Draft Major Sporting Events (Income Tax Exemption) (World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24) Regulations 2023

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Monday 11th December 2023 General Committees

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

I should not worry, Mr Dowd: I will not detain the Committee too long. Glasgow, as we know, is the UK’s premier destination for events, cultural or sporting, and a sporting event is why we are here. I would say that, as the Scottish National party sports spokesperson, but there is also the fact that my constituency now has over 10,000 voters in Glasgow. Who can forget the 2014 Commonwealth games—the best Commonwealth games ever? Members are free to disagree, but those games were significantly better than any events held in Edinburgh. Whether the Commonwealth games will come back to Scotland is up for debate, given the problems that those games are having. Just recently, Scotland hosted the first combined cycling world championships, which went fantastically well, and which I saw at first hand.

I very much look forward to another succesful sporting event being held in Glasgow. I assure the Minister that I will not divide the Committee on the regulations.