear objective of turning Britain into a digital economy. The hon. Gentleman specified with clarity the needs of rural areas, for which the Secretary of State and I will continue to fight within Government.

[Mr Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West) (Lab/Co-op)]

I congratulate the new Ministers on taking office. However, I draw to the House’s attention the fact that they are huddled together in one section of the country; I hope that they will, at times, travel out to look at other parts of the country, including my own constituency.

What actions have been taken so far to ensure that any expenditure reduction does not result in a cut or a delay in the aircraft carriers upon which so much of the economy of the west of Scotland, and Scotland as a whole, depends?

[David Mundell]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his elevation to the chairmanship of the Scottish Affairs Committee, on which I was pleased to serve with him. I am sure that he will bring his own distinct style to the Committee’s proceedings.

As the hon. Gentleman will know, this Government’s position on the aircraft carriers is, despite attempts to suggest otherwise, no different from that of the previous Government. There is to be a strategic defence review. The nuclear deterrent is excluded from that review, and it would be wrong to prejudge the review in any other way, other than to say that sea-borne defence is obviously very important to this country.

[Richard Ottaway (Croydon South) (Con)]

3. What recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on implementation of the recommendations of the final report of the Commission on Scottish Devolution.

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)]

All Members of this House share the sense of shock and disbelief at the tragic events that unfolded in Cumbria on 2 June. The hon. Gentleman must have felt this more than most given his close personal associations with Whitehaven, and I personally offer my condolences to him and to the families that have been so cruelly affected.

In Prime Minister’s questions on 3 June, the Prime Minister confirmed that the Association of Chief Police Officers would be supporting a peer review, to be conducted by national police experts, on firearms licensing, the police firearms response and firearms tactics. Firearms legislation is a reserved matter. As the Home Secretary told the House in her statement on 3 June, we will await the police report before we embark on and lead a debate about the gun laws across Great Britain.

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We must now speed up. Some of these answers are simply too long and it will not do.

[Thomas Docherty]

I thank the Minister for his kind words and welcome him to his new post. The House may wish to note the support given by Scottish police forces to the Cumbria constabulary in the immediate aftermath of the incident. Will he agree to meet a cross-party delegation from Scotland once ACPO and its counterparts in England and Wales have made their submission to the Home Office, so that we can convey the very strong feelings of the people of Scotland about firearms legislation?

[David Mundell]

We are all proud of the efforts of officers from the Dumfries and Galloway police force and others in Scotland after the events in Cumbria. I will meet the hon. Gentleman’s delegation.

[Sir Menzies Campbell (North East Fife) (LD)]

Perhaps I should declare an interest as the holder of a shotgun licence, for sporting purposes only.

If any question were to arise of separate legislation for Scotland, would the Minister undertake to consider the difference between the sufficiency of existing legislation and the extent to which it is properly enforced? Further, in view of the geographical position of his constituency and that of his colleagues, will he take account of the considerable cross-border traffic in sporting activities involving firearms?

[David Mundell]

I shall most certainly take into account the issues that the right hon. and learned Gentleman has raised. He will, however, be aware that the Calman commission has recommended that the regulation of air guns be transferred to the responsibility of the Scottish Parliament, and the Government are committed to doing that in the Bill that we will bring forward in the autumn.

[Mary Macleod (Brentford and Isleworth) (Con)]

6. What steps he plans to take to ensure a stable economic environment for businesses in Scotland.

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[Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (Lab)]

8. What recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the support available for manufacturing in Scotland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)]

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has made it a priority to speak to a number of key individuals in the business sector in Scotland to get an update on the main issues affecting them.

[Jim Sheridan]

The Minister will be aware of the Dyson report commissioned by the Conservative party in March. It contained many important ideas, such as building esteem for science, engineering, and research and development, and investing in high-tech start-ups. It also highlighted the importance of projects such as those for nuclear and offshore wind power, and, from a Scottish perspective, high-speed rail. Will the coalition Government be implementing any of those proposals, and if so, when?

[David Mundell]

The hon. Gentleman was a strong supporter of Lord Myners and will know therefore that the latter said:

“The Government cannot create jobs. The Government can create an environment that is conducive to the creation of jobs”.—[Official Report, House of Lords, 8 June 2010; Vol. 719, c. 625.]

That is the priority of this coalition Government.

[Mr Adam Holloway (Gravesham) (Con)]

9. What recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on Scotland’s future energy needs.

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[Andrew Rosindell (Romford) (Con)]

10. What recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on measures to reduce the level of economic inactivity in Scotland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)]

The Government have already announced their plans for a radical reform of the welfare-to-work system and the implementation of the programme, which among other things will tackle the issue of economic inactivity.

[Andrew Rosindell]

The Minister will have noted the comments of Lord Myners, who said that it was wrong for the previous Government to create jobs themselves, rather than creating the conditions for business to create those jobs. Will he encourage the Scottish trade unions to take the same attitude?

[David Mundell]

I am sure that trade unions in Scotland will share the Chancellor’s view that we are all in this together.

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

May I, too, welcome the Secretary of State to his new post? I am sure he is aware that his predecessor in the previous Government visited my constituency on a number of occasions to see at first hand the importance of the computer games industry in Dundee. The former Chancellor gave a commitment in his Budget to tax breaks for that industry. Can the Minister guarantee that the Government of whom he is now a member will honour that commitment?

[Mr Speaker]

Order. If the Minister could hear that, he has very good hearing. May I make an appeal to the House? I know that it is in a state of eager anticipation of Prime Minister’s questions, but it is very unfair to the Member on his or her feet, and to the Minister. Let us have a bit of order. That is what the public expect.

[David Mundell]

Like the Secretary of State, I do not want to pre-empt next week’s Budget, but I am sure that the Chancellor will have heard the hon. Gentleman’s representations.

The Prime Minister was asked—