Scotland Bill

Mike Weir Excerpts

Tuesday 21st June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gauke]

I look to others for inspiration on the precise details, but we are certainly talking about months. The hon. Lady is right to say that the detailed analysis has not been provided. I am sure that the Scottish Government are working very hard to produce it, but we have not received it. It could have been helpful for this evening’s debate, but so be it.

[Mr Mike Weir (Angus) (SNP)]

It might have been difficult for the Scottish Government to provide that information during the purdah period, and they were re-elected only a matter of weeks ago. It is perhaps no surprise, therefore, that those weighty documents have not yet arrived on the Minister’s desk.

[Mr Gauke]

I have to make a confession to the House: I have come only relatively recently to these issues. My understanding, however, is that the Scottish National party has been interested in this policy for some years. I am sure that if it is a priority, and I understand that it is, we will receive the paper very soon. I look forward to receiving it.

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[Iain Stewart]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. We also have to look at the equality of the benefits given by defence spending—the protection that accrues to the whole country. It does not matter so much where the defence equipment originates if we are looking at the overall protection that the armed forces provide.

[Mr Weir]

The hon. Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Mike Freer) makes a valid point as regards defence. The attack on the Barnett formula is based on the fact that Scotland gets more per head, but if we take into account all spending, that is not necessarily the case because of the imbalance in the way that defence spending is allocated—so the figures are important. Where the assets are, for the purposes of this argument, may not be quite so important, but the amount of spending is very important. The economic impact of where the assets are is vital to many communities.

[Iain Stewart]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point. May I infer that he is happy to retain the Trident base in Faslane, given the economic benefits that accrue to Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire?

[Mr Weir]

There is little or no economic benefit from the Trident base, and there is an extremely disproportionate —[Interruption.] The point is that bases such as the RAF bases in Morayshire are important not only from a defence point of view but economically, and bases such as the Condor base in my constituency are important economically and also from a defence point of view.

[Iain Stewart]

I challenge the hon. Gentleman’s assumption about the lack, as he sees it, of economic benefits. I also contend that he is making a good case for Scotland's remaining part of the Union, so that the lion’s share of UK defence assets can be based north of the border.

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[Mr Reid]

My hon. Friend is correct. There would be an incentive for a white van man to drive south, fill up his white van, come up to Scotland and sell the alcohol at a profit. When I intervened on the hon. Member for Dundee East, we heard a sedentary intervention from the hon. Member for Angus (Mr Weir) to the effect that Argyll was not close to the border. However, I would point out to him that for a whole variety of reasons people from Argyll regularly visit England and, if they could buy alcohol cheaper there, there would be an incentive for them to fill up their car with it. That would mean a further loss of income to the Scottish economy.

[Mr Weir]

The hon. Gentleman is making a case, but for many years people have been going on holiday to other jurisdictions and bringing back alcohol with them; there is nothing unusual in that. The suggestion that all of a sudden there is going to be a massive influx seems to me ridiculous, especially given the cost of fuel in Argyll.

[Mr Reid]

But they would also fill up their cars with fuel when they were outside Argyll. The hon. Gentleman makes a point. We have heard about booze cruises to Calais, but despite the high price of fuel, it is cheaper for someone in Scotland to drive to England than to go to France. Britain has a certain degree of flexibility over its excise duties because it is surrounded by water. The one land border we have is between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic and we have all heard the allegations of fuel smuggling. That shows it is more difficult for a country to set its own excise duties where there is a land border than it is when there is only a sea border. With a land border, setting a separate rate of alcohol duties would be difficult.

The hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Jim Sheridan) mentioned that people working regularly in England would be able to take alcohol back to Scotland on the train. That led me to think about what would happen on the train itself—I can imagine the announcement on the tannoy as the train leaves Carlisle: “Get your drink now because in five minutes the price goes up”!

To summarise, the SNP did not make the case for their amendments. Through their new clauses, the Government are giving substantial extra powers to the Scottish Parliament, so I will support the Government tonight.