Oral Answers to Questions

Mark Jenkinson Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to support British armed forces personnel based in Scotland.

[Mark Jenkinson (Workington) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to support British armed forces personnel based in Scotland.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Alister Jack)]

British armed forces personnel in Scotland play a crucial role in defending the whole UK, and my Department meets regularly with the Ministry of Defence to help raise concerns that are specific to Scotland. I feel particularly indebted to the armed forces in Scotland, who keep us safe at home and abroad and who assisted with such dedication at the height of this covid pandemic.

[Mr Jack]

I absolutely agree. Our armed forces perform a hugely important task in their service of the United Kingdom, and it is unacceptable that any member of them should be subject to discriminatory taxation. That is why the United Kingdom Government took the decision to make an annual payment to protect them from the Scottish Government’s decision to make Scotland the highest taxed part of the United Kingdom.

[Mark Jenkinson]

British armed forces have contributed enormously to the national response to the covid-19 outbreak, supporting the distribution of personal protective equipment, assisting with testing facilities and transporting patients, for which Cumbria and my constituency of Workington are grateful. Will my right hon. Friend join me in thanking the armed forces for all their work during the pandemic, and can he confirm that every part of our United Kingdom will continue to benefit from their hard work?