Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Moore Excerpts

Wednesday 9th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Amess (Southend West) (Con)]

1. What steps Ministers in his Department are taking to promote Scottish business overseas.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Michael Moore)]

The Government have taken a range of actions to promote Scottish businesses overseas, including the appointment of Brian Wilson as a UK business ambassador. I have also held recent discussions with the Canadian Trade Minister and with business leaders in Canada and the USA.

[Mr Amess]

How many Scottish business leaders has the Secretary of State met who believe that the Scottish trading position will be improved if Scotland leaves the United Kingdom?

[Michael Moore]

No Scottish business leader has ever put that point to me, possibly because they recognise the strength of Scotland’s being in the United Kingdom and the fact that there are 162 UK Trade & Investment offices backed up by 270 consulates across the world.

[Angus Robertson (Moray) (SNP)]

Last year, the Scotch whisky industry was worth more than £4.2 billion; it is one of Scotland’s and the UK’s biggest exporting industries. Can the Secretary of State confirm that the UK Government charge for its promotion internationally? How much do they charge and why?

[Michael Moore]

I join the hon. Gentleman in welcoming the success of the Scotch whisky industry, which is a huge part of the overall success of Scotland’s food and drink sector and goes alongside other significant economic areas such as financial services, energy and the like, which are so critical to Scotland’s exporting potential. I do not want to put any of that at risk; that is why I think that Scotland’s being part of an international network of embassies, consulates and UKTI offices is the best way forward.

[Angus Robertson]

Everyone will have noticed that the Secretary of State did not answer the question. I asked him whether he would confirm that the UK Government charge for the promotion of Scotch whisky internationally. Apparently, the Foreign Office does charge—£3,000 a time to Scottish Development International to promote Scotch whisky at international events. That is utterly ridiculous. What is he doing about it and when is it going to stop?

[Michael Moore]

The hon. Gentleman chooses to ignore the fact that, thanks to the UK Government, we have our network of offices across the whole world, and our embassy network is second to none—certainly when compared with what an independent Scotland would have. Scotch whisky is in a much stronger place as a result of Scotland’s being part of the United Kingdom than it would be if we were independent.

[Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD)]

Does the Secretary of State recognise how important the energy industry in north-east Scotland is to driving export potential for Scotland? We have built a strong home base for skills and technology, honed in the North sea, and that is a base for great export potential to provinces around the world.

[Michael Moore]

I pay tribute, as I have in the past, to my hon. Friend’s significant work in this area. He is an undoubted champion of the oil and gas sector, not just in north-east Scotland but across the whole UK. He is right to point out the sector’s potential and will be aware that I met the Brazilian ambassador and Brazilian oil and gas interests in Aberdeen a few months ago. I look forward to returning to Brazil to focus on oil and gas issues in the next few weeks.

[Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (Lab)]

I go back to the question of Scotch whisky, which accounts for 25% of all UK food and drink exports, yet is held back by various tariff barriers around the world—most notably in India, where there is a tariff of 150%. Will the Secretary of State set out what action the Government are taking to help whisky industry export growth in other countries?

[Michael Moore]

The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the importance of the whisky sector, not least to large chunks of Scotland; it is not just concentrated around the distilleries. We are working hard with Scotch whisky interests to ensure that we work within Europe to break down the barriers in India and elsewhere. There is a level of support for the Scotch whisky industry that it could not hope to have in an independent Scotland.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

2. What effect cancelling the fuel duty rise planned for January 2013 will have on motorists in Scotland.

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[David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con)]

3. What discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues and Ministers in the Scottish Government on the continued use of sterling in an independent Scotland.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Michael Moore)]

The United Kingdom Government are undertaking a programme of work to inform the debate ahead of the referendum. This involves looking at a range of issues including the importance of sterling to all parts of the United Kingdom. There have been no discussions with the Scottish Government about the use of sterling by an independent Scotland.

[David Mowat]

The decision to use sterling after separation means that the Bank of England will be the bank of last resort and the lender of last resort to Scotland. To avoid a repetition of what happened in the eurozone, the UK residual Government must have an oversight role in Scottish spending plans. Has this been sought, and on what time scale will it happen?

[Michael Moore]

There have been no such discussions. The important point is that sterling has served Scotland and the whole of the UK well for 300 years. We have seen in the eurozone the risk of having a formal monetary union without a fiscal union. A fiscally independent Scotland would create real complications in that regard. All this would have to be negotiated after the referendum vote, and it would take some persuading for people in the rest of the UK to take on the role that the Scottish National party wishes for it.

[Stewart Hosie (Dundee East) (SNP)]

The Minister knows very well that the Scottish Government intend that Scotland should continue to use sterling after independence, and as sterling is a fully convertible and floating currency there is precisely nothing to stop that. While it makes far more sense to have a formal union, does he not agree that a stability pact based around debt and deficit levels is perfectly sensible but can in no way be portrayed as a foreign currency running Scotland’s economy?

[Michael Moore]

First, I am sure that the whole House will join me in welcoming the hon. Gentleman back to his place. Although we do not always agree with all his points and arguments, we are absolutely delighted with his contribution. We are glad to see him in good health and wish him all the best.

Should Scotland vote to become independent in the referendum—I do not believe that it will—the use of sterling would be a matter for negotiation. The reason for the Bank of England’s credibility as the lender of last resort at present is that we have a single, central fiscal authority and the UK taxpayer stands behind it. To complicate that would require negotiation with the rest of the UK, which would have to consider its interests. We cannot have a one-sided wish list; we have to recognise that there will be negotiation.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Is not the hon. Member for Dundee East (Stewart Hosie) and, in fact, the Secretary of State wrong on this? If there were an independent Scotland, I assume that it would want, mistakenly, to apply to join the European Union, so would it not then be required to accept the euro?

[Michael Moore]

There are many ways in the which the SNP and the hon. Member for Dundee East are completely wrong—I agree with the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr Bone) on that. He makes an important point that, amid all the SNP’s turmoil over its position on Europe, it has never set out how it would negotiate the opt-out from the critical central requirement to join the euro.

[Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)]

13. Last year, on 5 December, I took part in a Westminster Hall debate in which the Under-Secretary said that he had commissioned a report into why the separatist-led Dundee city council was the worst-performing local authority in Scotland with regard to the Work programme. I have contacted his office several times since, but he has yet to get back to me. On 19 December, he said that I would get a letter with more details, but I have yet to receive it. When will the report be published?

[Mr Speaker]

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman wanted to inquire about the continued use of sterling in an independent Scotland.

[Michael Moore]

I am not sure how the Work programme would be affected by a different currency or the currency arrangements after independence, should that be the way we go. My right hon. Friend the Under-Secretary would be delighted to meet the hon. Member for Dundee West (Jim McGovern) as soon as possible to discuss the important issue that he has raised. We will make sure that that happens.

[Mr Speaker]

It may be that the hon. Member for Dundee West really wanted to come in on question 4 and that he got ahead of himself. I do not know, but it is done and I am sure that he is grateful.

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[The Secretary of State for Scotland (Michael Moore)]

Against a difficult economic backdrop, the autumn statement set out a range of measures to protect Scotland’s economy, to help equip Scottish businesses to compete in the global race and deliver growth, and to ensure that businesses and households in Scotland are treated fairly.

[Karl MᶜCartney]

Would my right hon. Friend confirm that one disastrous consequence of any hypothetical independent Scotland would be a disjointed transport system? Although my Lincoln constituency might benefit from more capacity on the east coast line, does the Minister agree that many people in Scotland would not be happy to see direct rail services on the line from London to Edinburgh and beyond curtailed in any way?

[Michael Moore]

My hon. Friend makes an important point about the importance of keeping Scotland within the United Kingdom, to the benefit not just of Scotland but of the whole United Kingdom.

[Gemma Doyle]

The Government said that they would get the deficit down, balance the books fairly and get people back to work. However, the deficit is billions of pounds higher this year than it was last year, one in five working families is having its tax credits slashed, and long-term unemployment is rising faster in Scotland than in the rest of the UK. Is the Secretary of State happy to be part of a Government who are failing all their own tests?

[Michael Moore]

The deficit has come down by a quarter, and the hon. Lady should acknowledge that the Government are clearing up the mess that Labour left behind. We will take absolutely no lessons from the hon. Lady or her party. We have cut income tax for the lowest earners: they did not. We have restored the earnings link to pensions: they refused to. We have helped millions of Scottish motorists during difficult times: they were planning to do the opposite. We will take no lessons from Labour on how to manage the economy.

The Prime Minister was asked—