David Mundell
Main Page: David Mundell (Conservative - Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale)Department Debates - View all David Mundell's debates with the Scotland Office
(11 years, 9 months ago)
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Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)
2. What effect cancelling the fuel duty rise planned for January 2013 will have on motorists in Scotland.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)
Cancelling the fuel duty rise planned for January will help owners of the 2.7 million motor vehicles in Scotland, saving a typical driver £40 a year and a haulier £1,200 a year.
Bob Blackman
Does my right hon. Friend not agree that cancelling Labour’s planned tax increases on fuel will save the average Scottish motorist more than £600 during the life of the coalition Government?
David Mundell
I agree that the deferral of Labour’s planned duty rise in April this year will mean that fuel will be 13p a litre cheaper than it would have been under a Labour Government.
Cathy Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab/Co-op)
I welcome the Government’s listening to our call to stop the rise. However, what discussion has the Minister had with the Scottish Government about what assistance can be given to small independent petrol retailers, particularly in rural areas, to ensure that people living in those areas, and not just those who live in urban areas, are able to take advantage of decent pricing?
David Mundell
The hon. Lady makes an important point. At the end of this month I will meet fuel distributors and MPs from rural areas, and she is very welcome to join that meeting to discuss fuel prices and fuel distribution in rural areas.
Mr Alan Reid (Argyll and Bute) (LD)
I am delighted that the Government have cancelled Labour’s fuel duty escalator and cut fuel duty by 1p on the mainland and 6p on the islands. Will the Minister support the call to lobby the European Union to extend the island fuel duty discount to remote parts of the mainland such as mainland Argyll?
David Mundell
Indeed. My hon. Friend will have noted that in the mid-term review the coalition Government have undertaken to examine the possibility of extending the 5p reduction to areas of the mainland that are similar to island communities.
Mr Angus Brendan MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP)
The cut in fuel duty through the rural fuel derogation has been very welcome in my constituency. I remember asking Labour to do that when in power, and it refused. When will it be extended to Skye, Lochaber, Argyll and Wester Ross—areas through which my constituents pass on the way home and on the way back to the mainland?
David Mundell
As I said in my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Argyll and Bute (Mr Reid), in the mid-term review the coalition Government have undertaken to examine exactly that possibility.
Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)
The Government have done their bit in cutting fuel duty at the pumps. Will my right hon. Friend lobby the oil companies to take on their responsibility in this respect, because when international oil prices fall, prices still remain high at the pumps?
David Mundell
Indeed. I am sure that my hon. Friend welcomes the fact that there is an Office of Fair Trading inquiry into fuel prices, and we very much look forward to seeing the outcome of that in January.
Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (Lab)
Has the Minister looked into whether these reductions, or lack of increases, have been passed on to motorists in Scotland? Is he aware that in Kennington road in London one can buy petrol at 129.9p? Besides the fact that there is a 5p differential between the price in London and the price in my constituency, it is now more expensive to buy petrol next to Grangemouth, where petrol is produced for Scotland, than in the Kennington road in London. Is the Minister doing anything to make sure that motorists are not being ripped off by those selling the fuel?
David Mundell
The price of fuel at different petrol stations in different communities has been a matter of long-term concern, and that is why the OFT is conducting an inquiry into it. In my previous answer, I indicated that the results of that inquiry will be available in January, and they will make very interesting reading.
David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)
3. What discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues and Ministers in the Scottish Government on the continued use of sterling in an independent Scotland.
Ann McKechin (Glasgow North) (Lab)
9. How many people in Scotland will be affected by the Government’s plan to limit the uprating of in-work benefits to 1%.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)
Yesterday the Department for Work and Pensions published an impact assessment for the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill, which states that about 30% of all households will be affected by the measures contained in the Bill.
Gregg McClymont
I thank the Minister for that answer. Even after changes to tax allowances, a single-earner household with children in my constituency will be £534 a year worse off by April 2015. With that priority in mind, does the Minister still believe that the Government should go ahead with their priority of a £2,000 a week tax cut for millionaires?
David Mundell
What I believe is that the Government should continue to work to sort out the mess in the economy that the hon. Gentleman’s Labour Government left behind. The measures announced yesterday will save £5 billion and he and his colleagues have not given any answers as to where they would find such savings if they did not implement those changes.
Ann McKechin
One in five working families in Scotland who rely on tax credits will see a cut in their real income as a result of these changes. Many of them rely on low-paid, temporary and part-time jobs when, in fact, they want permanent, full-time jobs. What steps will the Minister take in 2013 to tackle the scourge of under-employment in Scotland?
David Mundell
The Secretary of State will work with the Scottish Government and stakeholders in Scotland to set up an employability forum, which will look at the two Governments and all interested parties in Scotland working together to ensure that we get more people into full-time employment.
Mrs Eleanor Laing (Epping Forest) (Con)
14. Does the Minister agree that, for better or worse, the Scottish economy is part of the UK economy, and that the economy of our whole country will not improve unless and until we bring public spending under control?
David Mundell
I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. The benefits issue is an example of where, simply to curry favour with the electorate, the SNP Scottish Government are making promises that they could not possibly keep in an independent Scotland.
Margaret Curran (Glasgow East) (Lab)
Will the Minister tell the House how many members of the armed forces in Scotland will see their incomes cut as a result of last night’s vote?
David Mundell
Last night’s vote was about ensuring that we have a sustainable welfare system. The hon. Lady’s answer on all these issues is more borrowing, more spending and more debt. She cannot say how she would fund the rises in benefit for which she voted.
Margaret Curran
What a disappointing answer. The answer is 4,000 members of the armed forces. There might be a Liberal Democrat leading the Scotland Office, but Scots can see that this Government are just the same old Tories. In 2010, the Department told us that it had
“absolutely no desire to see people losing their jobs or being in worse circumstances than they were in before”.
Will the Minister explain why the Government are failing the test that they set themselves?
David Mundell
What the people of Scotland know is that it is the same old Labour: there is no apology for the mess that it left the economy in and its only proposal is more spending, more borrowing and more debt.
Dr Eilidh Whiteford (Banff and Buchan) (SNP)
It will come as no surprise to the Minister to learn that I opposed the cap on in-work benefits last night because it will hammer thousands of families in Scotland who are trying to bring up children while working hard in low-paid jobs. However, does he share my surprise that some senior MPs, including members of the last Labour Government, who left his Government with an almighty mess in the public finances, did not even turn up to vote last night?
David Mundell
Nothing that SNP Members say or do surprises me. The SNP’s position is totally hypocritical. The Scottish Government are asking nurses and NHS workers to take a 1% pay rise, yet they want benefits to rise by more than that.
Mr Brian H. Donohoe (Central Ayrshire) (Lab)
5. How many people in Scotland have used food banks in the last 12 months.
Lindsay Roy (Glenrothes) (Lab)
12. How many people in Scotland have used food banks in the last six months.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)
Jobcentre Plus operates a food bank referral service. However, the Government do not hold information on the number of people seeking assistance from food banks.
Mr Donohoe
We are in 2013 and not 1813, are we not? The need for food banks this year in Scotland is an abominable reflection on society. There is even a food bank in Prestwick, which is one of the most salubrious parts of my constituency. According to the Trussell Trust, 15% of the people who use that food bank are in employment. What an indictment that is of the Government.
David Mundell
Although I share the hon. Gentleman’s concern about the use of food banks and the fact that there are vulnerable people in crisis situations, I do not accept the pretence that food banks have come into existence since this Government came to power. That is simply not true. There were food banks under Labour; it is simply that they were not advertised in jobcentres.
Lindsay Roy
What message does the Minister have for the increasing number of people in my constituency who are being forced to go to food banks to feed their families? What will he do to alleviate that situation?
David Mundell
I acknowledge the hon. Gentleman’s concern because he instigated a useful Westminster Hall debate on this matter. The Government will continue to do all that we can to help and support the vulnerable in his constituency and elsewhere.
Gordon Banks (Ochil and South Perthshire) (Lab)
Two years ago, the Secretary of State said about the Government’s plans that
“the horrible truth is that across the country everyone is going to have to make a contribution”.
The horrible truth of life in Scotland under his Government, however, is that a food bank in my constituency has experienced a father walking a 15-mile round trip for a bag of food to feed his family. Is that an appropriate contribution while the Government give a £2,000 a week tax cut to millionaires?
David Mundell
I have already indicated that the Government are always concerned about those who need to use food banks in any circumstances, but I will not take any lectures from the hon. Gentleman and the Labour party on millionaires when they want to give them child benefit.
Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)
6. What recent discussions his Department has had on the provision of superfast broadband in Scotland.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)
The UK Government have allocated a £100 million investment for rural broadband projects in Scotland. It is the responsibility of the Scottish Government to deliver on that. Scotland Office officials keep in close and regular contact with Broadband Delivery UK and Department for Culture, Media and Sport colleagues overseeing the roll-out of all broadband projects in the UK.
Pauline Latham
In the Minister’s discussions with Scottish Government Ministers, have they told him what progress they are making towards implementing superfast broadband access?
David Mundell
It is clear that people throughout Scotland want broadband access implemented as soon as possible, particularly in rural areas. We will work closely with the Scottish Government to ensure that they deliver on the undertakings that they have given on the £100 million that they have received.
Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway) (Lab)
Although I recognise the important role that the Scottish Government play in the provision of broadband in rural areas—[Interruption.] I thought those cheers were for me. The Minister is fully aware that in areas such as his and mine, small and medium-sized enterprises depend upon good connectivity. What is his Department doing to ensure that the Scottish Government are delivering?
David Mundell
I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we will hold the Scottish Government to account for that investment. Although the UK Government have funded investment in the cities—in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Perth—we want the Scottish Government to deliver for Dumfries and Galloway and equivalent rural areas throughout Scotland. [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. I appeal for a bit of order. There are now far too many very noisy private conversations taking place. Let us hear Sir Malcolm Bruce.
Sir Malcolm Bruce (Gordon) (LD)
I thank the UK Government for the support they have given to Aberdeen city’s bid under the small cities broadband fund, and for their contribution along with the Scottish Government, the city of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire to the expansion of broadband. May I urge the Minister to recognise that although we want superfast broadband in the cities, we also need access in rural areas at sufficient speeds to enable businesses to flourish rather than forcing people to migrate to cities?
David Mundell
I can advise the right hon. Gentleman that I have met Aberdeenshire council to discuss exactly that issue. Although superfast broadband is welcome in Aberdeen, we want it rolled out into Aberdeenshire as well.
Ian Paisley (North Antrim) (DUP)
The use of superfast broadband is of course one effective way to promote the identity of our country. Will the Minister welcome to Parliament today the Ulster-Scots Agency? It is promoting the links between Ulster and Scotland, of which the Secretary of State is a wonderful example as a born Ulsterman who is now serving Scotland. Will the Minister use superfast broadband to continue to promote our wonderful culture and shared Ulster and Unionist heritage?
David Mundell
The Secretary of State is a wonderful example of many things, and the answer is yes. [Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. There is now far too much noise. I am sure the House will want to hear Mr Karl MᶜCartney.