Oral Answers to Questions
Melanie Ward Excerpts(1 week, 1 day ago)
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Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Melanie Ward)
This Government are taking action to give families breathing space. We are driving the long-term changes needed to create good jobs and growth in every postcode. The Prime Minister has been clear that pushing economic power out of Holyrood and into the regions of Scotland is key to reindustrialisation. The UK Government stand ready to work with the Scottish Government to do this. At the same time, we are empowering regions through action like the local growth fund, which will benefit my hon. Friend’s area.
Euan Stainbank
I welcome my hon. Friend to her place on the Front Bench. To deliver good growth in my area, the reindustrialisation of the Grangemouth industrial cluster is essential. We must take steps to include Grangemouth in the strategic sites accelerator, unlock a final investment decision in the Acorn project and take concerted action to secure and reutilise the Syngenta site when the company withdraws next December. What action is my hon. Friend taking, alongside departmental colleagues, to enable the reindustrialisation of Grangemouth?
Melanie Ward
The Prime Minister wants to see reindustrialisation, and we are committed to driving growth in Grangemouth and the wider region. We have acted swiftly at every stage as the Grangemouth site transitions, including through a £120 million commitment to safeguard the chemicals plant. I know that the Minister for Reindustrialisation and Cabinet Secretary Flynn are focusing especially on the preparation of ground conditions and the remediation of potential sites for new projects, which is key to unlocking the £200 million from the national wealth fund. I know that my hon. Friend will continue to push for his constituents.
Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)
Scottish Government figures released yesterday show the lowest level of new house building in more than a decade. Ahead of the Budget, councils in England are expected to benefit from new investment to stimulate council house building and access low-interest borrowing. Will the Minister engage with her Scottish Government counterparts to encourage similar support in Scotland to help local councils to build more homes and, in turn, support local economic growth through construction?
Melanie Ward
The hon. Lady makes an excellent point about this Government’s record on building new homes in England. My officials regularly engage with the Scottish Government on a range of matters to exchange learning. As she knows, housing and planning are devolved matters, so house building responsibility rests with the Scottish Government. Of particular concern are the increasing numbers of children living in temporary accommodation in Scotland and the increasing numbers of people sleeping rough. While our Prime Minister is determined to end rough sleeping, in Scotland it is on the rise, and that is not good enough.
John Grady (Glasgow East) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Melanie Ward)
The clean energy transition is a generational economic opportunity to reindustrialise Scotland, from the islands to the borders. Scotland is already a clean energy powerhouse, with the industry supporting 105,000 jobs and adding £10 billion to the Scottish economy. Last week, the Chancellor announced a new £2 billion energy wealth fund to further support the UK’s transition to low-carbon power. Berwick Bank is on course to be one of the largest windfarms in the world and is off the coast of Scotland.
John Grady
Large clean energy projects and transmission project lines need planning consent from the Scottish Government. Delays mean that Scottish electricity consumers pay more. In a recent report, CBI Scotland says:
“Planning is the concern business leaders across Scotland raise with us most consistently, and the frustrations they describe are…too much inconsistency, not enough speed”
and a growing sense that planning has become a barrier to investment and growth—a responsibility of the Scottish Government. Does the Minister agree that the Scottish Government need to get a grip on the planning system?
Melanie Ward
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is why we have worked with the Scottish Government to make approving energy infrastructure in Scotland simpler. Those reforms are intended to help Scotland to realise our clean power ambitions while providing investors with greater confidence, yet we continue to hear from industry that the Scottish planning system is holding back growth. Planning is also the mechanism that the SNP uses to block new nuclear energy projects in Scotland, costing us up to 5,000 skilled jobs in the last decade alone.
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Orkney and Shetland) (LD)
The Minister saw for herself this summer the opportunities being developed around marine renewables in my constituency at the European Marine Energy Centre in Orkney. Next month we will hopefully get the report from the taskforce commissioned by other Government Departments. Will the Minister engage with that and ensure that we get marine energy across the line and, as a consequence, win a home-grown supply chain in Scotland for her reindustrialisation policies?
Melanie Ward
I greatly enjoyed my visit to the right hon. Gentleman’s beautiful constituency. He is right about the opportunities that we have for clean power in Scotland, which our Government are already taking advantage of. I saw for myself what is happening in Orkney with tidal, wave and wind power, and I will pay significant attention to the report that he mentions.
Susan Murray (Mid Dunbartonshire) (LD)
The SNP’s anti-nuclear position has already cost Scotland 5,000 jobs, as the Minister told Westminster Hall this month and has confirmed again this morning. What steps are the Government taking to bring the Scottish Government, industry and trade unions together so that new nuclear in Scotland finally gets the serious hearing that it deserves?
Melanie Ward
The hon. Lady is absolutely right about the opportunities for new nuclear energy in Scotland, and the SNP Scottish Government have to tell the Scottish people why they are standing in the way of them. The National Economic Council is meeting in Scotland this Friday, at which the Prime Minister and the First Minister will have a chance to discuss such matters. I hope the First Minister will take those opportunities.
Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)
There is real fear in Scotland this morning that the Labour party is about to embark on another big betrayal of Scotland’s energy. After abandoning Grangemouth and costing thousands of energy jobs in Scotland, the UK Government now seem set on withdrawing funding for Scotland’s carbon capture industry. Will the Minister take this opportunity to quash that rumour?
Melanie Ward
The hon. Gentleman is doing what he does best, which is to fire up the grievance machine rather than look at all the enormous opportunities that could be coming to Scotland. Perhaps he could tell us what his own party’s policy is on Jackdaw and on energy. When will we see an energy strategy for Scotland? It has been more than five years, and we are still waiting.
Dave Doogan
I note that the Minister has failed to quash the rumours about Acorn, so let me try another imminent Labour party betrayal of Scotland’s energy. At a time when bills are set to be £1,000 higher than the Labour party promised, the Chancellor is inexplicably going to increase the unit price of gas. We know that families in Scotland will be disproportionately hit by the Labour party gas price increase. The Minister says that she and her colleague the Secretary of State are Scotland’s people in the Cabinet. What is she going to do to protect people from the Chancellor’s gas price rise?
Melanie Ward
Once again, a typical display from the hon. Gentleman—firing up the accusations of betrayal before he has even heard the Budget. I understand that he called for standing charges to be removed from gas bills some time ago, so I look forward to hearing him welcome some of the measures in the forthcoming Budget.
Lillian Jones (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab)
Blake Stephenson (Mid Bedfordshire) (Con)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Melanie Ward)
The Prime Minister has been clear about our shared ambition with business to drive investment, create jobs and grow the economy. We are cutting red tape and striking new trade deals around the world to drive up exports, and boosting the role of Scottish small and medium-sized enterprises in sectors such as defence and energy. Our industrial strategy sets out a 10-year road map for the UK economy, backing Scotland’s strengths and providing business with the certainty it needs.
Blake Stephenson
Scotland’s fishing industry makes a vital contribution to coastal communities in every part of Scotland. Last year, Labour negotiated away 12 years of access to our seas to the EU in a disastrous deal for the UK. Can the Minister guarantee that our fisheries will not suffer in any way from the sanitary and phytosanitary deal with the EU or lose any of our remaining freedoms outside the common fisheries policy?
Melanie Ward
I was glad to meet representatives from the fishing sector across Scotland recently, and this matter will be on the agenda for the EU summit taking place at the end of next month. The Prime Minister has also rightly said that it is time for us to have an honest conversation with the country about our broader relationship with Europe. That stands to benefit Scotland in many ways, and I wish the hon. Member’s party would get behind that. Moreover, it is an interesting day to hear about measures that would benefit the economy from the Conservatives, given that Liz Truss has been talking about her mini-Budget, saying that she was right. Let us remember that the shadow Chancellor, the hon. Member for Arundel and South Downs (Andrew Griffith), was one of the architects of that Budget, which torched our economy.
Douglas McAllister (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab)
Does the Minister agree that a good example of a Government policy that will have a positive impact on businesses in Scotland is our youth guarantee, which is providing Scotland’s businesses with skilled-up young people ready for work? That includes our new youth hub in West Dunbartonshire, which is set to open this Friday.
Melanie Ward
My hon. Friend is a tireless advocate for the people of West Dunbartonshire, and I am delighted that it will benefit from a new youth hub opening this week. This Government’s investment in a generation of young people includes the expansion of youth hubs across the UK. There are now 12 youth hubs open in Scotland, with a further 27 planned across our nation. Each will provide a range of services to our brilliant young people, helping them to earn, learn and live the fullest possible lives.
Pamela Nash (Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Melanie Ward)
This Government are committed to supporting a competitive and sustainable steel sector across the United Kingdom, with Scotland a vital part of that. The UK’s first-ever steel strategy, published in March, sets out an ambitious long-term plan to rebuild the sector, return domestic market share to around 50%, attract new investment and position the UK as a world leader in clean, modern steel production. The significance of Scotland’s steel industry to local communities, jobs and supply chains is beyond doubt.
Pamela Nash
I congratulate the Minister on a great performance at her first Scottish questions. She will know that yet again Dalzell’s staff in Motherwell were not paid on time this month by Liberty, despite pulling out all the stops to get the plant rolling steel again. It is simply intolerable for the team to live in this situation. They have been forced to find job security elsewhere, leaving a vital and unique piece of UK infrastructure in a potentially unsalvageable position. Will the Scotland Office work with me and colleagues to ensure that our Government take action imminently to ensure that the workforce are not left in this position again next month and to secure the future of the Dalzell plate mill permanently?
Melanie Ward
My hon. Friend is a powerful advocate for those she represents, and I know she discussed the situation at Dalzell works with the Prime Minister when he was in Motherwell recently. Liberty’s failure to pay its workforce on time is a huge worry to her community. It is intolerable, as she says, and we share that concern. The UK Government want to see the Dalzell site operational once more, and we are looking at the situation closely. We will continue to work with her.
Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)
The present Foreign Secretary’s ridiculous policy on oil and gas has now been overturned, so will the Minister, in a similar vein, ensure that the right hon. Gentleman’s equally absurd refusal to allow localised electricity pricing can also be overturned, so that businesses, such as those in steel in Scotland, can enjoy the competitive energy prices that the considerable generation in that country deserves?
Melanie Ward
It is astonishing to get lectures on energy policy from the Conservatives. The reason that the Jackdaw decision took longer than it otherwise might have taken was that they messed it up. The right hon. Gentleman’s party would do well to remember that clean, green, home-grown power is the only way to bring down bills in the long run, and that is what our Government are focused on doing.
Mr Speaker
Before we come to Prime Minister’s questions, let me welcome, in the Gallery, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker Emerita of the United States House of Representatives. May I also remind the House that this is the last attendance at the Table of Tom Goldsmith as Clerk of the House? Tom, we wish you well.
Glasgow School of Art: Mackintosh Building
Melanie Ward Excerpts(2 weeks, 3 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Melanie Ward)
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) on securing this debate and thank him for his kind words. I am very pleased to respond on behalf of the Government. Indeed, the strong showing of Scottish MPs tonight is remarkable, given the time of night. I think that reflects the strength of feeling on the topic in this Chamber—although I do wish a colleague from the SNP had been able to join us as well.
My hon. Friend has rightly paid tribute to Glasgow School of Art and to the generations of students, artists, designers and architects who have studied there and gone on to make their mark, at home and around the world. His speech was characteristic of his oracy in this place in its warmth, passion and strength of advocacy for causes that matter to our part of the world. The Charles Rennie Mackintosh building, known as the Mack, is much more than a historic building. It is a core part of the Glasgow School of Art, which is a world-renowned institution, a source of pride for Glasgow and Scotland, and an important part of the United Kingdom’s creative and cultural life. We heard that very clearly from my right hon. Friend the Member for Oxford East (Anneliese Dodds) and my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland (David Smith).
Having grown up in Helensburgh, the site of the Hill House, I learned to admire the art of Charles Rennie Mackintosh from an early age. Indeed, one of the great joys of my job as Minister for Scotland, and even in the first three months, has been seeing so many examples of Scotland’s extraordinary arts and culture scene, from the Wemyss Ware cat trail in Kirkcaldy, in my own constituency, to the Edinburgh festival and fringe, to the Pier Arts Centre in Orkney. I also remember visiting the Mack as a student and marvelling at it. I want to share my heartfelt appreciation to everyone who has worked tirelessly to protect and restore its architectural heritage following the devastating fires of 2014 and 2018. The school’s commitment to faithful restoration of the building is inspiring, and the expertise and determination of those involved deserve our recognition.
I know how deeply the fires and the damage to the Mack affected people across Scotland. The loss resonated far beyond Glasgow, striking at the heart of the UK’s cultural heritage. The impact was felt most acutely by the local community and nearby businesses whose lives and livelihoods were disrupted. My hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes), in whose constituency the building stands, rightly talked about the need for us to learn lessons, and my hon. Friend the Member for Glenrothes and Mid Fife (Richard Baker) spoke about his constituency’s connection with the Mack. I know that many constituencies, including mine, have connections with the Glasgow School of Art as well. As would be expected, these issues have been debated a number of times in the Scottish Parliament. Today we consider not only the future of a remarkable historic building, but the future of an institution that continues to contribute to our cultural identity and international standing.
Along with the Secretary of State for Scotland, I recently met members of the Glasgow School of Art’s leadership. They informed us that their work to assess the building’s future had reached an important stage. In July this year, the school published an updated assessment of the options for the Mackintosh building, following the settlement of its long-running insurance claim. The school envisions the reinstatement of the building as part of a heritage-led economic regeneration project, building on the existing creative and cultural assets in Glasgow. That would strengthen the creative eco-system and would further position the city as one of the UK’s leading creative centres. The school has confirmed its intention to pursue an enabling project, funded through the insurance settlement, with work expected to begin in 2027. Its governors have also made it clear that the school cannot undertake a faithful reinstatement of the building on its own, and that partnership will be essential if that ambition is to be realised.
These developments underline both the scale of the challenge and the importance of considering what role Scotland’s two Governments and other partners might play. Current work has focused on a temporary solution, which could be weather-proof and lay the groundwork for a complete restoration at a point when further funding and partnerships are secured. The question of Government support must, of course, be considered carefully: public money has to be used responsibly, and any proposal must be assessed against clear evidence of need, affordability, deliverability, and public benefit. We must be clear about the financial realities. As my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar said, the cost of a full, faithful reconstruction, paired with wider district regeneration, is estimated to reach about £265 million. However, we should also recognise the potential long-term value of protecting a building of such exceptional significance, and the opportunities that its future could create for Glasgow and for Scotland as a whole. The Chair of the Select Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson), gave an example of that.
Following the 2014 fire, the UK Government committed £10 million in funding to support the Glasgow School of Art. This was provided to the Scottish Government for the Mackintosh appeal, and, as we heard from the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell), an additional £5 million was provided in 2015-16. Of course, culture and heritage are devolved matters, and the Scottish Government have responsibility for this policy and funding in Scotland. We respect that settlement and the principles of devolution, as the Prime Minister made so clear in Motherwell last week. Although I was encouraged to hear that the Glasgow School of Art was included in the Scottish Government’s programme for government, I understand that the school is waiting to meet with the Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic following its publication. We hope that the commitments made will be matched with tangible action and concrete plans.
We will continue to work constructively with the Scottish Government, Glasgow city council, the Glasgow School of Art and other relevant heritage organisations. The UK Government continue to deliver transformational investment across the wider Glasgow area, including over £870 million of funding injected into the region through the Glasgow city region deal, alongside Pride in Place funding and more than £60 million of new local growth funding.
My hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar rightly referred to the Prime Minister’s message to the Scottish Government last week, and to the need for us to work together. The Glasgow city region is an excellent example of that, as it has benefited from £500 million each from the UK and Scottish Governments. Through our joint financial backing, we are empowering local leaders from the Glasgow city region to make spending decisions based on opportunities for local economic growth and prosperity.
As the Glasgow School of Art leadership seeks to build a case for investment that links culture to economic benefit for the people of the region, the city region is an important partner. I particularly encourage the school and those advocating on its behalf to maintain discussions with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which has previously provided it with almost £5 million of support. Its heritage places initiative is supporting Glasgow more widely, and its national heritage memorial fund is important too. These funds cannot meet the full cost of restoration, but they may be able to support key phases and how it benefits wider communities.
We must also ensure that the benefits of culture and creativity are not confined to those who already have the greatest opportunities. I am reminded of the enormous contribution of Jennie Lee, who grew up in Cowdenbeath, in my constituency, and who was the first ever Minister for the Arts. She argued for the centrality of arts and culture in daily life, alongside the functional necessities—or, as some in the Labour tradition of those on my side of the House have put it, “bread and roses”.
This debate is an important opportunity to recognise the Glasgow School of Art’s contribution to our national life, and to consider how best to secure a brighter future for the Mack. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar for bringing these issues before the House and to all who have contributed, including my hon. Friends the Members for North Ayrshire and Arran (Irene Campbell) and for North Northumberland. I will ensure that the points raised in this debate, including the case for new support and the other proposals to which my hon. Friend the Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar has referred, are conveyed to relevant ministerial colleagues. I cannot make a commitment to new funding today, but I can reaffirm our willingness to listen, to engage with all partners, as he suggested, and to explore practical and realistic ways forward, including new suggestions that may come along. I hope, too, that the Scottish Government will act, and that they will hear our willingness to act with them.
The Mack inspired generations of artists and designers, helped to define Glasgow’s artistic identity, and earned a place on the world stage. We owe it to those who built that legacy, to the communities who cherish it and to the generations yet to come to give serious consideration as to how it can continue.
Question put and agreed to.
Nuclear Energy: Scotland
Melanie Ward Excerpts(3 weeks, 1 day ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Melanie Ward)
Thank you, Mr Stuart. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship. Let me begin by congratulating the hon. Member for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Murray) on securing this important debate on the future of nuclear energy in Scotland, and thanking her for her kind words. I agree with many of the points that she made.
This debate comes at an opportune time. I am pleased to be responding to it, and to have heard from so many who share this Government’s desire to see Scotland harness the opportunities that civil nuclear power offers to Scotland: the opportunity to create high-quality jobs in communities across our country, and the opportunity to deliver clean, secure and more affordable energy for our people as part of the energy mix of the future, but also the opportunity to deliver on our Prime Minister’s mission to reindustrialise our country and to ensure that conversations about Scotland’s industrial prowess are not just about looking backwards at our heritage, but about building our future, with prosperous, secure and proud communities sustained by skilled jobs.
Scotland is indeed an energy powerhouse. Since taking up my position at the Scotland Office, I have had the privilege of witnessing at first hand a vast array of Scottish energy generation—wind, wave, tidal and nuclear—and, above all, of meeting the skilled and dedicated workforces that keep our nation powered. Just last month, the Secretary of State was in Aberdeen meeting representatives from the oil and gas sector and visiting Great British Energy’s newly opened headquarters.
This week, I went to the power station at Torness, which is one of the great Scottish nuclear power success stories. It provides hundreds of quality jobs in East Lothian and beyond, and it will generate enough electricity over its lifetime to power every home in Scotland for 36 years. Torness is due to stop generating power by 2030. The reason that the site’s days are numbered is the SNP’s outdated ideological planning ban on civil nuclear energy. As we have heard, it is time that that changed.
Alan Gemmell
It is great to see the Minister in her place, and I thank her for a brilliant visit to Prestwick this week. Let me say how proud I am to join my Labour Ayrshire colleagues in calling for nuclear back in Ayrshire at Hunterston, and how frustrated I am at the lack of skills, jobs and investment in our communities. Can the Minister say anything about why the SNP’s anti-scientific, irrational stance is continuing?
Melanie Ward
We have had a strong showing from Ayrshire colleagues in this debate because of the impact that the closure of Hunterston has had on their communities, as my hon. Friend points out. The SNP will need to answer to the people of Ayrshire about why it has taken away the possibility of thousands of new jobs in their communities. There is no logical reason for it.
Visiting the station at Torness brought home to me that what is at stake in this debate is families’ futures. Highly skilled workers at Torness told me that they will likely have no option but to leave their homes in Scotland when the station closes, taking those specialist skills elsewhere—to England and Wales, or even overseas. Some of those men and women are part of generations of the same family that have worked at that site, and their rightful pride in that heritage was clear to see. The hon. Member for Mid Dunbartonshire asked if Torness could theoretically go beyond 2030. The answer is that if EDF wishes to do that and makes a successful case to the regulator, indeed it is possible that that could happen.
In this debate, we need to focus on the facts about civil nuclear power. There is too much myth and fallacy around this topic. The British nuclear sector continues to operate safely and securely, and that is not simply the industry’s assertion; it is the evidence-based conclusion of the independent chief nuclear inspector in his recent annual report. The UN International Atomic Energy Agency calls nuclear
“one of the safest forms of energy generation there is”.
My hon. Friend the Member for Alloa and Grangemouth (Brian Leishman) helpfully trailed his speech in the media at the weekend, so I asked the Unite shop steward at Torness what he thought of the suggestion that we should make decisions about what is best for the future of our country based on the potential likes and dislikes of Vladimir Putin. His answer was:
“This is clutching at straws.”
My hon. Friend also mentioned construction. I refer him to the 26,000 new jobs created by construction at Hinkley Point C.
The reality is that countries such as Denmark, Poland and Japan are actively stepping up their plans on nuclear energy, while others, such as Sweden, Belgium and Italy, are reversing their previous anti-nuclear stances. In France, 70% of electricity is supplied by nuclear power, as we have heard. To be anti-nuclear power in Europe today is increasingly to be an outlier. I say to the SNP that Scotland deserves better than that.
Graham Leadbitter
I welcome the Minister to her place, but to suggest that to be anti-nuclear is to be anti-baseload or anti other forms of useful energy that can provide baseload is absolute nonsense. Will she accept that looking only at nuclear, and not properly backing things such as geothermal or tidal energy, is a blinkered approach? We could be creating many jobs in Scotland from those forms of energy—God knows we know how to drill a hole and get stuff out of it.
Melanie Ward
I certainly did not say that we were anti-baseload, which would be a ridiculous argument. In fact, I am proud that this Government are making record investment in renewable energy; I mentioned at the start of my speech that I have seen some of it myself since I was appointed. The point I am making is that the SNP Scottish Government are leaving Scotland behind in jobs and opportunities.
Speaking of jobs and opportunities, we know that the UK and Scotland used to lead the world in nuclear power. On that note, it has been interesting to hear the comments made by the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Douglas Lumsden), and the Conservative party in recent days. They may need this Labour Government to remind them that, in 14 years of Tory rule, their record on investment in new nuclear energy was zero, so their new-found enthusiasm rings a little hollow. We also reject the proposals made by his party’s spokespeople to rip up the Scotland Act 1998 and override Holyrood’s planning powers to force nuclear projects through. This Government will not take that path; we believe in the decentralisation of power, and we respect devolution.
David Mundell
How will the Minister persuade the SNP to change its position? If it does not do so, there will not be any nuclear in Scotland, because there will be no investment. Even if there were a Labour Administration in Scotland, people would know that it could change, and we only got nuclear investment in the UK when people understood that both Labour and the Conservatives backed it.
Melanie Ward
I would have more time for that argument if the Conservative Government had themselves invested in nuclear anywhere in the UK during their 14 years in power.
The fact is that the arguments made against the Scottish Government’s position are strong. The UK Government are committed to supporting this industry. We have heard throughout the debate about the 5,000 jobs that Scotland has already missed out on because of the de facto ban. We have heard about the investment taking place in England and Wales; Scotland could have that, too. We in Scotland know the story of deindustrialisation of our communities. The Clyde, Lanarkshire and Ayrshire know that story, as we heard from colleagues today, and my area of Fife also knows it. These are lessons that the Scottish Government should learn.
We have heard so much about the disparity that exists with the rest of the UK. I simply point out again that many Scots say they will be forced to take their skills elsewhere—indeed, many of them already are. For example, 184 Scottish businesses have supported Hinkley Point C during its construction, and 10% of the 12,000 workers on that construction site are Scottish and being forced to travel elsewhere to do those jobs.
I need to wrap up, so let me simply say the following. Companies across Scotland have expressed great interest in supporting the development of our nuclear industry. We heard about the potential at Dounreay, and we know that there is further potential across Scotland, including at Torness. It is also worth noting that 57% of SNP voters support new nuclear energy in Scotland. Trade unions, such as the GMB, Prospect and Unite, tell us that they want to grasp these opportunities, and the SNP should back them.
Scotland stands at a critical juncture. The Scottish Government can stand by and watch jobs, opportunities and Scottish workers go elsewhere, or they can change course and work together with the UK Government, embrace civil nuclear power as part of our energy mix and ensure that Scotland remains an energy leader for generations to come.
Oral Answers to Questions
Melanie Ward Excerpts(3 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Kirsty McNeill
I completely agree with my hon. Friend, and I am absolutely delighted that somebody of Jim Hope’s stature has been appointed to lead Pride in Place investment in north-east Glasgow. It is a great example of those who know their communities best being empowered to lead, and I will follow the progress made in north-east Glasgow with very keen interest.
Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr Douglas Alexander)
As part of the £50 million Scotland defence growth deal, we have confirmed £5 million for the Arrol Gibb Innovation Campus at Rosyth, helping to develop the advanced manufacturing skills needed to support the Type 31 frigate programme and future development opportunities arising from the new defence investment plan. This builds on an earlier £340 million investment in the Rosyth dockyard.
Melanie Ward
Given the threats that our country faces, in March the Secretary of State announced welcome funding for two defence technical excellence colleges, one to be in the east of Scotland. Fife college at Kirkcaldy, in particular, stands ready to absorb new funding and rapidly scale up provision to plug the gap in entry-level skills for the defence industry in Scotland. Can the Secretary of State update us on progress towards getting a Fife-based DTEC off the ground?
Mr Alexander
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend, who is a tireless advocate for the people of Fife and, indeed, for its outstanding college. Our officials are in discussions with both the colleges sector and the Scottish Government, and hope that they will match the £10 million of funding that this Government have committed so that we can get on with building those skilled defence workforce jobs in the future. If only we had a Scottish Government who were investing in defence skills rather than dithering on defence! The responsibility and the opportunities of this time are huge.
Oral Answers to Questions
Melanie Ward Excerpts(6 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Mr Alexander
I respectfully point out that it was the Conservative Government who introduced the EPL. Why did they do so? They did it in order to deal with excess profits generated by a geopolitical crisis. The conflict in the middle east that we are living through at the moment makes the case for dealing with excess profits from some of the largest energy companies in the world.
Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)
The ExxonMobil plant at Mossmorran in my constituency has now ceased production, after the company said last year that it had not made a profit for five years. News that our UK Labour Government have made £9 million available to support the affected workforce and find a future for the site has been warmly welcomed by my constituents, especially in Cowdenbeath. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is in the interests of the people of Fife for the Scottish and UK Governments to work together to utilise all available funding and find a viable future that brings jobs back to the site?
Mr Alexander
May I pay generous tribute to my hon. Friend for her tireless efforts on behalf of her constituents in relation to the challenge faced by the Mossmorran workforce? She has been a powerful and consistent advocate for the workforce and for the changes that we needed to see. That is why I am proud that the UK Government have been actively marketing the site to potential investors and stand ready, as she says, to invest up to £9 million to secure a successful future for the site and support the local economy.
Oral Answers to Questions
Melanie Ward Excerpts(1 year ago)
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Mr Alexander
Well, Mr Speaker, the quality of the SNP’s contributions does not seem to have improved since 2007, and neither has its arguments. In the face of failing schools and hospitals, and the inability to build ferries in the hon. Gentleman’s own constituency, what do we see? Once again, dreary documents about independence. The reality is that the SNP has let Scotland down, and Scotland deserves better. That is why we are up for the fight in May.
Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)
The SNP’s renewed chatter on independence is understandable, because it wants to distract from its abysmal record of running down our public services. Given that its plans for defence in an independent Scotland include giving up the nuclear deterrent and replacing it with little more than a Scottish navy comprising the Waverley and the Vital Spark, does the Secretary of State agree that Vladimir Putin will be rubbing his hands with glee at the SNP’s latest outbursts?
Mr Alexander
I am a great fan of Para Handy, the Vital Spark and the Waverley, but I would not want to offer them in the face of Vladimir Putin as an approach to Euro-Atlantic security. The reality is that we have student gesture politics from the Scottish National party. I met with the major defence companies in Greenock last Friday, and they were very clear that we are forgoing industrial opportunities now. There is a real cost to the incompetence and student naiveté of the Scottish National party.
Devolution in Scotland
Melanie Ward Excerpts(1 year ago)
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Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)
I thank the hon. Member for giving way. Does he accept the fact that PIP is devolved in Scotland?
Graham Leadbitter
It is the adult disability payment in Scotland, rather than PIP. Fundamentally—I am sure the hon. Lady knows this—if the UK Government decide to cut a vast amount out of the social security system, that will have a really significant impact on the Scottish budget. Week after week, Labour Members call for more money to be spent on certain things in Scotland, but at the same time they seem to be suggesting a substantial cut to the Scottish budget with the change to the social security budget.
Katrina Murray
I refer the hon. Gentleman to my life experience before coming to this place as a member of staff within the health service. I worked through the pandemic when we used the red, amber and green statuses to indicate how waiting lists were. We did not just have red, amber and green stages. We created a purple status for when there were serious capacity issues that warranted more than a red status. We then moved to black status if it got too serious for status purple. One of the reasons I am in this place is the 14 months that I worked with colleagues through that. Nobody who is trying to provide healthcare should have to do so when working in situations that go way beyond an emergency.
The situation within the health service was highlighted several weeks in a women’s lowland league football match in my constituency, when a Linlithgow Rose player who was injured during a match with Cumbernauld United Ladies lay with a broken leg for five hours on a Sunday while waiting for an ambulance to be dispatched.
Melanie Ward
With reference to the previous intervention, I wonder what my hon. Friend, who knows so much about the NHS in Scotland, makes of the fact that the Scottish Government’s target for cancer treatment —that 95% of patients are treated within 62 days of an urgent referral—has not been met since 2012.
Katrina Murray
I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. Certainly, the experience was that the Scottish Government were good at setting targets but never good at making sure those targets were met. I see the toll of that every week, with people living in pain, losing mobility and struggling with their mental health. They look at the improving picture south of the border and ask, “How much longer do we have to wait?” What they are hearing is, “Actually, this crisis is business as usual.”
NHS staff are being failed by the very system that devolution was meant to strengthen. [Interruption.] I heard a heckle from a sedentary position. NHS staff in Scotland pay higher rates of income tax and significantly higher rates of pension contributions, so the take-home pay of an NHS band 6 nurse in Scotland is not necessarily different from a band 6 nurse in England.
The problems do not end with health. Across Scotland, the fire and rescue service is consulting on cuts that firefighters, their unions and the public fear will cost lives. The service faces a capital backlog of £800 million. That is not just a Government asleep at the wheel but one who are failing to protect one of our most vital public services. My constituents know too well the threat that fire poses from the serious fire at Blairlinn industrial estate that injured six people and the destruction by fire of the iconic St Mungo’s church: a listed building and landmark seen from across the constituency that is now gone. That is a failing of scrutiny and a failure of priorities.
The SNP Government are distracted. They are more interested in constitutional division than in fixing the problems that our communities face. The Labour Government have delivered record investment for Scotland’s public services, but ask anyone on the ground—no one can see what the SNP has done with the money.
I remember the hope of 1999 when the Scottish Parliament was first elected. It was full of passion, full of debate and full of co-operation. Members disagreed— often strongly—but they shared a common purpose to make Scotland fairer, healthier and more prosperous. They passed legislation; as we have heard, some of it was groundbreaking. That is the spirit that Scotland needs again.
The need for change is clear. Scotland is full of ambition, potential and opportunity. We have world-leading businesses, unique natural resources and global brands that command respect across the world. We are world leaders in renewable technology and home to cutting-edge scientific and tech institutions and renowned research-intensive universities. We need a Scottish Government who share the same hopes and aspirations for the future as we do on the Labour Benches to make devolution work and to take full advantage of everything Scotland has going for it. We face a clear choice: do we keep circling the constitutional cul-de-sac that the SNP have led us down or do we choose to move forward with the strongest devolution settlement and a new direction for Scotland?
Kenneth Stevenson
My hon. Friend makes a very good point. Devolution opened the door for the delivery of good legislation. It was an opportunity for devolved Assemblies and Parliaments, whose politicians were closer to home, to deliver positive change for the people they represented. However, for almost two decades, Scotland has been held back. Eye-watering amounts of public money have been wasted, our once-great education system has seen standards plummet, and the poverty-related attainment gap remains stubbornly wide, with the gap between pupils achieving an A to C grade at higher level sitting at 17.1 percentage points this year.
Like my Labour colleagues, I want devolution to succeed. I want the Scottish Parliament to deliver for Scottish people. I want the people of Scotland to look at their Parliament and recognise it as a place where good things get done in the interests of working people. However, under nationalist leadership, it has increasingly become a talking shop, where blame gets passed and responsibility and accountability are avoided.
It saddens me to say it, but through no fault of our public sector workforce—it is a consequence of SNP incompetence—those who live in Scotland have a one in six chance of being on an NHS waiting list. GP appointments in towns such as Shotts in my constituency are hard to come by. Rail fares are exorbitant. Those who are educators, as I was, are working with diminishing resources, and pupils from poorer backgrounds still face greater barriers to educational and vocational success. Indeed, with the opportunities now afforded to young people as a result of this Government embracing the potential of artificial intelligence, the SNP’s political choice to neglect our further education and vocational sector becomes increasingly inexcusable.
This is not the Scotland we envisaged when we held the devolution referendum and the first set of Scottish parliamentary elections. This is a Scotland that has been stopped in its tracks, due to the lack of ambition shown by its SNP Government, and their unwillingness to do anything about growing the economy, increasing investment or showcasing Scotland as a proud part of the United Kingdom.
Melanie Ward
My hon. Friend rightly mentions the crucial role that further education plays, both in our communities and in our economy. Does he recognise that the reality is that, in my area, Fife colleges are receiving real-terms cuts from the SNP Scottish Government, whereas colleges in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen are receiving increases? Those areas are having their funding increased, whereas Fife is having its funding cut.
Kenneth Stevenson
The whole further education system across Scotland needs to be looked at rather rapidly. Things are moving quickly, and we are now becoming a skills economy, with skills not just in AI, but in other things. A lot of companies want to move into Scotland, and they want a good, well-funded further education college close to the place they locate to.
I am immensely proud of the investment that this Labour Government have put into Scotland. The largest financial settlement in the history of devolution is being delivered to improve the lives of working Scots in Airdrie and Shotts and beyond. This reaffirms Labour’s commitment to devolution, and its pride and passion for Scotland’s potential. This debate has reflected on the past and the progress of devolution, but this historic settlement could define its future. The people of Scotland will have the opportunity to elect a Scottish Labour Government next year, to invest in our NHS and to grow our economy, so that it works once again for working men and women.
Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)
Hon. Members may be aware that in May the people of Scotland sent 37 Scottish Labour MPs to this place—and a diverse bunch we are. It probably ages me to note that when my hon. Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) speaks shortly, he may talk about the referendum, and he will mean the one in 2014, when he was just too young to vote, whereas when I talk about the referendum, I mean the one in 1997, for which I was just too young to vote.
Of course, that 1997 referendum asked whether there should be a Scottish Parliament and if it should have tax-varying powers. At the time, I remember feeling that if I had been old enough to do so I would have voted yes to both. It was a long-held Labour manifesto commitment to bring decision making on hugely important issues—our health, education, community safety and economy—into the hands of the Scottish people. I still remember being in the car with my mum the day after the vote, listening to the news coverage and feeling excited that the result had been “yes, yes”. It felt like such a huge opportunity for all of us.
In his speech at the opening of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, Scotland’s then First Minister, the late great Donald Dewar, said that the Scottish Parliament was
“first a hope, then a belief, then a promise. Now”
it is
“a reality.”
The question today is whether the SNP Scottish Government are using the reality of those significant powers they hold, together with record levels of funding —an extra £5.2 billion this year alone—to make the greatest possible difference to the lives of our people. I believe the answer is clearly no, whether through incompetence or by design.
The Labour-led Scottish executives, as they were when the Scottish Parliament was first formed, took bold decisions: banning smoking in public places, the fresh talent initiative and action on sectarianism—something that too often is overlooked in Scotland. They took action and, crucially, delivered results, and we need far more of that in our politics in Scotland.
Today’s reality for many in my constituency, and across Fife and Scotland as a whole, has been bitterly disappointing after almost two decades of SNP division, diversion and failure. One in six Scots languish in pain on NHS waiting lists—over 40,000 of them in Fife. Indeed, more people are waiting over two years for NHS treatment in Glasgow alone than they are in the whole of England. A third of ambulances wait at hospitals for more than an hour while the patients in them wait for a bed. Last winter, medics at my local hospital, the Victoria hospital in Kirkcaldy, had to set up a makeshift ward outside the hospital, because the queues of ambulances were so great. SNP Members may not think that that matters—they may think it is a record to be proud of—but that is not what my constituents feel at all.
Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)
The Victoria hospital is not in my constituency, but it serves my constituents. Does the hon. Member share my concern that the proposed downgrading of the neonatal intensive care units in both Dundee and Fife will means that our constituents will have to travel much further for critical need, and that their premature babies will be far away from home?
Melanie Ward
I thank the hon. Member; I have seen the work she has been doing on this issue. It is essential that the special intensive care treatment available for premature and sick babies at the Victoria hospital does not change in any way. I wish the Scottish Government would get on and act to put at rest the concerns that our constituents no doubt share about that.
Jamie Stone
May I offer a warning from history? During the time of the coalition Government in Edinburgh, I pled the case for maintaining consultant-led maternity services based in Wick. No sooner did the SNP Government get in than the service was downgraded. Now mums have to travel huge distances to give birth, and the grisly fact is that one mother of twins gave birth to one child in Golspie and the other in Inverness. That is intolerable in this day and age.
Melanie Ward
I can feel the horror that the hon. Member feels for what his constituents have been put through because of that downgrade.
Johanna Baxter
My hon. Friend talks eloquently about the pressures on the health services in Scotland under the SNP Government. Does she share my concern about the dental deserts that now exist in Scotland? Just yesterday, a constituent contacted me to say that they had been told that their daughter would have to wait three years for an orthodontist appointment—or they could pay more than £2,000 and receive a private appointment in two weeks.
Melanie Ward
My hon. Friend makes an important point about something we see too frequently across Scotland: our people being forced to opt in to private healthcare because they cannot get treatment under the SNP’s NHS. That is completely unacceptable. I know that similar waits exist for assessments for autism and for mental health support. There is a crisis across Fife and the Scottish Government are refusing to give NHS Fife the support needed to try to make a difference.
The problems do not just exist in our health system; sadly, they also exist in our education system. Our educational outcomes in Scotland worsened this year, with the gap in attainment between the richest and poorest students growing, including in Fife; that happened after Nicola Sturgeon said that eradicating that attainment gap was the priority on which she wanted her record as First Minister to be judged. As my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson) said earlier, Scottish Government failure on the targets they set for themselves is a hallmark of their time in office. The same Nicola Sturgeon proclaims her love of literature at book festivals, yet she was part of successive Governments who have presided over the closure of almost 100 libraries in Scotland.
On skills, we saw the UK Government having to step in recently to save a welding skills centre because the SNP Government refused to do so. The SNP Government’s indifference and often opposition to the highly skilled, highly paid jobs that the defence industry provides across Scotland and in constituencies such as mine has meant young workers missing out on the opportunity of a secure, highly paid job. It is also deeply irresponsible at such a dangerous time in the world, with Russian aggression in Europe right on our doorstep.
All those cuts stack up, while the bill to the taxpayer for SNP waste becomes ever more eye-watering: nearly £1 billion spent on Barlinnie prison, almost double the original cost; more than £400 million or four times the original estimate spent on two ferries, with one ferry still not in service eight years later; and let us not forget the costly shambles that was the deposit return scheme, flunked by the SNP and the Greens and described by the SNP’s leader in Westminster, the right hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn), as a “self-inflicted wound”.
The purpose of devolution is supposed to be to take action in Scotland on Scotland’s problems, and to help to make our nation the best it can be. Yet too often that is not the reality under this Scottish Government, as a couple of examples from my own constituency show. At the peak of summer this year, when many businesses in Kinghorn and Burntisland were looking forward to making the most of tourism season, because we are blessed by beautiful beaches, the beaches were closed because sewage spills made the water unsafe to swim. Some of my constituents became physically sick because they had swum among sewage, yet the chief executive of publicly owned Scottish Water said over the summer that the concerns of my constituents “should not be overblown”. This issue has a real social and economic impact on people in my constituency, not to mention a health impact. It is the direct result of the SNP’s failure to invest in our sewerage network and in regular water-quality monitoring.
I wrote to the Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy in August and received a response that began with a comparison between Scottish and English bathing waters. We are familiar with that: if we raise a problem in Scotland, we hear, “Well, it is worse in England.” Even if that were true, that is exactly why this Labour Government are taking tough measures to crack down on polluting water companies. Yet water quality is another devolved issue, creating significant problems that the SNP Scottish Government seem completely disinterested in solving.
Dr Arthur
My hon. Friend represents my home town, so it is always great to hear what is happening there. The UK Government inherited an awful situation from the Conservatives on water quality in rivers—that is beyond doubt—but in the UK we know how much sewage goes from sewerage systems into rivers. In my constituency, I have had dog owners concerned about what their dogs are eating on river banks, if I can put it politely. When I contacted Scottish Water, it could not even tell me the volume of sewage going into the rivers. Does she agree that this whole situation is unacceptable and that we have to discuss it more?
Melanie Ward
I completely agree with my hon. Friend. The experience of dog owners in his seat has also been raised with me locally. In Kinghorn, some of my residents were promised action from Scottish Water five years ago, and nothing has happened. There is no justifiable explanation for that.
Another serious example is that of antisocial behaviour. Across Fife, this seems to be a growing problem. Just last week, some of my constituents were left terrified by appalling disorder involving up to 50 young people in Cowdenbeath. A police officer was assaulted, and residents in Cowdenbeath have said that they are scared to go out at night. I know my local police are doing their best to get on top of the issue and have a plan to try to deal with disorder that might take place over the Hallowe’en period, which residents are worried about. I have raised the issue with the local police inspector and discussed it with him, but the disorder was not an isolated incident. Surely it cannot be just a coincidence that this comes as police numbers across Scotland last year fell to their lowest since 2008. It is increasingly clear that more devolved action is needed in Scotland to tackle the problem of antisocial behaviour, because it makes lives miserable. We have to ask why it is not being taken seriously and why more is not being done about it by the Scottish Government.
I must say something about the number of tragic drug deaths in Scotland, which last year was the highest in Europe for the seventh year in a row. The National Records of Scotland has said that the total number of people dying from drug misuse in Scotland was more than 10,000 over the past decade. Drug deaths in Fife last year were almost double what they were in 2010, each one of them a tragic waste of life.
I has a meeting recently with some of the residents of Linktown in Kirkcaldy, who have a particular problem with that issue. Residents are deeply worried; they told me about families in which mothers had had four children, but only one child now remained alive because of the scale of drug deaths and the problem that we have. That is one example of why it is so frustrating to hear the SNP continuing to chunter on about independence and trying to distract from the very real problems across our communities, rather than getting on and solving them.
We were told that the referendum on Scottish independence was a once-in-a-generation referendum, and the Scottish people gave their verdict very clearly. There are so many issues that the SNP’s mismanagement, neglect and under-investment have caused over the last almost two decades, yet the SNP continues to show almost no interest in fixing them and tackling the problems that it already has the powers to solve. It is long past time that the SNP took devolution seriously and used it to improve the lives of our people.