David Mundell
Main Page: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)Department Debates - View all David Mundell's debates with the Scotland Office
(12 years, 7 months ago)
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David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)
3. What discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the funding formula for Scotland.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)
The Government are aware of the concerns that have been expressed about the current system of devolution funding, whereby changes to the block grant are calculated according to the Barnett formula. Owing to the unprecedented deficit that we inherited, our immediate priority is to reduce the deficit, and we have no plans to change the present arrangements before the public finances have been stabilised.
David Mowat
Given that the Government have no plans to replace the current formula with a formula based on need, and given the requirement for clarity so that the people of Scotland know what proportion of the national debt they will inherit before they vote, does my hon. Friend agree that the Barnett multiplier would provide a good solution?
David Mundell
I believe that we need to move on from the discussion of issues of process relating to the referendum, and engage in a substantive debate on the issues that would affect Scotland if it became independent. Having, it would appear, campaigned relentlessly for independence, the SNP now seems to want to delay the question and the issues for as long as possible.
Mr Brian H. Donohoe (Central Ayrshire) (Lab)
Does the Minister agree that the high price of fuel is creating major problems in Scotland, and that, at a stroke, cutting VAT, which is perhaps the unfairest tax in the country, would help Scottish families, who are suffering greatly as a result of the Budget.
Mr Speaker
Order. I hope that the answer will refer to the funding formula for Scotland, as the question should have done.
David Mundell
The funding formula for Scotland is calculated on the basis of a basket of taxes raised by the United Kingdom Government. Scots would be much worse off if fuel duty were 10p higher, as it would have been if Labour were in power.
Mr David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con)
Does my hon. Friend agree that it is vital to maintain the Union in the interests of both England and Scotland, but that the funding formula should be fair to both countries?
David Mundell
I agree absolutely with my hon. Friend’s sentiments, but as he and many other Members are aware, this Government inherited the worst deficit in peacetime history from the Labour Government, and stabilising our nation’s finances must be the focus of their efforts.
Gordon Banks (Ochil and South Perthshire) (Lab)
My question relates directly to the question from the hon. Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford (Mr Evennett) and the Minister’s answer to it. Does the Minister agree that the Scotland Bill will increase the amount of revenue gathered in Scotland to about a third of its spend, and will thus decrease dependency on a block grant?
David Mundell
I agree that the Scotland Bill represents a radical, historic and significant change to Scotland’s financing. More than a third of spending by the Scottish Parliament will result from funding from taxes that it determines and raises. That is a major step forward in terms of devolution and accountability, and should be welcomed by all Members.
Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (Lab)
13. How many pensioners in Scotland will be affected by the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s decision on age-related personal allowances.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)
Three hundred and sixty-seven thousand.
Michael Connarty
Will the Government not admit that the figures do not reveal the fact that this is an attack on people who have put away money for their retirement? The amount involved is up to £30,000 a year. This is an attack on middle-class people. There is also an attack on single people, who will lose income through being hit by the bedroom tax. People cannot be elderly and they cannot be single—and it would appear they cannot be hungry either, as there is a tax on fish and chips.
David Mundell
It will not surprise the hon. Gentleman that I do not accept his analysis. He and others who scaremonger on this issue fail to point out that more than half of those in Scotland aged over 65 will not pay any tax at all.
Lindsay Roy
Is the Minister not ashamed of his Government’s decision to reduce tax for the wealthiest Scots while at the same time penalising pensioners with a tax grab, whereby they will lose up to £322 per annum?
David Mundell
I know that the hon. Gentleman was not a Member of this Parliament for most of the 13 years of the last Labour Government, but most of his colleagues from Scotland were, and I did not hear them calling at that time for an increase in the higher rate of income tax. He is wrong to say that there will be losers in relation to the age-related allowances; there will be no cash losers.
Sandra Osborne
If, as the Government say, this measure is about fairness and simplification, why did they not wait until the full £10,000 personal allowance was in place before imposing this stealth tax on pensioners?
David Mundell
I acknowledge that the hon. Lady is well known for speaking up both for the low-paid and for those on the minimum wage. That is why I would have thought that she would have welcomed the fact that the Government are raising the personal allowance to £10,000 during this course of this Parliament. [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. There are a lot of noisy private conversations taking place in the Chamber. I would like to hear the questions and the answers.
Gregg McClymont
What does it say about the priorities of this Government that they impose a granny tax on 367,000 Scots while giving a tax cut to the wealthiest 14,000 Scots?
David Mundell
What the hon. Gentleman and his colleagues fail to acknowledge is that this Government have delivered the largest pension rise in the last 30 years, whereas the last Government, which his party led, introduced a pension rise of 75p, so we are not going to take any lectures from Labour on the treatment of pensioners in Scotland.
Mr William Bain (Glasgow North East) (Lab)
Just how out of touch are this Government if they think that it is right or fair that almost 400,000 Scottish pensioners should pay on average £83 a year more in tax from next April just so that 16,000 top-rate taxpayers receive a tax cut of £10,000 a year on average? People retiring next April will face an annual tax hike of £322 a year because of the granny tax and the ending of the savings credit in 2017, on top of higher VAT and cuts in winter fuel allowance introduced by this Chancellor. With a record in government like that, surely it is no surprise to the Minister that Tory election strategists are gloomy about winning any seats at all in Scotland at the next general election.
David Mundell
What I think is fair is that half of pensioners over 65 in Scotland will not pay any tax at all; that those earning less than £10,000 will, by the end of this Parliament, be subject to a personal allowance of £10,000; and that this Government have delivered the largest increase in the pension—£270 compared with the 75p offered by the previous Government.
Dr Eilidh Whiteford (Banff and Buchan) (SNP)
Those pension increases will, of course, be wiped out by this tax grab. People living on modest pension incomes have already paid a very high price for the financial crisis. They have lost the value of their savings and investments, and they are having to face inflation and extremely low interest rates. How can the Minister justify this tax grab on pensioners while taxes are being cut for millionaires?
David Mundell
I am afraid that I am not going to accept any lectures on economics from the hon. Lady. She is offering pensioners in Scotland the prospect of breaking up the United Kingdom, with no certainty as to where pension funding would come from.
Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)
6. What assessment his Department has made of the implications for the currency used in Scotland of a vote in favour of independence for Scotland.
Guy Opperman (Hexham) (Con)
7. What steps are being taken by the Government and the Office of Fair Trading to tackle fuel poverty in Scotland.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)
The Secretary of State chaired the first ever annual summit in Scotland on fuel poverty, bringing together the heads of the big six energy companies and Scottish consumer groups. That led to suppliers providing information to improve the application of key policies in Scotland, such as the warm home discount scheme. I am convening a follow-up meeting soon to review progress.
Guy Opperman
Does the Minister agree that the problem of a lack of competition in the availability and provision of heating oil in the Scottish border region needs addressing urgently?
David Mundell
I represent a large rural constituency in the Scottish borders, so I certainly share my hon. Friend’s concerns, although I understand that in his constituency there are some innovative initiatives whereby communities are coming together to purchase heating oil and are therefore able to negotiate better prices with suppliers.
Mr Mike Weir (Angus) (SNP)
As well as pressing the Office of Fair Trading, will the Minister press his own Cabinet colleagues to look at providing practical help, for example by bringing forward the pensioners’ winter fuel allowance for off-grid consumers to allow them to fill up their tanks before winter hits, when prices tend to be lower?
David Mundell
The off-grid issue is of concern in rural Scotland, as elsewhere, and I would be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman to discuss his concerns.
Mr Graham Allen (Nottingham North) (Lab)
11. What powers would be devolved to Scotland under devo-max.