Oral Answers to Questions
Euan Stainbank Excerpts(6 days, 18 hours ago)
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The Prime Minister
On both points, last night, following the discussions yesterday, I spoke to President Zelensky to discuss the way forward. On the wider question of assets, it is complicated—it is not straightforward—but we are working with others to see what is possible.
Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
The release of Project Willow today is a step forward in securing good jobs and an industrial future for Grangemouth. However, the Government need to work at pace to ensure that the recommendations in Willow are acted on. Will the Prime Minister outline what steps he will be taking to ensure that barriers to a rapid transition at Grangemouth are removed and investment is progressed as quickly as possible?
The Prime Minister
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising Grangemouth again, for the second time in this session; that is because it is centrally important. He will have heard what I had to say about the projects that we are looking at to ensure the long-term future of Grangemouth, the interim measures that are being taken and, of course, the £200 million of the wealth fund that I announced just a few weeks ago.
Oral Answers to Questions
Euan Stainbank Excerpts(2 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Sarah Owen (Luton North) (Lab)
Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
Jack Abbott (Ipswich) (Lab/Co-op)
Georgia Gould
It is brilliant to hear about my hon. Friend�s leadership in supporting small businesses and the work they are doing in her constituency. We are absolutely determined that SMEs should have that fair crack. The new national procurement policy statement asks us to maximise spend with small businesses. It also sets stretching and transparent targets for each Department, which will be brought to the House. We will be held to account for delivering on them.
Euan Stainbank
The targets in the national procurement policy statement for Government Departments to buy from British SMEs are to be strongly welcomed. The benefit will be long term, with broad and essential sources of investment, and we will improve our economy�s domestic resilience. Bus manufacturing is an area that needs domestic resilience, with over 100 jobs recently lost in the Falkirk area because the previous Government failed to support British buses. At the bus expert panel next week, does the Minister expect a general increase in domestic procurement following the updated national procurement policy statement?
Oral Answers to Questions
Euan Stainbank Excerpts(2 weeks, 6 days ago)
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Kirsty McNeill
I am sure that the hon. Member, and Members across the House, will join me in paying tribute to Scotland’s social care workers for the incredible contribution they make. Social care is of course a devolved matter. The Scottish Government have now received the largest budget settlement in the whole history of devolution, as well as support for additional employer national insurance costs. The Scottish Government can choose to deliver that additional support for social care, and I very much hope that they do so.
Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
The impact of net changes in the Budget is £5.2 billion more for Scotland. That is record funding to invest in our NHS, protect the successes of devolution and fix our local services, but the Scottish Government have squandered the latter opportunity by continuing to underfund our councils, leaving Falkirk council with a £28 million hole to plug after eight years of SNP control. Does the Minister agree that the £5.2 billion secured for Scotland by the Labour Government could have been used to fix local government, but instead the SNP has chosen to leave the people of Falkirk to pick up the bill?
Kirsty McNeill
Not only do I agree with my hon. Friend that the SNP Government are at risk of squandering this historic opportunity for Scotland, but I stress that the SNP Government might like to ask their Members of Parliament why they voted against this historic Budget in Scotland’s interests.
Oral Answers to Questions
Euan Stainbank Excerpts(3 weeks, 6 days ago)
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The Prime Minister
I agree with the right hon. Gentleman entirely on the priority in terms of NATO. Putin thought he could weaken NATO. He has only made it stronger and larger. NATO’s strength comes from the US, European partners and others working together, and that is absolutely the focus of my work at the moment. It is right, as he says, that European countries, including the United Kingdom, need to do more on capability, co-ordination and defence spend. That must be seen not as a project separate to NATO, but as part of an essential project that ensures NATO is there for decades and decades to come preserving the peace, just as it has been for 75 years.
Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
The Grangemouth refinery closure has loomed over central Scotland since Petroineos’s announcement in November 2023. Two weeks ago, Scottish Labour colleagues and I met the National Wealth Fund to make the case for investment in Grangemouth. I strongly welcome the exceptional commitment that this Labour Government have shown to Grangemouth by committing £200 million from the National Wealth Fund. Can I ask the Prime Minister what steps the Government will be taking to secure permanent good jobs at Grangemouth?
The Prime Minister
I thank my hon. Friend for being such a great champion for Scotland and his constituency. Grangemouth is really important to communities in Scotland and to the economy in Scotland. It is not a charity case; it has incredible potential and huge opportunity. That is why, at the weekend, I was pleased to announce £200 million from the National Wealth Fund to incentivise private investment. That follows the £100 million in the growth deal that we announced earlier. This is about securing jobs for decades to come in Grangemouth. It is a really exciting opportunity and we intend to seize it.
High Street Businesses
Euan Stainbank Excerpts(3 weeks, 6 days ago)
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Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I have never kept it a secret that I am a proud Falkirk boy, I live in our town centre, I do most of my shopping on our high street, and a couple of hours before the Bairns kick-off on a Saturday at 3 pm you will rarely find me more than a few feet far from a pint at one of our town centre pubs. Businesses on Falkirk High Street have for years been calling out for support, whether it be on parking, where the SNP Falkirk council stopped the popular “Free after 3” parking scheme, or the closure of Falkirk town hall in 2022. That was previously a major earner for our town centre on show night. Luckily, a replacement town hall in the centre of Falkirk is finally progressing, with cross-party support. It is something I strongly endorse as a measure to regenerate our town centre. I acknowledge that for businesses across the UK there are challenges, but this is felt sharply in Scotland; about three shops a day closed in 2024.
I welcome this Government’s commitment to rebalancing the tax burden away from the high street and towards the out-of-town giants. I urge them to move quickly and firmly in that direction. The Scottish Government must also look at that urgently for our high street.
Gregor Poynton
Does my hon. Friend agree with me that the Scottish Government need a new direction on business rates, because not only have they not passed on the money—the Barnett consequentials that have come from the UK Government—to hospitality and retail, but they have failed the town centres over the last 18 years?
Euan Stainbank
Absolutely. This is a point that many hospitality businesses have made. It was a narrower scope for business rates relief that was passed in yesterday’s Scottish Budget Bill than was the case in the Labour Budget, which I welcomed. The Scottish Government should revisit that decision.
I pay tribute to the fantastic work that the Falkirk business improvement district does in our town. It knows how to deliver on local priorities; not only is it on the ground with its finger on the pulse of the challenges facing Falkirk High Street, but it is accountable to the town centre businesses in Falkirk that pay the BID levy. I thank Linton Smith, who is stepping back from the Falkirk Delivers board after an exceptional 30 years of service to our town. Elaine Grant and all her team at Falkirk BID are an asset to our high street.
Although the impact of energy shocks around the globe and the behaviour of energy giants have left consumers’ bills spiralling over the last few years, the impacts on high street businesses have also been clear. I have heard stories from Falkirk High Street of bills quadrupling over the winter, compared with where they were before the pandemic, and staff wearing two jumpers while working indoors. We must get serious across this House about building cheap, clean, British energy as soon as possible, so that both our constituents at home and those who open businesses on the high street can benefit.
Increasing criminal behaviour on our high street is another concern. In my teens and early 20s, I worked pulling pints and serving tables, and when walking back to my car or jumping on a bus I noticed an incrementally more hostile atmosphere. Unite Hospitality has led the way in relation to that trend, and I reiterate my endorsement of its Get Me Home Safely campaign, which I and, at the time, council colleagues passed at a meeting of Falkirk council in 2022. Hospitality workers have endured unacceptable threats and physical and sexual violence, and we must do more to work with employers to make our high streets safer.
My constituents Carolyn and Gordon are the long-term proprietors of Gordon’s Newsagents in Camelon. Recently, they were subjected to two incidents of theft, violence and vandalism when they refused to sell alcohol to those who had failed to provide identification. Crime impacts margins and increases the likelihood of shop closure.
I will finish on this point. Businesses comply with licensing conditions to protect young people and prevent crime and disorder. Their story signals that they often fail to receive the same protection in return. We need more police on our streets.
Sir Desmond Swayne (in the Chair)
We will now hear from Jas Athwal, after whom we will hear from Steve Darling. May I ask you, Mr Athwal, to be very brief?
Oral Answers to Questions
Euan Stainbank Excerpts(2 months ago)
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Kirsty McNeill
These reforms still provide a very significant level of tax relief, with the first £1 million of combined business and agriculture assets continuing to receive 100% relief in most cases. Additional assets will still receive relief at a rate of 50%. The Budget was designed to protect the payslips of working people while raising record funding for public services in Scotland. The hon. Lady should outline where she thinks that money should come from if she thinks that the wealthiest landowners should not be paying more tax.
Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
Inheritance tax is a necessary tax. That view is tacitly shared by Conservative Members given that they did not lift a finger to abolish it when they were in power. Do Ministers agree that taxing the most valuable farm estates at half the rate that other inheritance tax payers pay is an essential step to enable record spending on sustainable farming and to deliver record high budget settlements for Scotland? If Opposition Members disagree, they should go back to their constituencies this weekend and explain what they would cut, rather than waiting until halfway through the fiscal year, as the Scottish Government are prone to do.
Kirsty McNeill
I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. Opposition Members have told us about how they want to see the benefits of the Budget, but they are not prepared to support any of the tax-raising measures in it. This Budget secured billions for Scotland, but the SNP voted against that. It delivered a pay rise for 200,000 of the lowest-paid Scots, but the SNP voted against that. It ended Tory austerity, and the SNP voted against that.
Oral Answers to Questions
Euan Stainbank Excerpts(3 months, 1 week ago)
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Sarah Smith (Hyndburn) (Lab)
Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
Natasha Irons (Croydon East) (Lab)
Euan Stainbank
Proper paternity and maternity pay are essential for breaking the link between current income and further life opportunities for families. Currently, one in five fathers does not take the paternity leave available to them because it is financially inadequate. Inadequate paternity leave drives family inequality, increases the gender pay gap as women pick up greater caring responsibilities, and lowers household income. Does the Minister agree that, while the Conservative party might think that paid parental leave is too high, we on the Labour Benches recognise its crucial role in giving children the best start in life? What actions are Ministers considering to better support parents and families?
Bridget Phillipson
I strongly agree with my hon. Friend that, while the Conservatives have said that they think parental leave is excessive, we want to give families more choices. Through the Employment Rights Bill, we will make paternity leave available from day one in a new job and enable it to be taken after shared parental leave. We are also committed to reviewing the parental leave system to ensure that it better supports working families.
Oral Answers to Questions
Euan Stainbank Excerpts(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)
Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Georgia Gould)
I spent the last few weeks meeting small and medium-sized enterprises, voluntary and community sector organisations, wider businesses and contracting authorities to discuss how we ensure that the approximately £300 billion that is spent each year on public sector procurement delivers for our communities. With this Government, procurement will deliver value for money, better public services and our national missions. The Procurement Act 2023 commences in February 2025, creating a simpler, more flexible procurement system under- pinned by a new mission-led national procurement policy statement to ensure that public procurement delivers on the Government’s missions.
Georgia Gould
As I have said, we will work hard to ensure that public contracts are supporting small businesses. I have spent a lot of time talking to them about how we can do that through the new public procurement policy and the measures in the policy statement. This week the Chancellor announced the appointment of a new covid corruption commissioner, who will be taking action to recover public money.
Euan Stainbank
The residents of Falkirk want a Government who work day in, day out to deliver value for money for the taxpayer. Never has that been so true as now, given the broken public finances left by the Tories and 17 years of waste and inaction from the Scottish National party up the road. Does the Minister agree that the billions we spend on public procurement must deliver value for the taxpayer, and can she tell me what steps the Government are taking to ensure that that is the case?
Georgia Gould
When our public services are facing so much strain and desperately need rebuilding, it is critical that we cut waste and deliver value for money. Under the last Government the procurement system too often failed to drive that efficiency, as was shown by the shocking levels of fraud and waste during the pandemic. We will bring new transparency to public sector procurement, along with a relentless focus on fraud.