Oral Answers to Questions
Frank McNally Excerpts(2 weeks, 4 days ago)
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Frank McNally (Coatbridge and Bellshill) (Lab)
Irene Campbell (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Ian Murray)
We have reset the relationship with the Scottish Government, and I have met the Deputy First Minister numerous times to discuss the autumn Budget and other issues. Between the moment when my right hon. Friend the Chancellor stood up and the moment when she sat down, Scotland was better off to the tune of £4.9 billion in Barnett consequentials alone—again, money that the SNP voted against, but will spend today. I encourage the Scottish Government to use that money to strengthen frontline services, bring down NHS waiting times and lift attainment in our schools. There can be no more excuses. We ended austerity, and it is time that they followed.
Frank McNally
I thank my right hon. Friend for his answer. A thriving retail, hospitality and leisure sector is critical to brand Scotland. Following the welcome decision in the Budget to ensure a 40% rates relief for RHL businesses in England, what guarantees, if any, has my right hon. Friend had from the Scottish Government that the extra Barnett consequentials linked to non-domestic rates will be passed on in today’s Scottish Budget? Does he agree that any failure to do so would be deeply damaging to the sector?
Ian Murray
I thank my hon. Friend for his question; he is absolutely correct. The UK Budget chose investment over decline, including investment directly in my hon. Friend’s constituency as part of the £200 million towns fund, as well as the biggest Budget settlement in the history of devolution. He is also right to say that our hospitality businesses need the rates relief more than ever. The Scottish Government should use their Budget to deliver growth and investment to help our high streets, and passing on the relief should be the bare minimum.
Oral Answers to Questions
Frank McNally Excerpts(3 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)
Frank McNally (Coatbridge and Bellshill) (Lab)
Gregor Poynton (Livingston) (Lab)
Ian Murray
I thank my hon. Friend and congratulate him on his wonderful victory in Glasgow North. Scotland’s 19 world-class higher education institutions are an essential part of our economy, culture and global reputation, and they are paramount to the successful delivery of our missions. We punch well above our weight in Scotland, which is something that we need to protect and nurture. By the end of next week, I will have met the principals of all of Scotland’s universities. I want to deepen and strengthen those relationships, and I believe that the knowledge and expertise of those institutions will be crucial to delivering a new industrial strategy and the goals of this new Government.
Frank McNally
Coatbridge and Bellshill has a rich history of heavy industry, but following years of empty rhetoric and empty soundbites from the previous UK Government and the current Scottish Government, there has been a failure to honour the legacy of industry across Scotland and deliver a long-term, sustainable and coherent strategy. What steps will the Secretary of State take to ensure that industrial jobs in Scotland are as much a part of its future as they are of its history?
Ian Murray
I thank my hon. Friend and congratulate him on winning Coatbridge and Bellshill. Scotland and its world-class industrial workforce will play a driving role in our ambition to become a green energy powerhouse in this country. For example, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, the Scottish Government and I met representatives of Petroineos earlier this week to discuss what support can be provided to ensure a sustainable future for the industrial clusters in the wider Falkirk and Grangemouth region, which is crucial to the entirety of Scotland and the UK. That includes our commitment to fund Project Willow with the Scottish Government.